of Rockaway Township public schools i was just waving to some of our wonderful students as they were walking by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six different schools I see students that are learning and having fun and to me those are two
very important qualities of a very very effective education birwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere students come back year after year there's multi-generations that have attended Birwood it is truly a loving
community it's such a wonderful place to be our core values are the same as Rockaway Township: Heart honesty empathy acceptance respect and trust so we can focus on particularly on being kind what really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in
developing personal growth versus comparison to others whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience they learn to persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before stony Brook is an amazing place it really is and I think anybody
who joins us whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day uh you know I think echo that sentiment our staff is second to none they really put the kids first all the time and our students are exceptional as well it's a wonderful school community our PTA is incredibly involved everything we do is
well attended back to school nights our events and we have a very involved school community both academically working handin-hand with our teachers but also I think for extracurricular as well every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District and
will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school and we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community our mantra we live by is no walls no limits because being a school
with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community you just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors what keeps me coming back here every morning hugs from kids you know I love being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me
teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal so yeah I I think for me it's just being a part of something being a part of the team uh we're all very different but um but we we get along and you know we support
each other every morning I'm inspired by these children their energy their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious the people I work with makes me come back every single day i hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout
the building i have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world the thing that makes Scopland Middle School so great is truly the people it's the students it's the staff it's the community members it's the parent involvement it's the investment in making it a better place i come here for
the students i love the kids here they are amazing they're the best part of my day they're the best part of my week that's why I do what I do i'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have from our [Music]
community i truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world it's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and teaching at Dubire is special
because we don't have walls i think social emotional learning is very important it gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole
child if you've never taught at another school and you come to Birchwood you honestly never want to leave Birchwood you walk into this building and it's a family we're all together we're all happy we're smiling nobody's cranky or miserable we're here together for each other one of the things that I love the
most about this position and this job is that I get to work with students of all ages now that we house preschool students here i see every single student in the building from preschool all the way through fifth grade and I get to work with them on a deeper level on a
way that inspires them not just to be confident in themselves but in what they love after teaching for 25 years I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day any
good lesson makes me feel alive going to the soccer games the football games seeing my students outside the classroom i want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are that the relationship that we build together the better they're going to do in class not not only enjoy their time
in class but also take risks it's a really great environment here at KDM my co-workers are great the students every day they make me laugh one thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset i did have a student that came in and really didn't like math they
were really negative self-talking saying that they can't do this and so basically throughout the whole year we worked on just changing that mindset one of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and you know being good friends to each other one of my most favorite
success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk i've tried to instill intrinsic love for school intrinsic love for education and over time I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do
what I do to have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to [Music] come so we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do
things that might seem hard like a harder task and I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier our goal here is that every child is as comfortable in class as they are at home and if they're
ever in trouble they're ever concerned or worried that they have the tools available to them to be successful and to help each other be as successful as we know they can be we have really seen over the years an incredible increase in their emotional maturity and in their
abilities to deal with issues both in the playground and in the classroom and I really believe it's because our district's focus on SEAL over the last several years i am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School i really love to see the
growth and the change through the students and what I really focus on is teamwork so the kids are always in teams we want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas i want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home i want them to come into my classroom and
feel comfortable feel like they can be themselves they may not come here and love math but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class years ago I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics and I worked so carefully with her i gave
her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she Excellent good evening Rockaway Township i'd like to call this meeting to order at 1,800 hours
can I please have an attendance roll call please mrs anderson here mrs caroloo ms mciri here mrs dzik here miss Richardson here miss Tor here dr thomas
here we have a quorum excellent the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act was passed to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed and acted upon in accordance with the provision of the act the Rockway Township Board of Education has
caused notice of the date time and place of said meetings to be published in the daily record of the Star Ledger and be posted in all schools in the district in the municipal building of the township and the township library does any board member wish to object to the conduct of this meeting for the purposes as stated in the public
notice seeing no hands all documentation and materials considered by the board of education as part of this agenda are available for public review and comment members of the public are invited to come to the board of education building off Green Pond Road during the regular business hours of 8:00 a.m to 400 p.m monday through Friday if they wish to
inspect any of the reference items can I please have a motion to wave the pledge until the open session so moved second thank you show hands please all righty resolved that in accordance with the open public meetings act the Rockway Township Board of Education will
meet in close session to discuss matters involving personnel litigation acquisition of real property security negotiations receipt of governmental funds the content of said discussions will be disclosed to the public at such time and extent as required by law can I please have a motion to go into close
session so moved second thank you show of hands please awesome going into close session at 1803 hours you do that [Music]
my name is Dr richard Corbett and I am the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools i was just waving to some of our wonderful students as they were walking by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six
different schools I see students that are learning and having fun and to me those are two very important qualities of a very very effective education birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere students come back year after year there's
multi-generations that have attended Birwood it is truly a loving community it's such a wonderful place to be our core values are the same as Rockaway Township heart honesty empathy acceptance respect and trust so we can focus on particularly on being kind what
really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience they learn to persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have
seen before stony Brook is an amazing place it really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day uh you know I think echo that sentiment our staff is second to none they really put the kids first all the time and our students are exceptional as well it's a
wonderful school community our PTA is incredibly involved everything we do is well attended back to school nights our events and we have a very involved school community both academically working handin-hand with our teachers but also I think for extracurricular as well
every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District and will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school and we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community our mantra we live by is no
walls no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community you just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors what keeps me coming back here every morning hugs from kids you know I love being outside in
the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal so yeah I think for me it's just being a part of something being a part of the team uh
we're all very different but um but we we get along and you know we support each other every morning I'm inspired by these children their energy their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious the people I work with makes me come back every single day
i hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building i have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world the thing that makes Scopland Middle School so great is truly the people it's the students it's the staff it's the community members it's the parent
involvement it's the investment in making it a better place i come here for the students i love the kids here they are amazing they're the best part of my day they're the best part of my week that's why I do what I do i'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway
Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have from our [Music] community i truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world it's so important to have a
positive environment for a child to come to and teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls i think social emotional learning is very important it gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a
chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole child if you've never taught at another school and you come to Birchwood you honestly never want to leave Birchwood you walk into this building and it's a family we're all together we're all
happy we're smiling nobody's cranky or miserable we're here together for each other one of the things that I love the most about this position and this job is that I get to work with students of all ages now that we house preschool students here i see every single student in the building from preschool all the
way through fifth grade and I get to work with them on a deeper level on a way that inspires them not just to be confident in themselves but in what they love after teaching for 25 years I can't
pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day any good lesson makes me feel alive going to the soccer games the football games seeing my students outside the classroom i want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are
the relationship that we build together the better they're going to do in class not not only enjoy their time in class but also take risks it's a really great environment here at KDM my co-workers are great the students every day they make me laugh one thing
that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset i did have a student that came in and really didn't like math they were really negative self-talking saying that they can't do this and so basically throughout the whole year we worked on just changing that mindset one of the things that I'm really hoping to teach
them more than anything else is about kindness and you know being good friends to each other one of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk i've tried to instill intrinsic
love for school intrinsic love for education and over time I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do what I do to have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to [Music]
come so we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard like a harder task and I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder
task then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier our goal here is that every child is as comfortable in class as they are at home and if they're ever in trouble they're ever concerned or worried that they have the tools available to them to be successful and
to help each other be as successful as we know they can be we have really seen over the years an incredible increase in their emotional maturity and in their abilities to deal with issues both in the playground and in the classroom and I really believe it's because our
district's focus on SEAL over the last several years i am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School i really love to see the growth and the change to the students and what I really focus on is teamwork so the kids are always in teams we want
to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas i want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home i want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable feel like they can be themselves they may not come here and love math but I want them to at least
enjoy coming to math class years ago I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics and I worked so carefully with her i gave her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see
that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day so my name is Jackson my name is Mia my name is Mariah i think what awesome is about being in Birwood is the um the
like artwork that's on the walls like in school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher my favorite is recess my favorite thing is reading and
just doing a bunch of fun stuff we get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun we get to watch videos at the end of the day my name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVO yeah my name is Rehea
i'm in first grade being at DVL is awesome because all the teachers here are so great and so nice i like the teachers here they make it awesome here she teaches well and then she teaches us
stuff which we have never learned my favorite subject is probably math because I like all the challenges my favorite special is art class with Miss Takis plus drawing is my favorite thing what makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone
cares about each other my name is Quinker and I'm in the fifth grade hi my name is Arya i am in second grade what makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here they help us every day all the janitors keep our school nice and clean all my friends that
helped me since kindergarten and everybody just helps us here because we are a really good community because of my friends the teachers and the principal like we read a book and then we do a project based on what happened in that story math is my favorite
subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can be complicated but it's still really fun my favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers they have fun activities to do and their stories my first grade teacher
got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in Juni B jones my favorite subject is science in science you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun every day I'm like happy at school when I came into
sixth grade in Copeland where everything was new and different for me mrs heath she was especially really kind to me she still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do one teacher that made
me feel special and cared for was my seventh grade LA teacher i used to just like like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun i think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends
here and there's good teachers math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times plus minus no matter where you come from or no matter what you like look like people will be friends with you and welcome you
into the school one word to describe this school is probably heart honesty empathy acceptance and respect and trust [Music] this is probably one of the most special
places I've ever worked it is the staff the teachers uh they are loving they are caring the energy here is just great it's wonderful to work with a group of men and women who truly love what they do their heart passion and soul is for students and to see them succeed i try
to find a way for them to want to be here even if they're sad or even if they don't want to get out of the car in the morning if I say "Hey let's go wander in the library." And they bounce out of the car right away which actually happened then I've done something right that I have found a way to make them feel like
this is home for them because that's kind of how I feel i love the kids here they're amazing they're the best part of my day they're the best part of my week that's why I do what I do so my name is Jackson my name is Mia my name is Mariah
i think what awesome is about being in Birchwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls like in school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher my favorite is recess my
favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff we get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun we get to watch videos at the end of the day our doors are always open we are truly a family here our kids are just everything
if you've never taught at another school and you come to Birwood you honestly never want to leave Birwood you walk into this building and it's a family we're all together we're all happy we're smiling nobody's cranky or miserable we're here together for each other birwood is very special because it is
truly a family atmosphere students come back year after year there's multi-generations that have attended Birwood it is truly a loving community it's such a wonderful place to be i commute an hour or more every day and I've been given the opportunity to work
in another district but I've been here 7 years and I will drive that hour because the community the parents the teachers our principal are incredible we're just so happy to have such a loving nurturing community that is so vested in our
school we are family and once a bulldog always a bulldog i truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world it's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come
to and teaching at Dwire is special because we don't have walls our mantra we live by is no walls no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community you just know you're
walking into a special place when you come through our doors i like to tell people that when you're here it's like learning at home you're in your kitchen but you still know what's going on in the family room it builds like this you know camaraderie amongst not only the
students but also the faculty that work here we call ourselves a Dwire family mr mcgovern he seldom calls us a school and we really all live by that we treat each other like family and we emulate that for the kids i think the wire school is
awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times plus minus no matter where you come from or no matter what you like look like people
will be friends with you and welcome you into the school one word to describe this school is probably heart honesty empathy acceptance and respect and trust i have been teaching art here in
Rockaway Township for 16 years i think social and emotional learning is very important it gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole child
i get the privilege of going into every single class once a month where I do a guidance lesson the best part of my job is when one of them is having a tough day and then they feel better and it's because of me the people I work with makes me come back every single day i hire a very unique and special educator
and that permeates throughout the building i have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school and we have an opportunity to
instill core values into our students helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community i am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School i really love to see the growth and the change through the students and what I really focus on is
teamwork so the kids are always in teams we want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas i want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home i want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable feel like they can be themselves they may not come here and
love math but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class when I came into sixth grade in Copeland where everything was new and different for me Mrs heath she was especially really kind to me she still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much
and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do one teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my seventh grade LA teacher i used to dislike like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make
that subject more fun years ago I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics and I worked so carefully with her i gave her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment
when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day we are making sure kids are prepared for the future and that means making sure that they have access to technology every single classroom has interactive
boards kids get a Chromebook in the fifth grade they work as a team towards a common goal they overcome challenges we connect with the community through our concerts which are very well attended vanta Copeland is truly an all-inclusive experience for all of the students here i try to get everybody
involved so that they can make a positive impact in the future i teach US history and I come to work every day excited i get the opportunity to mold the next generation the thing that makes Copa Middle School so great is truly the
people it's the students it's the staff it's the community members it's the parent involvement it's the investment in making it a better place [Music] our core values are the same as Rockaway Township heart honesty empathy acceptance respect and trust so we can
focus on particularly on being kind by being kind to a friend helping them out helping teachers be nice to them be respectful and don't interrupt the teachers and everything we do we try and relate back to our core values one of the things we are working on right now
is positive behavior system i don't like to address anything negative in my office because I want kids to be able to trust me and to be able to come down as a leader of the building so we're really working on being kind and yes academics are important but one of the main things for us is that we raise good kids the
main message is to be kind because above all else we want our kids just to be kind my name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVL yeah my name is Rehea i'm in first grade being at DVL is awesome because all the teachers here
are so great and so nice i like the teachers here they make it awesome here she teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never learned my favorite subject is probably math
because I like all the challenges my favorite special is art class with Miss Takis because drawing is my favorite thing what makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other
if I had to describe our building in one word I would say we're a little unconventional we're always trying to have our teachers and our students look at other ways to achieve success and for every student that's different there are other ways that we can really show
student growth student success i'm not trying to be cheesy or anything it's it really the staff here um we have built a family and I think that says something about the building and the and and the community that we foster here at ZBO and I'm really grateful to be part of that being outside in the morning at bus duty
and having kids coming up and just happy to see me teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal after teaching for 25 years I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day any
good lesson makes me feel alive going to the soccer games the football games seeing my students outside the classroom i want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are the relationship that we build together the better they're going to do in class not not only enjoy their time in class
but also take risks so yeah I I think for me it's just being a part of something being a part of the team uh we're all very different but um but we we get along and you know we support each other what really resonates with me
about the school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience they learn to persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might
not have seen before it's a really great environment here at KDM my co-workers are great the students every day they make me laugh one thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset i did have a student that came in and really didn't like math they
were really negative selft talking saying that they can't do this and so basically throughout the whole year we worked on just changing that mindset just because we can't do something right now doesn't mean that we're never going to be able to do it and that's what I teach all of my students
my favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers they have fun activities to do and their stories my first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in Juni B jones my favorite subject is science in science
you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun every day I'm like happy at school we identify the interests of students you know what motivates them so students feel more comfortable and confident in their learning environment moving them forward
from one learning experience to another every morning I'm inspired by these children their energy their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious one of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and you
know being good friends to each other one of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk i trying to instill intrinsic love for school intrinsic love for education and over
time I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do what I do to have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to [Music] come stony Brook is an amazing place it
really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day uh you know I think echo that sentiment our staff is second to none they really put the kids first all the time and our students are exceptional as well it's a wonderful school community our PTA is incredibly
involved everything we do is well attended and back to school nights our events and we have a very involved school community both academically working handin-hand with our teachers but also I think for extracurricular as well inside school I really try to be involved in as many things as I can my
children also go to school in this district at one of the other schools and I'm really proud of what we put forth for our children anytime we can bring togetherness and have us all work together both in our community and out it's really going to help everyone raise their own level of abilities to really
increase the success of our community so we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard like a harder task and I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient
and show grit in the face of a harder task then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier having students in a classroom that's smaller where you get to meet their needs specifically rather than in a bigger classroom you can build more of a rapport and relationships with
them i like them to become successful not just academically but also social emotionally my name is Queen i'm in the fifth grade hi my name's Arya i am in second grade what makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here they help us every day all the janitors
keep our school nice and clean all my friends that helped me since kindergarten and everybody just helps us here cuz we are a really good community because of my friends the teachers and the principal like we read a book and then we do a project based on what
happened in that story math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can be complicated but it's still really fun i've always wanted to be a teacher i think the reason why I wanted to be a teacher is because I think I had really good elementary school teachers rockaway
I thought was really interesting because I feel like it is a small close-knit community but I also felt like there's a lot of different opportunities in Rockway i like how there was five different elementary schools but I also like how I felt like that I fit in with the Stony Brook mentality the Stony
Brook mentality is something where we all feel and have the same idea of supporting students the kids understand that everyone makes a mistake everyone has a bad day and I think that it gives the opportunity for kids to grow and not feel like penalized i love that we have a great principal i love the teachers
and the morale as soon as I started coming up here since I am from South Jersey I felt welcomed and included right away my name is Dr richard Corbett and I am the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools i was just waving to some of our wonderful students as they were walking
by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six different schools I see students that are learning and having fun and to me those are two very important qualities of a very very effective education
birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere students come back year after year there's multi-generations that have attended Birwood it is truly a loving community it's such a wonderful place to be our core values are the same as Rockaway
Township heart honesty empathy acceptance respect and trust so we can focus on particularly on being kind what really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others whether it be a
difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience they learn to persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before stony Brook is an amazing place it really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day
uh you know I think echo that sentiment our staff is second to none they really put the kids first all the time and our students are exceptional as well it's a wonderful school community our PTA is incredibly involved everything we do is well attended back to school nights our events and we have a very involved
school community both academically working handin-hand with our teachers but also I think for extracurricular as well every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school and we have an opportunity to
instill core values into our students helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community our mantra we live by is no walls no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community
you just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors what keeps me coming back here every morning hugs from kids you know I love being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've
been here for 11 years as the principal so yeah I I think for me it's just being a part of something being a part of the team uh we're all very different but um but we we get along and you know we support each other every morning I'm inspired by these children their energy
their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious the people I work with makes me come back every single day i hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building i have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the
world the thing that makes Scopland Middle School so great is truly the people it's the students it's the staff it's the community members it's the parent involvement it's the investment in making it a better place i come here for the students i love the kids here
they are amazing they're the best part of my day they're the best part of my week that's why I do what I do i'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have from our [Music]
community i truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world it's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and teaching at Dwire is special
because we don't have walls i think social emotional learning is very important it gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole
child if you've never taught at another school and you come to Birwood you honestly never want to leave Birchwood you walk into this building and it's a family we're all together we're all happy we're smiling nobody's cranky or miserable we're here together for each other one of the things that I love the
most about this position and this job is that I get to work with students of all ages now that we house preschool students here i see every single student in the building from preschool all the way through fifth grade and I get to work with them on a deeper level on a
way that inspires them not just to be confident in themselves but in what they love after teaching for 25 years I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day any
good lesson makes me feel alive going to the soccer games the football games seeing my students outside the classroom i want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are the relationship that we build together the better they're going to do in class not not only enjoy their time in class
but also take risks it's a really great environment here at KDM my co-workers are great the students every day they make me laugh one thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset i did have a student that came in and really didn't like math they
were really negative self-talking saying that they can't do this and so basically throughout the whole year we worked on just changing that mindset one of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and you know being good friends to each other one of my most favorite
success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk i've tried to instill intrinsic love for school intrinsic love for education and over time I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do
what I do to have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to [Music] come so we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do
things that might seem hard like a harder task and I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier our goal here is that every child is as comfortable in
class as they are at home and if they're ever in trouble they're ever concerned or worried that they have the tools available to them to be successful and to help each other be as successful as we know they can be we have really seen over the years an incredible increase in
their emotional maturity and in their abilities to deal with issues both in the playground and in the classroom and I really believe it's because our district's focus on seal over the last several years i am the steam teacher at Copeland
Middle School i really love to see the growth and the change to the students and what I really focus on is teamwork so the kids are always in teams we want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas i want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home i
want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable feel like they can be themselves they may not come here and love math but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class years ago I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics and
I worked so carefully with her i gave her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day
so my name is Jackson my name is Mia my name is Mariah i think what awesome is about being in Birwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls like in school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a
wall with the art teacher my favorite is recess my favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff we get to do puzzle of the day and it's really
fun we get to watch videos at the end of the day my name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVO yeah my name is Rehea i'm in first grade being at DVL is awesome because all the teachers here
are so great and so nice i like the teachers here they make it awesome here she teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never learned my favorite subject is probably math
because I like all the challenges my favorite special is art class with Miss Takis plus drawing is my favorite thing what makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other my name is Queen
i'm in the fifth grade hi my name is Arya i am in second grade what makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here they help us every day all the janitors keep our school nice and clean all my friends that helped me since kindergarten and everybody just helps us
here because we are a really good community because of my friends the teachers and the principal like we read a book and then we do a project based on what happened in that story math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can
be complicated but it's still really fun my favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers they have fun activities to do and their stories my first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in Juni V jones my
favorite subject is science in science you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun every day I'm like happy at school when I came into sixth grade in Copeland where everything was new and different for me Mrs heath
she was especially really kind to me she still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do one teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my seventh grade LA teacher i used to just
like like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun i think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers math is my favorite because like you can learn
different things like times plus minus no matter where you come from or no matter what you like look like people will be friends with you and welcome you into this school one word to describe this school is probably heart honesty
empathy acceptance and respect and trust [Music] this is probably one of the most special places I've ever worked it is the staff the teachers uh they are loving they are caring the energy here is just great
it's wonderful to work with a group of men and women who truly love what they do their heart passion and soul is for students and to see them succeed i try to find a way for them to want to be here even if they're sad or even if they don't want to get out of the car in the
morning if I say "Hey let's go wander in the library." And they bounce out of the car right away which actually happened then I've done something right that I have found a way to make them feel like this is home for them because that's kind of how I feel i love the kids here they are amazing they're the best part
of my day they're the best part of my week that's why I do what I do so my name is Jackson my name is Mia my name is Mariah i think what awesome is about being in Birchwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls like in
school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher my favorite is recess my favorite thing is reading and
just doing a bunch of fun stuff we get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun we get to watch videos at the end of the day our doors are always open we are truly a family here our kids are just everything if you've never taught at
another school and you come to Birwood you honestly never want to leave Birwood you walk into this building and it's a family we're all together we're all happy we're smiling nobody's cranky or miserable we're here together for each other birchwood is very special because
it is truly a family atmosphere students come back year after year there's multi-generations that have attended Birwood it is truly a loving community it's such a wonderful place to be i commute an hour or more every day and I've been given the opportunity to work
in another district but I've been here 7 years and I will drive that hour because the community the parents the teachers our principal are incredible we're just so happy to have such a loving nurturing community that is so vested in our
school we are family and once a bulldog always a bulldog i truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world it's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come
to and teaching at Duboire is special because we don't have walls our mantra we live by is no walls no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community you just know you're
walking into a special place when you come through our doors i like to tell people that when you're here it's like learning at home you're in your kitchen but you still know what's going on in the family room it builds like this you know camaraderie amongst not only the
students but also the faculty that work here we call ourselves a Dwire family mr mcgovern he seldom calls us a school and we really all live by that we treat each other like family and we emulate that for the kids i think the wire school is
awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers math is my favorite because like you can learn different things like times plus minus no matter where you come from or no matter what you like look like people
will be friends with you and welcome you into the school one word to describe this school is probably heart honesty empathy acceptance and respect and trust i have been teaching art here in
Rockaway Township for 16 years i think social and emotional learning is very important it gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole child
i get the privilege of going into every single class once a month where I do a guidance lesson the best part of my job is when one of them is having a tough day and then they feel better and it's because of me the people I work with makes me come back every single day i hire a very unique and special educator
and that permeates throughout the building i have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District and will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school and we have an opportunity to instill core values into
our students helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community i am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School i really love to see the growth and the change through the students and what I really focus on is
teamwork so the kids are always in teams we want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas i want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home i want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable feel like they can be themselves they may not come here and
love math but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class when I came into sixth grade in Copeland where everything was new and different for me Mrs heath she was especially really kind to me she still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much
and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do one teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my seventh grade LA teacher i used to dislike like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make
that subject more fun years ago I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics and I worked so carefully with her i gave her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment
when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day we are making sure kids are prepared for the future and that means making sure that they have access to technology every single classroom has interactive
boards kids get a Chromebook in the fifth grade they work as a team towards a common goal they overcome challenges we connect with the community through our concerts which are very well attended vanta Copeland is truly an all-inclusive experience for all of the students here i try to get everybody
involved so that they can make a positive impact in the future i teach US history and I come to work every day excited i get the opportunity to mold the next generation the thing that makes Copa Middle School so great is truly the
people it's the students it's the staff it's the community members it's the parent involvement it's the investment in making it a better place [Music] our core values are the same as Rockaway Township heart honesty empathy acceptance respect and trust so we can
focus on particularly on being kind by being kind to a friend helping them out helping teachers be nice to them be respectful and don't interrupt the teachers and everything we do we try and relate back to our core values one of the things we are working on right now
is positive behavior system i don't like to address anything negative in my office because I want kids to be able to trust me and to be able to come down as a leader of the building so we're really working on being kind and yes academics are important but one of the main things for us is that we raise good kids the
main message is to be kind because above all else we want our kids just to be kind my name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVL yeah my name is Rehea i'm in first grade being at DVL is awesome because all the teachers here
are so great and so nice i like the teachers here they make it awesome here she teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never learned my favorite subject is probably math
because I like all the challenges my favorite special is art class with Miss Takis because drawing is my favorite thing what makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other
if I had to describe our building in one word I would say we're a little unconventional we're always trying to have our teachers and our students look at other ways to achieve success and for every student that's different there are other ways that we can really show
student growth student success i'm not trying to be cheesy or anything it's it really the staff here um we have built a family and I think that says something about the building and the and and the community that we foster here at ZBO and I'm really grateful to be part of that being outside in the morning at bus duty
and having kids coming up and just happy to see me teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal after teaching for 25 years I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day any
good lesson makes me feel alive going to the soccer games the football games seeing my students outside the classroom i want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are the relationship that we build together the better they're going to do in class not not only enjoy their time in class
but also take risks so yeah I I think for me it's just being a part of something being a part of the team uh we're all very different but um but we we get along and you know we support each other what really resonates with me
about the school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience they learn to persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might
not have seen before it's a really great environment here at KDM my co-workers are great the students every day they make me laugh one thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset i did have a student that came in and really didn't like math they
were really negative selft talking saying that they can't do this and so basically throughout the whole year we worked on just changing that mindset just because we can't do something right now doesn't mean that we're never going to be able to do it and that's what I teach all of my students
my favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers they have fun activities to do and their stories my first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in Juni V jones my favorite subject is science in science
you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun every day I'm like happy at school we identify the interests of students you know what motivates them so students feel more comfortable and confident in their learning environment moving them forward
from one learning experience to another every morning I'm inspired by these children their energy their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious one of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and you
know being good friends to each other one of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk i've tried to instill intrinsic love for school intrinsic love for education and over
time I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do what I do to have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to [Music] come stony Brook is an amazing place it
really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day uh you know I think echo that sentiment our staff is second to none they really put the kids first all the time and our students are exceptional as well it's a wonderful school community our PTA is incredibly
involved everything we do is well attended back to school nights our events and we have very involved school community both academically working handin-hand with our teachers but also I think for extracurricular as well inside school I really try to be involved in as many things as I can my children also go
to school in this district at one of the other schools and I'm really proud of what we put forth for our children anytime we can bring togetherness and have us all work together both in our community and out it's really going to help everyone raise their own level of abilities to really increase the success of our community so we used to always
start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard like a harder task and I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task then all the other academic
challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier having students in a classroom that's smaller where you get to meet their needs specifically rather than in a bigger classroom you can build more of a rapport and relationships with them i like them to become successful not just academically but also social
emotionally my name is Queen K i'm in the fifth grade hi my name's Arya i am in second grade what makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here they help us every day all the janitors keep our school nice and clean all my friends that helped me since
kindergarten and everybody just helps us here cuz we are a really good community because of my friends the teachers and the principal like we read a book and then we do a project based on what happened in that story math is my favorite subject because the teachers
always help us and it's fun but it can be complicated but it's still really fun i've always wanted to be a teacher i think the reason why I wanted to be a teacher is because I think I had really good elementary school teachers rockway I thought was really interesting because I feel like it is a small close-knit
community but I also felt like there's a lot of different opportunities in Rockway i like how there was five different elementary schools but I also like how I felt like that I fit in with the Stony Brook mentality the Stony Brook mentality is something where we all feel and have the same idea of
supporting students the kids understand that everyone makes a mistake everyone has a bad day and I think that it gives the opportunity for kids to grow and not feel like penalized i love that we have a great principal i love the teachers and the morale as soon as I started coming up here since I am from South Jersey I felt welcomed and included
right away my name is Dr richard Corbett and I am the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools i was just waving to some of our wonderful students as they were walking by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and
talk to these students in these six different schools I see students that are learning and having fun and to me those are two very important qualities of a very very effective education birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere students come
back year after year there's multi-generations that have attended Birwood it is truly a loving community it's such a wonderful place to be our core values are the same as Rockaway Township heart honesty empathy acceptance respect and trust so we can
focus on particularly on being kind what really resonates with me about this school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience they learn to
persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before stony Brook is an amazing place it really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day uh you know I think echo that sentiment our staff is second to none they really
put the kids first all the time and our students are exceptional as well it's a wonderful school community our PTA is incredibly involved everything we do is well attended back to school nights our events and we have a very involved school community both academically working handin-hand with our teachers
but also I think for extracurricular as well every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District and will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school and we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students helping students develop
into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community our mantra we live by is no walls no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community you just know you're walking into a special place when
you come through our doors what keeps me coming back here every morning hugs from kids you know I love being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal so yeah I
I think for me it's just being a part of something being a part of the team uh we're all very different but um but we we get along and you know we support each other every morning I'm inspired by these children their energy their willingness to support and grow with one
another is contagious the people I work with makes me come back every single day i hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building i have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world the thing that makes Scopland Middle School so
great is truly the people it's the students it's the staff it's the community members it's the parent involvement it's the investment in making it a better place i come here for the students i love the kids here they are amazing they're the best part of my
day they're the best part of my week that's why I do what I do i'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have from our community i truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the
world it's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls i think social emotional learning is very important it gives us a chance to
discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole child if you've never taught at another school and you come to Birwood you honestly never want to leave Birchwood you walk into this building and it's a
family we're all together we're all happy we're smiling nobody's cranky or miserable we're here together for each other one of the things that I love the most about this position and this job is that I get to work with students of all ages now that we house preschool students here i see every single student
in the building from preschool all the way through fifth grade and I get to work with them on a deeper level on a way that inspires them not just to be confident in themselves but in what they love
after teaching for 25 years I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day any good lesson makes me feel alive going to the soccer games the football games seeing my students outside the classroom i want the kids to feel at home and I
feel the more comfortable that they are that the relationship that we build together the better they're going to do in class not not only enjoy their time in class but also take risks it's a really great environment here at KDM my co-workers are great the students every day they make me laugh one thing
that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset i did have a student that came in and really didn't like math they were really negative self-talking saying that they can't do this and so basically throughout the whole year we worked on just changing that mindset one of the things that I'm really hoping to teach
them more than anything else is about kindness and you know being good friends to each other one of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk i've tried to instill intrinsic
love for school intrinsic love for education and over time I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do what I do to have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to come so we used to always start off with
a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard like a harder task and I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task then all the other academic
challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier our goal here is that every child is as comfortable in class as they are at home and if they're ever in trouble they're ever concerned or worried that they have the tools available to them to be successful and to help each other be as successful as
we know they can be we have really seen over the years an incredible increase in their emotional maturity and in their abilities to deal with issues both in the playground and in the classroom and I really believe it's because our district's focus on seal over the last
several years i am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School i really love to see the growth and the change through the students and what I really focus on is teamwork so the kids are always in teams we want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their
ideas i want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home i want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable feel like they can be themselves they may not come here and love math but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class years ago I had a sixth grade student who was
absolutely petrified of mathematics and I worked so carefully with her i gave her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day
so my name is Jackson my name is Mia my name is Mariah i think what awesome is about being in Birwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls like in school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a
wall with the art teacher my favorite is recess my favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff we get to do puzzle of the day and it's really
fun we get to watch videos at the end of the day my name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVO yeah my name is Rehea i'm in first grade being at DVO is awesome because all the teachers here
are so great and so nice i like the teachers here they make it awesome here she teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never learned my favorite subject is probably math
because I like all the challenges my favorite special is art class with Miss Takis plus drawing is my favorite thing what makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other my name is
Quinker and I'm in the fifth grade hi my name is Arya i am in second grade what makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here they help us every day all the janitors keep our school nice and clean all my friends that helped me since kindergarten and
everybody just helps us here because we are a really good community because of my friends the teachers and the principal like we read a book and then we do a project based on what happened in that story math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help
us and it's fun but it can be complicated but it's still really fun my favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers they have fun activities to do and their stories my first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into
chapter books in Juni B jones my favorite subject is science in science you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun every day I'm like happy at school when I came into sixth grade in Copeland where everything
was new and different for me Mrs heath she was especially really kind to me she still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do one teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my
seventh grade LA teacher i used to just like like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun i think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers math is
my favorite because like you can learn different things like times plus minus no matter where you come from or no matter what you like look like people will be friends with you and welcome you into the school one word to describe
this school is probably heart honesty empathy acceptance and respect and trust [Music] this is probably one of the most special places I've ever worked it is the staff the teachers uh they are loving they are
caring the energy here is just great it's wonderful to work with a group of men and women who truly love what they do their heart passion and soul is for students and to see them succeed i try to find a way for them to want to be here even if they're sad or even if they
don't want to get out of the car in the morning if I say "Hey let's go wander in the library." And they bounce out of the car right away which actually happens then I've done something right that I have found a way to make them feel like this is home for them because that's kind of how I feel i love the kids here
they are amazing they're the best part of my day they're the best part of my week that's why I do what I do so my name is Jackson my name is Mia my name is Mariah i think what awesome is about being in Birchwood is the um the like
artwork that's on the walls like in school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a wall with the art teacher my favorite is recess my favorite thing is reading and
just doing a bunch of fun stuff we get to do puzzle of the day and it's really fun we get to watch videos at the end of the day our doors are always open we are truly a family here our kids are just everything if you've never taught at
another school and you come to Birchwood you honestly never want to leave Birchwood you walk into this building and it's a family we're all together we're all happy we're smiling nobody's cranky or miserable we're here together for each other birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere
students come back year after year there's multi-generations that have attended Birwood it is truly a loving community it's such a wonderful place to be i commute an hour or more every day and I've been given the opportunity to work in another district but I've been
here 7 years and I will drive that hour because the community the parents the teachers our principal are incredible we're just so happy to have such a loving nurturing community that is so vested in our school we are family and
once a bulldog always a bulldog i truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world it's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and teaching at Dubire is special
because we don't have walls our mantra we live by is no walls no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community you just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors i like to tell
people that when you're here it's like learning at home you're in your kitchen but you still know what's going on in the family room it builds like this you know camaraderie amongst not only the students but also the faculty that work here we call ourselves a Dwire family mr
mcgovern he seldom calls us a school and we really all live by that we treat each other like family and we emulate that for the kids i think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers math is my favorite because like you can
learn different things like times plus minus no matter where you come from or no matter what you like look like people will be friends with you and welcome you into this school one word to describe this school is probably heart honesty
empathy acceptance and respect and trust i have been teaching art here in Rockaway Township for 16 years i think social emotional learning is very important it gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a
chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole child i get the privilege of going into every single class once a month where I do a guidance lesson the best part of my job is when one of them is having a tough day and then they feel better and it's
because of me the people I work with makes me come back every single day i hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building i have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world [Music]
every student who goes through Rockaway Township School District will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school and we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community
i am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School i really love to see the growth and the change through the students and what I really focus on is teamwork so the kids are always in teams we want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas
i want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home i want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable feel like they can be themselves they may not come here and love math but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class when I came into sixth grade in Copeland where
everything was new and different for me Mrs heath she was especially really kind to me she still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do one teacher that made me feel special and cared for
was my seventh grade LA teacher i used to dislike like reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun years ago I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics and I worked so
carefully with her i gave her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day
we are making sure kids are prepared for the future and that means making sure that they have access to technology every single classroom has interactive boards kids get a Chromebook in the fifth grade they work as a team towards a common goal they overcome challenges
we connect with the community through our concerts which are very well attended vander Copeland is truly an all-inclusive experience for all of the students here i try to get everybody involved so that they can make a positive impact in the future i teach US
history and I come to work every day excited i get the opportunity to mold the next generation the thing that makes Copeland Middle School so great is truly the people it's the students it's the staff it's the community members it's the parent involvement it's the
investment in making it a better place [Music] our core values are the same as Rockaway Township heart honesty empathy acceptance respect and trust so we can focus on particularly on being kind by being kind to a friend helping them out
helping teachers be nice to them be respectful and don't interrupt the teachers and everything we do we try and relate back to our core values one of the things we are working on right now is positive behavior system i don't like to address anything negative in my office because I want kids to be able to
trust me and to be able to come down as a leader of the building so we're really working on being kind and yes academics are important but one of the main things for us is that we raise good kids the main message is to be kind because above all else we want our kids just to be
kind my name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVL yeah my name is Rehea i'm in first grade being at DVL is awesome because all the teachers here are so great and so nice i like the teachers here they make it awesome here
she teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never learned my favorite subject is probably math because I like all the challenges my favorite special is art class with Miss Takis because drawing is my favorite
thing what makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other if I had to describe our building in one word I would say we're a little unconventional we're always trying to have our teachers and our students look
at other ways to achieve success and for every student that's different there are other ways that we can really show student growth student success i'm not trying to be cheesy or anything it's it really the staff here um we have built a family and I think that says something about the building and the and and the
community that we foster here at DBO and I'm really grateful to be part of that being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal
after teaching for 25 years I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day any good lesson makes me feel alive going to the soccer games the football games seeing my students outside the classroom i want the kids to feel at home and I
feel the more comfortable that they are the relationship that we build together the better they're going to do in class not not only enjoy their time in class but also take risks so yeah I I think for me it's just being a part of something being a part of the team uh we're all very different but um but we
we get along and you know we support each other what really resonates with me about the school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging
learning experience they learn to persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before it's a really great environment here at KDM my co-workers are great the students every day they make me laugh one thing that I really work on in my classroom is
growth mindset i did have a student that came in and really didn't like math they were really negative self-talking saying that they can't do this and so basically throughout the whole year we worked on just changing that mindset just because we can't do something right now doesn't mean that we're never going to be able
to do it and that's what I teach all of my students my favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers they have fun activities to do and their stories my first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into
chapter books in Juni B jones my favorite subject is science in science you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun every day I'm like happy at school we identify the interests of students you know what
motivates them so students feel more comfortable and confident in their learning environment moving them forward from one learning experience to another every morning I'm inspired by these children their energy their willingness to support and grow with one another is
contagious one of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and you know being good friends to each other one of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head
would be down on that desk i trying to instill intrinsic love for school intrinsic love for education and over time I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do what I do to have a kid come in and their school's a happy place
for them and they want to come [Music] stony Brook is an amazing place it really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day uh you know I think echo that sentiment our staff is
second to none they really put the kids first all the time and our students are exceptional as well it's a wonderful school community our PTA is incredibly involved everything we do is well attended back to school nights our events and we have very involved school community both academically working
handinhand with our teachers but also I think for extracurricular as well inside school I really try to be involved in as many things as I can my children also go to school in this district at one of the other schools and I'm really proud of what we put forth for our children anytime we can bring togetherness and have us all work together both in our
community and out it's really going to help everyone raise their own level of abilities to really increase the success of our community so we always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard like a
harder task and I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier having students in a classroom that's smaller where you get to meet their needs specifically rather
than in a bigger classroom you can build more of a rapport and relationships with them i like them to become successful not just academically but also social emotionally my name is Queen K i'm in the fifth grade hi my name is Arya i am in second grade what makes our school
awesome is all the teachers we have here they help us every day all the janitors keep our school nice and clean all my friends that helped me since kindergarten and everybody just helps us here cuz we are a really good community because of my friends the teachers and
the principal like we read a book and then we do a project based on what happened in that story math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can be complicated but it's still really fun i've always wanted to be a teacher i
think the reason why I wanted to be a teacher is because I think I had really good elementary school teachers rockway I thought was really interesting because I feel like it is a small close-knit community but I also felt like there's a lot of different opportunities in Rockway i like how there was five
different elementary schools but I also like how I felt like that I fit in with the Stony Brook mentality the Stony Brook mentality is something where we all feel and have the same idea of supporting students the kids understand that everyone makes a mistake everyone has a bad day and I think that it gives
the opportunity for kids to grow and not feel like penalized i love that we have a great principal i love the teachers and the morale as soon as I started coming up here since I am from South Jersey I felt welcomed and included right away my name is Dr richard Corbett and I am
the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools i was just waving to some of our wonderful students as they were walking by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six different schools I see students that
are learning and having fun and to me those are two very important qualities of a very very effective education birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere students come back year after year there's multi-generations that have attended
Birwood it is truly a loving community it's such a wonderful place to be our core values are the same as Rockaway Township heart honesty empathy acceptance respect and trust so we can focus on particularly on being kind what really resonates with me about this
school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience they learn to persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before stony Brook is an amazing
place it really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day uh you know I think echo that sentiment our staff is second to none they really put the kids first all the time and our students are exceptional as well it's a wonderful school community our PTA is
incredibly involved everything we do is well attended back to school nights our events and we have a very involved school community both academically working hand in hand with our teachers but also I think for extracurricular as well every student who goes through Rockaway
Township School District and will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school and we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community our mantra we live by is no
walls no limits because being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community you just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors what keeps me coming back here every morning hugs from kids you know I love being outside in
the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just happy to see me teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal so yeah I I think for me it's just being a part of something being a part of the team uh
we're all very different but um but we we get along and you know we support each other every morning I'm inspired by these children their energy their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious the people I work with makes me come back every single day
i hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates throughout the building i have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world the thing that makes Scopland Middle School so great is truly the people it's the students it's the staff it's the community members it's the parent
involvement it's the investment in making it a better place i come here for the students i love the kids here they are amazing they're the best part of my day they're the best part of my week that's why I do what I do i'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway
Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have from our community i truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world it's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come
to and teaching at Dubire is special because we don't have walls i think social emotional learning is very important it gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional
dialogue and that helps the whole child if you've never taught at another school and you come to Birchwood you honestly never want to leave Birchwood you walk into this building and it's a family we're all together we're all happy we're smiling nobody's cranky or
miserable we're here together for each other one of the things that I love the most about this position and this job is that I get to work with students of all ages now that we house preschool students here i see every single student in the building from preschool all the way through fifth grade and I get to
work with them on a deeper level on a way that inspires them not just to be confident in themselves but in what they love after teaching for 25 years I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a
story of why I come back every day any good lesson makes me feel alive going to the soccer games the football games seeing my students outside the classroom i want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are the relationship that we build together
the better they're going to do in class not not only enjoy their time in class but also take risks it's a really great environment here at KDM my co-workers are great the students every day they make me laugh one thing that I really work on in my classroom is
growth mindset i did have a student that came in and really didn't like math they were really negative self-talking saying that they can't do this and so basically throughout the whole year we worked on just changing that mindset one of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about
kindness and you know being good friends to each other one of my most favorite success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk i've tried to instill intrinsic love for school intrinsic love for
education and over time I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do what I do to have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to [Music] come so we used to always start off with
a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do things that might seem hard like a harder task and I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task then all the other academic
challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier our goal here is that every child is as comfortable in class as they are at home and if they're ever in trouble they're ever concerned or worried that they have the tools available to them to be successful and to help each other be as successful as
we know they can be we have really seen over the years an incredible increase in their emotional maturity and in their abilities to deal with issues both in the playground and in the classroom and I really believe it's because our district's focus on SEAL over the last
several years i am the steam teacher at Copeland Middle School i really love to see the growth and the change through the students and what I really focus on is teamwork so the kids are always in teams we want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their
ideas i want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home i want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable feel like they can be themselves they may not come here and love math but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class years ago I had a sixth grade student who was
absolutely petrified of mathematics and I worked so carefully with her i gave her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day
so my name is Jackson my name is Mia my name is Mariah i think what awesome is about being in Birwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls like in school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a
wall with the art teacher my favorite is recess my favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff we get to do puzzle of the day and it's really
fun we get to watch videos at the end of the day my name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVO yeah my name is Rehea i'm in first grade being at DVL is awesome because all the teachers here
are so great and so nice i like the teachers here they make it awesome here she teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never learned my favorite subject is probably math
because I like all the challenges my favorite special is art class with Miss Takis plus drawing is my favorite thing what makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other my name is
Quinker and I'm in the fifth grade hi my name is Arya i am in second grade what makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here they help us every day all the janitors keep our school nice and clean all my friends that helped me since kindergarten and
everybody just helps us here because we are a really good group jim can I please get a uh motion to come out of executive session so move second thank you can we please stand for the pledge of allegiance [Music]
i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you to start off tonight's meeting
Dr corbin we are so happy this evening to have so many of our people from KDM the communities teachers students where are the students if you're a student from KDM can you raise your hand please ah that's awesome how about a round of
applause for these these awesome students and I would like at this time to invite our principal or the principal of KDM to go forward Mr brian Rollins mr rollins it's all yours take it away excellent thank you everyone thank you
Board of Education uh I want to take a quick moment to thank the board of education uh for this opportunity to honor a phenomenal group of community members as a whole uh before I get to these outstanding students I'd like to
say a quick few words about our staff kdm is special in that our staff works together to bring out the best within themselves and each other which transcends through the acts of our students at KDM
at KDM there is a sense of camaraderie across all staff members and students where everyone is included and valued all positions carry equal weight and all students share equal value at this time I'd like to invite Miss
Ceden up to honor these students within the KDM peer mentor program miss Cedon runs point on our mentoring program providing guidance for the students as they cultivate a diverse and inclusive learning environment miss
[Applause] Creek good evening this year fifth graders were given the opportunity to be paired with students in self-contained classrooms they volunteered to join students at recess for various activities with the intention of fostering relationships and
providing support to their mentees during these visits mentors and their studies participate in games crafts reading and other play with the support of our dedicated staff assistants they have an important responsibility in our classes they act as good role models for behavior and socialization they provide
encouragement when learning new things but most importantly mentors offer friendship to their buddies these race recess periods provide opportunities for our students to be part of their school community mentors accept a leadership role and rise to the occasion every week these experiences don't end with recess
mentors are excited to see us in the halls and eager to stop for a high five or a quick chat they often stop by on their way to the bus or wait for us to walk by to greet the students even mentors classmates who have gotten to know our classes greet them every day
another example of how these opportunities benefit inclusion and building and building community our goal is to offer mentors an opportunity to have a leadership role and for personal growth these visits create an environment in which these groups can de develop mutually beneficial
relationships mentors are leaders in their school develop interpersonal skills build confidence learn about their buddy's education and become good citizens these students have been an important part of the day-to-day school experience and we are glad to have a chance to get to know them and appreciate all of their
efforts thanks thank you [Music] so we now have 15 students that we're honoring would it be okay to ask you to come up would you like to provide their certificate to them brian if you want to turn the podium you can you can do that
okay great thank you good catch all right so uh Lucille we worked on this a little bit right we'll come up then go to the right and All right so if you wanted to uh first up fifth grade Lucille Brock
[Applause] Carter Erisman Natalie Fenton Olivia Jesse Violet Lefave Riley Marvel Elizabeth Mcnchch
Emily Naylor Meadow Pageant Asha Patel Emma Rodriguez [Applause] All right Danielle Chavez
sophie Spitzley all right Jake Davinos all right my friend bring it home bryce Williams ladies and gentlemen the 2024-25 KDM peer
mentors all right first please what do we say thank you [Applause]
thank you Brian well the students said thank you to the board of education and on behalf of the board of education I would like to thank Mr rollins and his wonderful staff for the great job they're doing at KDM and I also want to just take a moment and actually students
students are you listening to me yeah okay how about how about a big round of applause for your parents because without them you wouldn't be here and I suggest that we take 10 minutes because all those cookies that are over
there should be gone in 10 minutes that means you have to eat a lot of cookies so with the permission of the board president we'll take a 10-minute break for cookies 10inut break go get them thank you very much everybody thank you parents and everyone for being here this evening my name is Dr richard Corbett
and I am the proud superintendent of Rockaway Township Public Schools i was just waving to some of our wonderful students as they were walking by and I'm so happy and pleased to say that when I walk through these halls and talk to these students in these six different schools I see students that
are learning and having fun and to me those are two very important qualities of a very very effective education birchwood is very special because it is truly a family atmosphere students come back year after year there's multi-generations that have attended
Birwood it is truly a loving community it's such a wonderful place to be our core values are the same as Rockaway Township heart honesty empathy acceptance respect and trust so we can focus on particularly on being kind what really resonates with me about this
school is that we put more value in developing personal growth versus comparison to others whether it be a difficult learning task or a challenging learning experience they learn to persevere and we can bring out something in themselves that they might not have seen before stony Brook is an amazing
place it really is and I think anybody who joins us whether it's full-time or visitors in the building just for a day uh you know I think echo that sentiment our staff is second to none they really put the kids first all the time and our students are exceptional as well it's a wonderful school community our PTA is
incredibly involved everything we do is well attended back to school nights our events and we have a very involved school community both academically working handin-hand with our teachers but also I think for extracurricular as well every student who goes through Rockaway
Township School District will graduate from Copeland before they go on to high school and we have an opportunity to instill core values into our students helping students develop into future leaders into being positive role models and citizens in our community our mantra we live by is no walls no limits because
being a school with no walls uh provides our students a great sense of community you just know you're walking into a special place when you come through our doors what keeps me coming back here every morning hugs from kids you know I love being outside in the morning at bus duty and having kids coming up and just
happy to see me teachers who I now share personal connections with because I've been here for 11 years as the principal so yeah I I think for me it's just being a part of something being a part of the team uh we're all very different but um but we we get along and you know we
support each other every morning I'm inspired by these children their energy their willingness to support and grow with one another is contagious the people I work with makes me come back every single day i hire a very unique and special educator and that permeates
throughout the building i have the easiest job in the world because I have the hardest working teachers in the world the thing that makes Scopland Middle School so great is truly the people it's the students it's the staff it's the community members it's the parent involvement it's the investment in making it a better place i come here
for the students i love the kids here they are amazing they're the best part of my day they're the best part of my week that's why I do what I do i'm proud to be the superintendent of Rockway Township Schools and we are thankful for all the support we have from our [Music]
community i truly believe in an educator being able to make a difference in the world it's so important to have a positive environment for a child to come to and teaching at Dubire is special
because we don't have walls i think social emotional learning is very important it gives us a chance to discuss our emotions and give kids a chance to practice that emotional dialogue and that helps the whole
child if you've never taught at another school and you come to Birchwood you honestly never want to leave Birchwood you walk into this building and it's a family we're all together we're all happy we're smiling nobody's cranky or miserable we're here together for each other one of the things that I love the
most about this position and this job is that I get to work with students of all ages now that we house preschool students here I see every single student in the building from preschool all the way through fifth grade and I get to work with them on a deeper level on a
way that inspires them not just to be confident in themselves but in what they love after teaching for 25 years I can't pinpoint one moment of time that is a story of why I come back every day any
good lesson makes me feel alive going to the soccer games the football games seeing my students outside the classroom i want the kids to feel at home and I feel the more comfortable that they are the relationship that we build together the better they're going to do in class not not only enjoy their time in class
but also take risks it's a really great environment here at KDM my co-workers are great the students every day they make me laugh one thing that I really work on in my classroom is growth mindset i did have a student that came in and really didn't like math they
were really negative self-talking saying that they can't do this and so basically throughout the whole year we worked on just changing that mindset one of the things that I'm really hoping to teach them more than anything else is about kindness and you know being good friends to each other one of my most favorite
success stories is a particular student when you know he would come into the classroom even right first thing in the morning his head would be down on that desk i've tried to instill intrinsic love for school intrinsic love for education and over time I've seen him pick that head up and that's why I do
what I do to have a kid come in and their school's a happy place for them and they want to [Music] come so we used to always start off with a growth mindset and we do a lot of lessons about how we are able to do
things that might seem hard like a harder task and I think that if we really teach our kids to be resilient and show grit in the face of a harder task then all the other academic challenges that they're faced with come a little bit easier our goal here is that every child is as comfortable in
class as they are at home and if they're ever in trouble they're ever concerned or worried that they have the tools available to them to be successful and to help each other be as successful as we know they can be we have really seen over the years an incredible increase in
their emotional maturity and in their abilities to deal with issues both in the playground and in the classroom and I really believe it's because our district's focus on SEAL over the last several years [Music] i am the steam teacher at Copeland
Middle School i really love to see the growth and the change to the students and what I really focus on is teamwork so the kids are always in teams we want to make sure everybody's feeling comfortable communicating their ideas i want kids to come to school and feel like this is their second home i
want them to come into my classroom and feel comfortable feel like they can be themselves they may not come here and love math but I want them to at least enjoy coming to math class years ago I had a sixth grade student who was absolutely petrified of mathematics and
I worked so carefully with her i gave her extra help just to have her overcome this fear and it was fabulous to see that aha moment when she finally got it and that is why I do what I do every day
so my name is Jackson my name is Mia my name is Mariah i think what awesome is about being in Birchwood is the um the like artwork that's on the walls like in school they have this like art thing where you go downstairs and like paint a
wall with the art teacher my favorite is recess my favorite thing is reading and just doing a bunch of fun stuff we get to do puzzle of the day and it's really
fun we get to watch videos at the end of the day my name is Carly and I am in fifth grade and I go to DVL yeah my name is Rehea i'm in first grade being at DVL is awesome because all the teachers here
are so great and so nice i like the teachers here they make it awesome here she teaches well and then she teaches us stuff which we have never learned my favorite subject is probably math
because I like all the challenges my favorite special is art class with Miss Takis plus drawing is my favorite thing what makes DBL unique is that everyone is so kind to each other and everyone cares about each other my name is Quink
i'm in the fifth grade hi my name is Arya i am in second grade what makes our school awesome is all the teachers we have here they help us every day all the janitors keep our school nice and clean all my friends that helped me since kindergarten and everybody just helps us
here because we are a really good community because of my friends the teachers and the principal like we read a book and then we do a project based on what happened in that story math is my favorite subject because the teachers always help us and it's fun but it can
be complicated but it's still really fun my favorite teachers are probably all of my teachers cuz I got really good teachers they have fun activities to do and their stories my first grade teacher got me into reading and she got me into chapter books in Juni V jones my
favorite subject is science in science you do lots of experiments and I think experiments are very fun every day I'm like happy at school when I came into sixth grade in Copeland where everything was new and different for me Mrs heath
she was especially really kind to me she still talks to me even though we don't really see each other that much and she gives me so much good luck for all the things that I do one teacher that made me feel special and cared for was my 7th grade LA teacher i used to dislike like
reading and writing and she really helped me understand and make that subject more fun i think the wire school is awesome because you can make a lot of friends here and there's good teachers math is my favorite because like you can learn
different things like times plus minus no matter where you come from or no matter what you like look like people will be friends with you and welcome you into the school um this is autism awareness month and
we're so happy to uh to take a moment and recognize uh all the good work that's being done in the district regarding our students um with disabilities and on that note I would invite Mrs petroski to come forward who is our director of student
services uh to introduce some very special people and some very important people who help our school and community hello everyone tonight I have the honor of introducing a a truly dedicated staff of teachers that we have here in
Rockaway Township um they working alongside their incredible support staff because we all know that to make these classes work and to help our students with disabilities it takes more than just an amazing teacher it takes a whole
team right so they work very closely along with their staff assistants and their team of related service providers OT PT speech BCBAS all of them together child study team they all work together
to provide a really great program that supports our students with autism here in Rockaway Township so now I would like to invite up Miss November Miss Duda Miss Renee Mr koig and Miss Allers so that they can provide an inside look at
autism awareness and what our classroom programs look like [Applause] the cookies was a was a good move because uh took a little bit of the
pressure off us what about those brownies so thank you uh board of education Dr corbett for allowing us you know once again to speak on behalf of our program uh briefly we're going to go into just
what autism is uh we'll go into our program what it entails the methods of teaching the people who deliver uh deliver the instruction and then we'll briefly go into the shift from autism awareness as it's kind of moved
into autism acceptance so what is autism spectrum disorder asd is a broad range of challenges which is typically categorized by um deficits in social skills students with repetitive behaviors they may have difficulties
with speech in variety of ways and they may use non-verbal communication throughout their day with their family and in school uh autism by the numbers uh one in 35 children in New Jersey are diagnosed with autism one in 36 children
nationwide one in 100 worldwide i think when the program started in 2002 we're about at one in 150 and when I first started in the field when I first started in the field
many many years ago uh I think the number was like one in a thousand so uh we could spend a whole meeting here talking about the reasons the factors uh but we're not here for that we're just here to show that the the rise uh has
been pretty dramatic through all the years um boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls um the average diagnosis is four years old and with increased awareness as well as the diagnostic tools uh it has increased uh
diagnosing as well so oh I'm short so here we go okay so common autistic traits can be categorized into four categories that we have seen i got this from someone else and I thought it was a great tool to show a lot of the different things that
you may see throughout all of the children that have autism so there are language differences they may have a speech and language delay they may have loss of words or regression they may have echalleia which is repeating of others and scripting which means they're just you know saying something over and over and over again that they may have
heard from somewhere else and that's typically when they're a little bit older over the age two and a half they label objects but struggle to ask for wants and needs they make errors with some of their different speech patterns they may repeat words or phrases they
may have um the tendency to take things literally so a lot of times when people are trying to have some type of humor that our students and everyone with autism they may not take they may not get the joke and they think whatever you say they're taking it literally they
also have social differences i'm not going to read all of these because you guys can see them all but just to go through some of the things inconsistent use of eye contact delayed pointing or showing they may prefer to play alone or have parallel play their facial expressions may be flat or exaggerated
they have difficulty recognizing social rules and boundaries which is a big one in schools is they you know they may not have the same expectations or understanding of the social rules within a school in regards to their interests and routines they may prefer to do things the same way or they struggle
with changes in routines and schedules so for us in the school it's very important to keep our schedules as consistent as we can because they do struggle when things are a little bit different even with a delayed opening and early dismissal it's exciting but we know for our students it's a struggle because the day is different and they
struggle with that they may enjoy diff collecting different items and setting up scenes they have highly independent um self-directed play and they are also one of the big ones is sensory differences they may be a selective or a picky eater they you know may dislike
hair washing brushing their hair their teeth cutting nail trimming they may prefer one type of clothing they don't like things with tags things like that and they may or have a higher low tolerance for pain so those are just some of the things you may see
throughout all of the children with autism and this is just one other slide to kind of just show the differences for all students with autism so autism is a spectrum but maybe not in the way you think typically what people think of when they hear autism is a spectrum they think you might be a little bit autistic
to very autistic and that's the range it's not really an accurate portrayal of the autistic experience this circle kind of shows a more realistic depiction of what autism may look like language difficulties sensory needs perception exe difficulties with executive functioning they may have specialized
interests and may have difficulties with motor skills and so one person's autism may look one way versus somebody else's they are going to target the deficits in different areas so every autistic person has their own experience and their own characteristics so this is just a quote that we found
from a 13-year-old so his goal was to live his life as a human being nothing is more important than being able to express myself which I think we can all relate to this is our team as we've talked about uh we have a lot of people that
work behind the scenes with us and work with us throughout the day but we range from preschool all the way to 8th grade um and combined we have 94 years of experience in the field um so we start in preschool um and these are three of our current eighth
graders that started with us in preschool and now have gone all the way through up to 8th grade um the preschool is housed at Birwood uh K uh kindergarten to fifth grade is at uh KDM which we saw today and then sixth to eighth grade is right here at
Copeland and many of our students do stay in program some of them get that ground basic skills to then move out of program so it's kind of fluid for them and inclusion is an active process where everybody is welcomed and included
and that's where we really strive to take our students students that are in these self-contained classes and push them into other programs when they're ready to work on those skills and social interactions okay so the basics of our program so we use um what's called beha
applied behavior analysis to guide our instruction and methodology um so we have support services that are infused into our program which include OT PT and speech and obviously our incredible pair of professionals that help our students throughout the school day um we have our
BCBAS or our behavior um behaviorists that um create and oversee behavior plans and um the data collection and we obviously have inclusivity from preschool all the way to 8th grade embedded into our program like we saw today with our peer mentor mentoring
program um and mainstreaming throughout all grade levels um and then at the um middle school level we have the um the um you um the I'm sorry the uh peer buddies and the unified
club um so what is ABA aba stands for applied behavior analysis it's a widely recognized um evidencebased uh program for the treatment of autism um it's therapy based and it's a science of learning and behavior um ABA is not
one-sizefits-all um it's very indivi individualized for all of our students um to meet them at their very specific needs um the goal of ABA is to increase positive behaviors and decrease negative um decrease behaviors that negatively
impact their learning um so it can include a variety of skills academic skills communication and language skills uh social skills self-care and play and leisure skills and some common strategies that we use
in ABA are prompting reinforcement and increasing functional communication um just to uh pair our pair of sorry our pair of professionals um they assist us in our classrooms and uh by providing direct and indirect uh instruction as
well as behavioral support data collection and uh collaboration each room in and of itself becomes a team and we all work together and our goal is the students so just some of the specialized interventions that we have just a couple
of pictures we have our occupational therapy we have our physical therapy we have our speech team and we also get visits from animal assisted therapy um where from Bright and Beautiful where we each have a dog that comes and visits on a by month a bi-weekly basis and at KDM
it's the same dog that comes and she's great and we love her and she the kids really enjoy having her visit and this is just inclusivity across the district what we have going on some of the pictures of the things that Mrs duda mentioned that we're doing in our schools so getting back to uh years ago
it used to be autism awareness month now the the push is kind of toward autism acceptance month this was a movement that came about with uh individuals with autism who were able to articulate their feelings on on the awareness piece so
you know anybody could just turn on the news and be aware of something you know we know that there's a lot of autism going on uh we know there's there's war halfway across the world and and you know you're just aware of it and there really doesn't there's no
action plan that that takes place with that and and those with autism thought that this focus on their symptoms focus on what the world perceived was wrong and in their mind you know they're looking at us we're trying to make them
fit into our world and they look at our world and say man why do I want to fit in that crazy world i'm really happy where I am so the the push is is away from the awareness part and as you see on the picture on the left side the awareness you know there's there's
somebody with autism and we know that so they push more towards the acceptance so we focus on the individual identify the strengths and the complexities uh you know our staff assistants know our our students some of their their strengths
it's it's amazing the things that they could do so uh the picture on the right it's more inclusive it's something that we see with our peer mentors the acceptance piece and we focus on the individuality and uh that's kind of the
shift away from the awareness into the acceptance piece and then finally uh the quote on the left is kind of what drives uh you know what we're doing here tonight with the presentation with awareness comes knowledge with knowledge comes understanding with understanding
comes acceptance so we hope by giving presentations having the public and community learn a little bit more that they'll understand a little bit more what you probably think is happening in that little scenario you see in the hallways at the grocery store it's
probably not the way you perceive it's not happening that way so with that a little bit more understanding there will come acceptance and then I think at KDM we're definitely on the right path with our peer mentors uh these are things that we we spoke about with the mentors
when the program first started like don't just be a mentor you know I told the students in my class at 12:00 on a Wednesday afternoon when you you come in be a mentor all day every day if you see our students in the in uh at a park at a
ball game uh you know be a good friend there but autism awareness is when you know who I am but acceptance is when you're glad to see me and that I think the culture at Kadium you could see that it's evident you you you know it's
authentic you can't fake that so uh I think the more uh the public understands the more our students understand there will be more acceptance and uh we thank you for this opportunity to
share with you thank you so much um and I learn something every time and every year this they come up and say something um they present and it's always insightful it always gives me a different perspective and I appreciate all the work that you're doing and all the care that you
have for all our students and particularly those who have um ch are challenged in a particular way it means so much to all of us and I know our board is very proud of the work that we do with our students with special needs in this district so thank you all very much
[Applause] all right sir are we good to We're good to go all right thank you again for that presentation it was very insightful and as seen multiple years now it's great to see it every year and we are as a board I I think I can speak wholly that we are
very proud of the program here very very proud so thank you for all that you do the next portion we'll move on to is public discussion during the course of the board meeting the Rockway Township Board of Education offers members of the public an opportunity to address issues regarding the operations of the Rockway Township Public Schools the board
reminds those individuals to take this opportunity to identify themselves by name and address and to limit their comments to items listed on the agenda and/or items directly related to the operations of the school district issues raised by members of the public may or may not be responded to by the board all comments will be
considered and a response will be forthcoming if and when appropriate the board asks that members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when speaking specifically comments regarding students and employees of the board are discouraged and will not be responded to by the board students and employees have specific rights afforded by the laws in
New Jersey the board bears no responsibility nor will be liable for any comments made by the members of the public members of the public should consider their comments in light of the legal rights of those affected or identified in the comments and be aware that they are legally responsible and liable for their comments in accordance
with board policy 0167 public discussion is limited to 15 minutes with a threeminute limit per person member of the public the board president shall have the right to modify the length of public discussion as he deems appropriate can I please have a motion to open to public comment so moved
seconded show hands please thank you is there anybody from the public who would like to come up to speak good evening hi I'm uh Joseph Statis i live in Rockway Township a resident for 27 years um I just wanted to find out if
the board has any idea of what the um changes in the Department of Education and the funding uh is going to have what kind of impact that might have on Rockaway Township thank you i'm so sorry i should not have taken a bite
um so at this time we don't have any specific guidance as to what effect these decisions will have on funding we have not been notified of any cuts to funding or any changes in funding um most of our federal dollars we don't get a notification on what we've received
until midsummer so at this point we're we're a bit in the dark um but we haven't received any guidance to expect any changes so unless we we do we're going to function under the assumption that we should receive similar to what we've received in the past um and if we get any information to the contrary uh
we will certainly share that with the public dana Tabadella 31 Omaha Avenue today at 4 p.m i attended the training charlene the presenter stated "The board needs to ask what message are you sending to students?" In accordance with the school
ethics act NJSA18A 1221 board of education members must avoid conduct which is in violation of the public trust or which creates a justifiable impression among the public that such trust is being violated i'd
like to read excerpts from the NJSBA fall 2024 volume 56 number two best practices for social media a guide for school board members engaging in discussions or end- endorsing political
candidates on social media can create conflicts of interest board members must be vigilant about maintaining impartiality and avoiding the appearance of impropriety prohibit negative engagement with the community emphasize the importance of maintaining
professionalism and decorum including prohibiting use of offensive language personal attacks or unprofessional behavior with that said it's extremely disheartening to see some board members posting inflammatory offensive photos and derogatory posts on social media
against our community members due to their religious beliefs stating "Go harass a child molester you will find one at your local church." or their political beliefs specifically community members who support our president calling them nutbag extremists and
right-wing crazies this is extremely unprofessional and shows a strong bias towards the majority of our community this creates a loss of trust and confidence in our board this type of behavior damages the board's reputation and erodess public confidence political
polarization within our board of education only leads to further divide and takes away our focus from our students i will remind you that this is a nonpartisan position while I respect individuals first amendment rights board members are held to a higher standard
what type of behavior are you modeling not only for our community but our students and I did bring one of the posts here there's been many but this is one that I can hand over to you and is and in their words I will not be quiet
so that you can be comfortable miss Slam we're going to mark this as receive correspondence and reflect that in the minutes yes [Music] good evening Mr hamini Mr corvett board
uh my name is Bob Nordon i live at 53 Kaunga Avenue i don't have any documentation with me to share with you um but I'm um I love Jesus Christ he is my savior and
I've served in the Navy i'm a veteran proudly and uh so I would just like to uh quote our first president a man's intentions should be allowed in some respects to plead for his
actions actions of leaders you should show that tells everything about you and I appreciate the work that you do please continue support the kids do the
right thing for them thank you thank you anybody else okay seeing no one else can I please have a motion to close to public comment so moved second show hands
please thank you moving on to communications are there any additional communications um so noting the one received tonight that was the only additional okay thank you move on to the approval of the minutes can I please have a motion to approve the
minutes so moved seconded all righty miss Slam can I please have a roll call vote mrs anderson yes mrs cury Laroo abstain
ms mcgiri yes Mrs mezik yes Miss Richardson yes Miss Torren yes Dr thomasini yes motion carries thank you Dr corvette your superintendence report please thank you Dr thomasini
once again I want to congratulate the Copeland Middle School Theater Company for wonderful performances of The Wizard of Oz on March 20th 21st and 22nd students performed marvelous marvelously and received standing ovations at the three soldout
shows recently Mr gell and I met with each principal to review I Ready data we have asked the principles to meet with each teacher who will meet individually with their students to review progress and steps towards meeting their I Ready goals i Ready is very effective when
implemented with fidelity i'm confident that our principles will successfully guide their staff toward continued implementation of I Ready mr bayer and I plan to visit each elementary school to prepare the incoming sixth grade students for
transitioning to Copeland Middle School our goal is to continue our work toward improving the culture and climate of Copa Middle School by setting high standards for behaviors and encouraging our youngest students to strive towards
excellence the CPAC meeting held on March 18th dealt with ADHD and included 25 attendees 15 were in person and 10 were virtual the participants were thoroughly engaged and asked me probing questions the next CPAC meeting is April
22nd and you're all invited and by the way you might notice above me there's a little bit of some bullet points I just put together so that the people who are listening to me can follow along a little bit easier from the 53 applications received for the Birwood principal position 16
candidates were interviewed and seven will move for an interview with the full committee we began April 8th and we have another interview round tomorrow April 10th i will make the final recommendation to the board at the April 30th board
meeting academy nights took place on April 1st and 2nd at Copa Middle School featuring the theme mastering math for K through uh K to two on the first night and grades three through five on the second night this year's focus was to align the presentations with the
academic programs outlined in the Rockway Township School District curriculum both sessions were very well attended and parents gained valuable insight into the I Ready pedagogical approach try discuss connect alongside key elements of the CPA approach which
is concrete pictorial abstract the final academy night of the year will be held on May 19th focusing on strategies to prevent summer slide culpa Middle School's unsung hero Jamie Lewis was recognized on April 2nd by the Morris County School Boards
Association at Morris Nolles High School the event recognizes exceptional students from around the county who are bright stars in their schools yet are often overlooked it was great to see so many attendees including and I thank Noel and Lisa Mezik noel Anderson and
Lisa for attending we have been informed by the Rockway Township Health Department that the New Jersey Department of Agriculture is planning to conduct gypsy moth aerial spraying in the northern section of the township we have been asked to provide a
1-hour no spray window during the day of of spraying i've explained to the township health officer Peter Tabet that one hour really is not sufficient however after relaying our concerns to the Department of Agriculture Mr tabet said that the department is insistent on
only a 1-hour period which cannot be extended i will keep the board informed regarding the final plans including the date and the exact no spray hour window uh the county superintendent uh Dr nancy Gartenberg and her team visited
the board office on Wednesday April 2nd to start Dr gartenberg um visited with the full uh me with the full CUSAC team and thereafter they continued the visit to
the board office and the rest of the school district also we think the visit went well and we are looking forward to receiving positive results the school calendar will now reflect the previously approved give back days unused snow days will apply as
follows may 23rd June 19th and June 20th the last day of school is June 18th which will be an early dismissal day and graduation day for Copa Middle School and a letter will go out to the community tomorrow so that everybody is aware that those are the giveback days
and those on those days there will be no school julisa Hansen was selected as the most qualified candidate for the position of assistant businesses administrator and she is here with us this evening she's on the agenda uh for approval this evening so we welcome
Julisa to the district and from our schools Birchwood Elementary School kicked off the spring season with a flurry of engaging and educational activities second and fifth grade students completed their Kolat testing and are now gearing up for the
New Jersey student learning assessments as these important assessments approach teachers have been diligently preparing students for the upcoming tests in addition to regular classroom activities students have been benefiting from the st school school's title one programs which offer extra assistance in math and
language arts before school wellness Wednesdays have become a highlight for Birwood staff fostering a sense of community and well-being among the teachers each Wednesday colleagues gather in the teachers lounge to enjoy healthy snacks and participate in mindfulness activities providing a
muchneeded respbit and rejuvenation during the busy school weeks the PTA has also been active organizing another successful paint night on March 28th led by Miss Dir Birwood's art teachers students and
parents came together to create beautiful spring themed paintings additionally the PTA f sponsored a fun and engaging assembly focused on the science and art of bubbles captivating students imaginations and enriching
their learning experience with a fun twist at DWI they have been working hard in preparing for the upcoming NJSLA students are focused and ready to meet the challenge in March the DWI fifth grade English teacher uh English
language arts teacher Miss Carly Ferrell accepted the shine shi educator of the year award for child and family resources miss Frell exemplifies the true meaning of their slogan carly is an educator who serves helps and inspires
nurtures and excels in everything that she does for her students within the Dwire family we could not be more proud of her accomplishments teachers and administration reviewed the implementation of I Ready the team discussed effective implementation strategies time on task student
motivation and building wide accountability the Dwire PTA has again begun uh been active with the literacy night the PTA supports the school by providing both meaningful and fun experiences finally after some time and significant
effort the electronic sign has arrived at Dwire and it arrived on April 1st so we're very happy that Dwire has the sign just not turned on yet it's not turned on yet well we have to pay the electric bill first megan yes we're very excited that it has
arrived and the electric is uh scheduled to be done soon but we have to wait till we can dig the trenches that need to be done to run all the wiring so we thank our maintenance team for their speedy work kdm teachers have been participating in the district-wide I Ready and Conquer
Math training while gearing up for the NJSLA testing next month additionally second and fifth graders completed their Kogat testing there were many occasions to celebrate including KDM becoming kindness certified due to their participation in the Great Kindness
Challenge the anniversary of the founding of the Girl Scouts was recognized parap Profofessional Day and National School Librarian Day kdm is currently celebrating autism awareness and acceptance which we talked about this evening k KDM's autism team shared
various resources and materials to promote inclusivity as well as coordinated an autism acceptance spirit week kdm fifth graders facilitated an educational and exciting literacy food truck festival that entertained parents and teachers alike with a creative
samplings of the books that they read the first graders hosted the bee lady for an engaging assembly to learn beef facts and how to investigate a beehive thanks Brian the KD the PTA hosted an enticing Scholastic
book fair as well as an awesome KDM rodeo talent show which was sold out the event was streamed and to date has over 790 views that's more than our board meetings
[Laughter] guess the PTA generously donated outdoor recess resource items just in time for the spring weather next month kdm looks forward to the spring concert and the all district fifth grade social the
Stonybrook annual talent show held on March 28th was a tremendous success students took the stage with outstanding performances showcasing their talents to a packed audience the Stony Stony Brook is grateful to the PTA and all the parent volunteers whose support made
this event possible after school academic clubs are in full swing including the Stony Brook Chess Club where students continue to sharpen their critical thinking skills meanwhile the Stonybrook Student Council has partnered with the PTA for the spring
into action food drive collecting kid-friendly food donations to support the Rockaway holiday wishes as the final trimester gets underway teachers remain committed to delivering rigorous and engaging instruction students of grades three through five are preparing for the
NJSLA next month and excitement is building for the Stonybrook Bookf Fair which kicks off on April 29th so it's a busy and exciting season for the entire Stony Brook community dbo recognized Women's History Month and activities to introduce
students to the achievements and contributions of women they enjoyed reading aloud about inspiring women in history from Rosa Parks to Amelia Heheart and many more highlighting their bravery and perseverance students also read um annotated texts about famous
women and created unique training cards featuring their these influential figures these beautifully designed cards are now proudly displayed on the DBO bulletin board additionally students completed a project where they drew pictures of assigned historical women
and wrote at least three facts about them creatively showcasing their learning the month concluded with the PTA sponsored talent show where students shined on stage sharing their incredible skills and talents with the entire school community it's a fantastic event
that highlighted the creativity and the confidence of the DVO students and thanks to all the parents who volunteered to put the event together finally Copeland Middle School has officially started the fourth marking period as mentioned the Copeland
Middle School Theater Company was at a was a huge hit congratulations to all the staff and students involved award-winning singer songwriter Jared Campbell visited Copula Middle School on Friday March 12th to share his message of resilience dependence uh dependency
and bully prevention bullying prevention through music the Copa Middle School baseball and softball season kicked off on Friday April 4th with a home opener at Peterson Field throughout April Copelan Middle School recognizes the month of the
military child by asking all staff and students to wear purple on Fridays while students will engage in activities during pause that acknowledge the sacrifices made by military families the sixth grade class enjoyed a backyard fun themed social on Friday April 4th and
thanks to the PTA and all the parent volunteers that make these events so special and that is my report almost oops forgot one thing hivs current under investigation so there's a total of 14
that are under investigation of the 14 12 were determined not to be an act of HIV two were substantiated um as HIVs uh one was at actually both were at DBO the two that were
substantiated and that is my report thank you thank you Dr corbett Miss Slam the business administrator's report thank you Mr president um on tonight's agenda under personnel you will see the appointment of my new assistant business administrator Jalisa Hazen our hiring process yielded many strong candidates
with nine total interviews in the first round out of 25 applicants jalisa quickly rose to the top of the candidate list and remained there solidly despite her competition i am very happy to recommend Jalisa's appointment to the board she brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience as well as very endearing and positive attitude i
believe she will be a great asset to the district in welcoming Jalisa I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge the departure of my supervisor of accounts Elizabeth Bender liz has an unparalleled work ethic and dedication which has served our district for over 30 years i've had the privilege of working with her for three of those years and I
cannot thank her enough for the support she has given me i knew in my first month with Liz what I now have to come to terms with which is her eventual decision to retire would be a massive loss for the district and specifically for me her consistent high-quality reporting and financial management is something I've come to rely on greatly
and her friendship is something I truly value so thank you Liz enjoy your extremely welldeserved retirement as we await our final results from the county regarding CUAC I want to thank my assistant Ann Yakavino for all of her work compiling the business office documents for review she took
charge of this significant task while I worked on their budget submission and I can genuinely say that I could not have done it without her i also want to thank our principles and their staff as well as the maintenance and custodial staff for working with me to ensure that the buildings met all of the code requirements and standards set forth by
CUSAC we received extremely positive feedback so I really appreciate all of their efforts finally I am pleased to announce that for a second year in a row the district has received the ASBO International Certificate of Excellence in Financial Accounting the COE award recognizes school districts that uphold
the highest standards of financial reporting and transparency the school district earned the certificate of excellence for its exemplary annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30th 2024 participation in the COE program highlights a school district's dedication to financial accountability
submitting our ACERS for rigorously uh review for rigorous review by a panel of experienced financial professionals who provide constructive feedback to further enhance the quality of our future reports districts that meet the program's stringent requirements are awarded the COE a distinction that also
supports bond ratings and continues um continued bond disclosure processes so it's a very good thing for us to have in our pocket and we're very proud and I'm very proud of my team for it um and finally our budget hearing is taking place on April 30th the next board meeting i would encourage everyone in
the public to attend brian maybe you can tell me how you got so many people to come to your events they can come to my budget hearing um because it's equally exciting I promise um but no I would I would definitely encourage everyone to attend and ask questions and um you know I it's my one time a year where I get to
talk as long as uh our superintendent so I'll just make a note of that thank you so ends my report thank you very much Miss Slam student services report please hello good evening again well as you've heard we have been
celebrating Autism Acceptance Month but um specifically on April 2nd all of our Rockway Township schools celebrated autism acceptance together on one day um all the staff and students we all dressed in red in honor of autism
acceptance because while you heard about our amazing programs that we have specifically for those students the reality is that we have students on the autism spectrum in all of our buildings in all of our programs from fully general education some have 504s and
some have IEPs and some are self-contained so we came together to really support them and I'm extremely proud as we all are of the continued efforts of all of our teachers and our staff to support all of our students here as we near the conclusion of our
work with the New Jersey Preschool inclusive education project down at Birwood Elementary School in our preschool I'm very honored that tomorrow I have the opportunity to share our success at the preschool inclusion leadership conference um our goal
tomorrow is to assist other New Jersey school districts to enhance their inclusion opportunities for their preschool students as well because the staff at Birchwood have done such an incredible job so we've been invited to share with our success um as Dr corbett mentioned our
monthly CPAC meeting our next one is going to be held on April 22nd from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m at the Copeland Library um in response to the community feedback that we've gotten this meeting is going to focus on really creating a space for
families and community members to come together and share their information so we will be having parents presenting to share some of their specific experiences having children with IEPs and really create a space where they can work together and make those networking
connections finally I would like to invite everyone in the Rockway Township community to join us at our community wellness fair the fair will be held at Copeland Middle School on May 11th from 5:30 to 7:30
this event will offer an opportunity for community members to connect with a variety of valuable resources so every a lot of we've been in touch with a lot of the different resources out there that are willing to come in and share their
information with our community members we are going to offer on-site child care uh in order to give parents an opportunity to engage with those providers and gather that important information pizza and snacks will be
provided by Mashios so of course come for the free food uh ice cream is going to be donated by Dover Dairy we appreciate their support as well and very exciting face painting will be offered by students from the Morris County Vocational School so we're
excited to partner with them give them the opportunity to practice some of their skills and offer something fun for our students here this event is made possible through a collaborative event between Rockaway Township CPAC and the Rucker Behavioral Health and it's a
completely free event so we really hope to see everyone there please look out for the flyers we will send them out through email text message it'll be on our website as well uh Katie yes double check the date
that's Sunday Mother's Day well then it's not that I didn't think so it's okay is it 13th i think I said 13th right okay good thank you Katie yes May 13th okay thank you i should have had the flyer with me instead of my notes thank you everyone that's great okay so
we we know great thank you thank you Miss Petroski 5:30 to 6 5:30 to 7 all right on to committee reports are there any committee updates i have one the education committee met on March 26th at 4 p.m um at the central office in
attendance was Dr corbett Mr ganella Mrs petroski myself Miss Torren and Miss Richardson um Mrs mrs bashowski came in the beginning to talk to us about the um Rucker school-based program the costs are continuing to rise and it's not
quite sustainable so the um administration has made the recommendation that we revise that current plan but continue to offer counseling services to our students and work with the families to provide alternate resources to save the district some money um we went over KDM's
mid-year review of I Ready um KDM's doing phenomenally well with their I Ready scores as are all the districts there was a I Ready reset PD we were um learned about that was held for grades two and five at Stonybrook
and grades K one and two after that um I guess that just the teachers needed some time to relearn some of the things clarity refreshers some new teachers got to work with the program there's also a separate reading curriculum for the LLD and Multiply disabled
population some new changes that we were informed of the there's going to be report card changes in grades four and five the elementary schools will still operate on a trimester basis but to better prepare the students for middle school they'll now have grades 50% of
their grade will be based on assessments which include tests quizzes and major projects 40% will be applied learning tasks so that would be classwork labs or performance-based work and 10% homework the teachers in grades four through five
the lead teachers came together and developed that formula um this we're going to have a linkit intervention manager system that will begin in September and that will offer parents a streamlined process to ensure consistency on that link system parents
will be able to track their children's attendance their Fontispanel reading scores their NJSLA data and it should overlap with Genesis um our next meeting is going to be on the Monday the 28th
thank you thank you i have a brief update from the negotiations committee the negotiations committee met on April 3rd for the second joint session with the Rockaway Township Bus Drivers Association the party signed a tenative agreement on some items and discussed
proposals as well as salary and our next meeting is scheduled for April 22nd 2025 thank you i have as well can you hear me yes okay great um so the policy committee sorry
the policy committee made met on March 25th um it was Allison uh Jamila myself and Dr corbett uh we discussed some of the final policies of the most recent alert um 234 which was uh policy 2365
acceptance use of AI which we hunted over to the education committee because really that's going to fall more into their wheelhouse and may have an impact to our code of conduct um we also discussed um policy 5111 which is eligibility of resident non-resident status and this was something where the
the policy committee unfortunately didn't have quite the recommendation because what the policy is is the policy says that um or could say that either uh certificate uh uh teachers or or teachers without a certificate uh that
live out of district could potentially have their children within our district at cost at no cost and so this is something where we have to explore it a little deeper with the board um so looking to definitely kind of set some time up so we can ensure that we have that discussion together as a board and
then also within public so more to come on that and then uh as well we had uh spoke about uh policy 9163 which really talks to it's community it talks to um in I guess public behavior at uh our school
sporting events and so there are some disciplinary actions I'll say air quotes with that um related to those items or those behaviors and so that's something we definitely want to explore a little bit more in terms of of what the response would be for certain um poor
behavior within sporting events and then finally we spoke about um policies two uh 3233 and 4233 political activities in schools um that was something that we actually wanted to engage our council a little bit with more um but
unfortunately because I've yet gotten another cold for my children I am not there to do so um so certainly more to come on that um also just wanted to make a note um because I I I'm hearing what the community is is discussing um both in our meetings and outside of our
meetings and so I just want to call the board's attention to policy 0169.02 O2 which is a policy that covers boardsman uh board behavior on social media and so that just might be something that would be informative to board members to review um other than that um pretty soon
I'm going to be working on um updating our table of contents uh to make sure that the table of contents matches our actual policies um and finishing up uh our um interactive guide to policies and action items for our policies thank you
Chrissy can can you hear me yes I can thanks i did this noel I did bring up the um with Mr reganella we talked about the policy regarding AI right now the school administration
thinks that they're covered by the acceptable use policy um we were hoping Dr corbett that maybe we could see how the teachers feel and particularly the middle school um before we make any recommendations to policy change since
it does give choices for those that we could see like what are they encountering and like what what do they see as the needs that they specifically have sure and perhaps I can speak to Mr canella prior to bringing it to the teachers so tomorrow I'll meet with
Alonso about how we could bring that to the teachers to get their their sense thank you yeah and it's not a mandatory policy so it's a recommendation so it's not something that's urgently needed to be um within our our um our policy so just know that we do have time and and
it's not it's something that we can decide altogether not to adopt right i don't want to speak on Mr ganell's behalf but he seemed to think that while it's still not mandatory maybe it's changing so quickly that maybe we wait and
see how things go um we right now I think there's a there's a a tool being explored for AI to help teachers translate documents that go home to parents who speak
multiple languages um so we'd want teachers to have use of things like that but not necessarily elementary school students where they're if AI takes away from the learning target or middle school like if they're supposed to learn how to write
something we don't want AI to do it for them yeah I think it's it's you know one of those things that's kind of you get stuck in the middle right because I know that you know one we certainly don't want you know for instance our our students using co-pilot to write reports but at the same time somehow we have to
build awareness because this is the um you know this is the age of it I mean I I can't tell you how many AI tools I use at work you know and certainly I want the kids to at some point be set up for success and just at least understanding what's out there and the capabilities um
so uh so definitely food for thought for that but I look forward to seeing what what the you know education committee comes back with or or you know uh Ganella as well yes we'll be continuing to talk about it thank you
uh for community outreach we met on April 7th at 4:30 um in attendance me um Miss McGaryi uh Dr thomasini Dr corbett Peter Kimbasa from our architects and Mrs slam we had an update from our
engineers they're going to be discussing uh details of analysis of their recent surveys with the D NJ on Friday um our architect will attend the meeting as well um we're going to be having a
referendum information update regarding um things that we've considered um April 30th our next scheduled meeting is May 13th thank you and for the operations committee the operations committee met on March 25th at 4 pm we met virtually
uh in attendance for that meeting was u Mrs anderson Miss Richardson Miss Slam Dr corbett and myself uh what we discussed at that meeting uh was the operations committee description which we all approved uh which was being placed on our website um under committee
descriptions additionally uh we discussed a KDM inc incident a motor vehicle incident that uh that had occurred and was uh taken care of and then we also discussed the uh the finalization which tonight we'll be voting on uh for the assistant business administrator uh I would like to
recommend to the committee our next meeting for April 29th availability i'm preparing my presentation what's that that's That's when I'm preparing my presentation practicing do we want to do the 22nd no I'm only I'm
only kidding yes I can do the 29th 29th i can do Yes okay good all right fine uh well let's uh let's do 4:30 okay all right that's the end of the uh committee reports next up section seven
recommended for board action we'll start off with alpha personnel being that it's personnel there's no board discussion so can I please get a motion to approve the personnel items so move second thank you miss Lamb can I please have a roll call vote on personnel items yes you may mrs
anderson yes mrs kiru yes ms mciri yes mrs mzik yes ms richardson yes miss Torren yes dr thomasini yes motion carries and it carries miss Lamb if you'd like to yes um Jalisa if you'd like to come up and say a few words
congratulations hello everyone good evening i want to extend my sincerest gratitude to the board Megan Slam and Dr corbett for the opportunity to join the district and be a part of your vision to assist in the
district's continued success i am 100% committed to my role and eager to be under the guidance of Megan thank you guys thank you thank you all right moving on to Bravo HIB recommend or HIV determination excuse me can I please have a motion to approve
the HIV determinations so moved seconded all righty uh just for clarification here what we are we currently have is number 285880 is unconfirmed 286387 is confirmed 286527 is unconfirmed
286-972 is confirmed 287038 is confirmed 287061 is unconfirmed 287165 is confirmed 287417 is confirmed 287418 is confirmed 287593 is
unconfirmed 287594 is unconfirmed 287595 is unconfirmed 287848 is confirmed 287928 is unconfirmed 287950 is confirmed 287967 is
unconfirmed 288144 is confirmed 288190 is confirmed 288191 is confirmed and 288663 as unconfirmed can I please have a roll call vote mrs anderson yes Mrs
kira Laroo yes Miss Mciri yes Mrs messi yes Miss Richardson yes Miss Tor yes Dr thomasini yes motion carries thank you moving on to Charlie Education can I please have a motion to approve e uh education recommendations please so
moved second you guys have got to stop doing this thank you okay is there any board discussion on education i can open it to the public if there's anybody from the public that would like to discuss education
seeing none can I please have a roll call vote mrs anderson yes mrs kur Laroo yes miss Mciri yes mrs mzik yes ms richardson yes miss Torren yes dr thomasini yes motion carries thank you moving on to Delta Special Education can
I please have a motion to approve special education recommendations so moved seconded now I've been scared to move it thank you any board discussion on special education is there anybody from the public that would like to comment on
special education seeing none can I please have a roll call vote mrs anderson yes miss Kuru yes miss Mciri yes mrs mzik yes miss Richardson yes miss Torren yes dr thomasini yes motion carries thank you
moving on to echo administration can I please have a motion to approve administration recommendations please so moved seconded thank you any board discussion would anybody from the public
like to comment on administration seeing none can I please have a roll call vote mrs anderson yes mrs kuru yes ms mcgiri yes mrs messi yes miss Richardson yes miss Torren yes dr thomasini yes motion carries thank you
moving on to Foxtrot Finance can I have a motion to approve finance recommendations please so moved seconded second thank you any board discussion on finance is there anybody from the public that
would like to comment on finance seeing none can I please have a roll call vote mrs anderson yes mrs kuru yes miss McGuri yes mrs messi yes miss Richardson yes ms torren yes dr thomasini yes motion carries thank you
moving on to G policy recommendations can I please have a motion to approve the policy recommendations so moved second thank you any board discussion no I just want to call out that you know just for the public's sake that the regulations only go up for first read so
they will not be going up for a second read i know that's been some confusion in the past thank you for that clarity yes these are roll first read all right anybody from the public seeing none can I please have a roll call vote mrs anderson yes mrs miss Carol Laroo
yes miss Mcgiri yes mrs messi yes miss Richardson yes miss Torren yes dr thomasini yes motion carries thank you in accordance with board policy 0167 public discussion is limited to 15 minutes with a 3minut limit per member of the public the board president shall have the right to modify the length of
public discussion as he deems appropriate can I please have a motion to open to the second public comment so moved seconded thank you show hands please all right is there anybody from the public that would like to make a comment
of the second public comment all right seeing none can I please have a motion to close the public comment so moved second show of hands please thank you moving on to section seven any old
business miss Messi i just wanted to comment on Copeland's Wizard of Oz play i was lucky enough to see it on the first day um it opened and it was awesome um very talented staff and and his efforts went into that uh the second item I wanted to come on is the Mars
County School Board Associate unsung hero ceremony last week just wanted to echo uh Dr corbett's congratulations to Rockway Township unsung hero Jamie Lewis thank you very much anything else under old business uh this
was brought up by Christy last meeting uh Copeland Middle School PTA is losing all of its executive board and nominations for new board PTA board members if anybody watching is interested are due on the 11th of this
month without a president and a treasurer a PTA can't operate so hopefully we have some interested people thank you very much that's a very great point if anybody's interested please sign up yeah I actually had that on my
list because we have multiple PTAs who are in need of board members um PTA board members can only run for two terms and then they can't run anymore so even those who may want to stay on for the full duration of their their children's um education at the particular school can't do it um I also just wanted to
make a note that I had um stopped by the traps at Dwire um this past week I believe um and it was just amazing to see what these kids came up with and uh I mean some of the items they were selling were so professionally done and so I just wanted to give a big
congratulations to them um just for you know a marketplace well put on thank you awesome thank you very much do we have any new business mrs messik I just would like to draw attention to
the Mars County School Board Association 3rd annual Nancy Hellborg Memorial Awards and Recognition Ceremony that will take place May 7th at Mount Olive High School so everyone's welcome to attend thank you very much
yeah um Erin I wanted to uh also just mention um as a piggyback to the new business I guess from the education committee with regard to grades for fourth and fifth grade there are some policy implications to that so we might want to just take a look um and ensure there's a homework policy particularly
that talks about um in the grades uh lower than fifth grade believe the um uh homework grade only being a behavioral um type grade whereas uh sixth and above is what the temp is no more than 10% so just want to make sure that we're
mindful of the different policies that might impact and I would assume that any changes like that to you know our district would be something that would come up for approval through the board um though I could be wrong so I just want to throw that out there just to think about it so we can kind of try to do that concurrently thank you
thank you very much any other new business all right seeing none uh we have no need to go back into executive session so on to adjournment can I please have a motion to adjourn this meeting second that was quick show of hands
please meeting is adjourned at 204 thank you very much everybody have a great night thank you i know Stephen
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