[00:00:02] I'D LIKE TO CALL TO ORDER THE BUSINESS MEETING OF THE PELHAM BOARD OF EDUCATION OF SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2023. [2. Public Session - 7:30 p.m.] PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. ALLEGIANCE]. AND I'LL ASK MR. ROWE FOR A REITERATION OF THE EXECUTIVE SESSION MOTIONS. WE ENTERED EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISCUSSING THE RECORDS OF INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS. OKAY. SO WELCOME TO EVERYBODY. WE'VE GOT A LOT OF EXCITING ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND RECOGNITIONS TONIGHT AND LOOKING FORWARD VERY MUCH TO OUR THE RESULTS OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I THINK WE'LL MOVE THROUGH OUR AGENDA AND GET TO THE FUN RECOGNITIONS. DEFINITELY. SO NEXT, REAL FAST, WE'LL DO MINUTES TO HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM SEPTEMBER [3. Approval of Minutes] 13TH. SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ABSTENTIONS? NO. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT. [4.1 Student Recognition] WE'VE GOT A FULL HOUSE FOR VERY EXCITING REASONS. IT'S ALWAYS A NICE WAY TO START OFF THE YEAR WE HAVE. THERE'S KIND OF A CERTAIN FLOW TO THE YEAR. CERTAIN RESULTS TEND TO COME IN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, WHICH MAKES THIS EARLY SEPTEMBER MEETING VERY EXCITING FOR US, ESPECIALLY IN THESE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. I'M STALLING A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE WE DO HAVE SOME PEOPLE ON THE WAY, BUT WE ARE GOING TO DIVE INTO SOME OF OUR RECOGNITIONS BECAUSE I DO APPRECIATE THE TIME THAT FAMILIES HAVE TAKEN TO BE HERE TONIGHT. WE KNOW EVERY NIGHT IS IMPORTANT TO OUR STUDENTS AND ESPECIALLY THE STUDENTS THAT TEND TO BE RECOGNIZED IN THESE TYPES OF ACHIEVEMENTS ARE THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE INVOLVED IN SO MANY THINGS AND THEIR MINUTES ARE I THINK THEY PROBABLY HAVE ABOUT 28 HOURS IN EVERY DAY, WHEREAS THE REST OF US HAVE 24. SOMEHOW THEY DO IT AND DO IT SO AMAZINGLY. SO TONIGHT WE'RE HERE TO RECOGNIZE TWO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES. WE'LL START OFF WITH TWO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF STUDENTS WHO WERE RECOGNIZED THROUGH THE NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP. AND THIS COMPETITION IS BASED ON RESULTS OF THE PSAT THAT WAS ADMINISTERED LAST YEAR. I'M GOING TO INVITE MR. BERKOWITZ TO JOIN ME FOR THIS. AS BUILDING PRINCIPAL. I KNOW THIS IS A BIG EFFORT IN THE HIGH SCHOOL. EVERY YEAR WE DO ADMINISTER AND WE'VE GOT THE DAY COMING UP. I BELIEVE IT'S OCTOBER 11TH IS GOING TO BE OUR NEXT FULL PSAT ADMINISTRATION. SO WE DO A WHOLE SPECIAL SCHEDULE THAT DAY TO ENABLE THIS BECAUSE IT'S A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR THE STUDENTS. IT GIVES THEM AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT'S LIKE TO TAKE THAT PSAT AND FUTURE SAT, BUT ALSO ENABLES THEM TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION. SO WE'RE GOING TO START WITH OUR SEMIFINALISTS BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL HERE. THE SEMIFINALIST CATEGORY IS AN OUTSTANDING GROUP. I DON'T HAVE MY NOTES TO TO REALLY TALK ABOUT HOW ELITE THAT GROUP IS. I THINK EVERYONE SAW THE COMMUNICATION THAT WENT OUT. WE ARE THRILLED ALWAYS TO HAVE STUDENTS TO REACH THIS LEVEL BASED ON THEIR SCORES FROM THAT ASSESSMENT THAT POSITIONS THESE STUDENTS TO THEN BE ABLE TO APPLY TO BE FINALISTS AND TO CONTINUE IN THAT APPLICATION PROCESS TOWARDS POTENTIAL SCHOLARSHIPS. SO WE'RE PLEASED THEIR FAMILY AND THEY ARE HERE TO JOIN US TONIGHT AND WE WOULD LOVE TO INVITE THEM EACH TO COME UP. WE'D ASK YOU TO STAY UP HERE. SO ONCE WE GET THE WHOLE GROUP, WE'LL TAKE A NICE PHOTO. AND IF YOUR PARENTS WANT TO COME UP, WE'LL DO SOME PHOTOS THERE, TOO. AND WE JUST REALLY WANT TO COMMEND EACH OF YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK, YOUR DEDICATION, YOUR PREPARATION, AND REALLY THE FOCUS THAT YOU PUT IN TO COME AND TO REALLY ACHIEVE THINKING FORWARD ABOUT THOSE DOORS THAT THIS MAY OPEN FOR YOU. SO CONGRATULATIONS TO EACH OF YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS TO YOUR FAMILIES WHO WERE THERE TO SUPPORT YOU THROUGH THIS. SO FIRST OFF, WE WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE AND INVITE UP BENJAMIN KOFF, NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP SEMIFINALIST. STAY NEXT TO MR. BERKOWITZ. IT'LL BE GREAT. OUR NEXT NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS, BROOKE LUCE. NEXT FOR NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS, PADRAIC PEARLMAN. AND OUR FOURTH SCHOLARSHIP SEMIFINALIST JAMES BLACKBURN. [00:05:03] SO THESE ARE NAMES YOU SHOULD BECOME FAMILIAR WITH BECAUSE YOU'LL PROBABLY BE HEARING THEM A LOT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. SO WE DO HAVE WITH US JUST TO KEEP THE NATIONAL MERIT FOLKS UP HERE, ACTUALLY. ALEX, DO YOU WANT A PICTURE OF THE. OKAY, LET'S DO A QUICK PHOTO OF THE SEMIFINALIST AND THEN WE'LL GO TO OUR COMMENDED STUDENTS. WELL. CONGRATULATIONS. BEFORE YOU, WE HAVE TO RESURRECT SOMETHING. STAY FOR A PARENT PHOTO. THE BOARD DOESN'T OFTEN GET A CHANCE TO INTERACT SO MUCH IN THESE FUN THINGS. SO IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, WE'D LIKE TO GO AROUND AND INSTEAD OF A HANDSHAKE BECAUSE IT IS COVID TIMES, MAYBE WE COULD BE THE STUDENTS COME AROUND AND DO A LITTLE FIST BUMP WITH EVERYBODY AT THE DAIS. OKAY, A LITTLE THANK YOU. CELEBRATORY FIST BUMP SO YOU WOULDN'T GO AROUND THE BACK. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I'M SO PROUD OF YOU. I BELIEVE WE ALSO NOW HAVE A MOST OF OUR COMMENDED STUDENTS. SO COMMENDED LEVEL IS ANOTHER LEVEL OF ACHIEVEMENT WITHIN THE SAME NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM BASED ON, AGAIN, THEIR PSAT RESULTS. SO, WE HAVE FOUR COMMENDED STUDENTS THAT WE ARE VERY PROUD TO RECOGNIZE AS WELL. AND AGAIN, WE THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL OF YOUR EFFORTS, YOUR DILIGENCE, YOUR HARD WORK AND HOW YOU REPRESENT YOUR SCHOOL. SO WITH SUCH EXCELLENCE. SO OUR FIRST HONOREE IN THE COMMENDED CATEGORY IS VIVIAN GU. OOPS. SORRY. A LITTLE BIT OUT OF ORDER. THERE'S VIVIAN GU. NEXT WE HAVE ISAAC LEAF. THAT'S RIGHT. ISAAC COULD NOT BE WITH. WOULD YOU BE KIND ENOUGH? THANK YOU. ALSO, CHARLES KEY IS NOT ABLE TO BE WITH US AT THIS POINT, SO WE'LL GIVE THAT TO MR. BERKOWITZ TO SHARE WITH HIM AS WELL. AND CONGRATULATIONS TO CHARLIE AND OUR FOURTH MERIT, COMMENDED STUDENT ADITYA ROY. STAY HERE FOR A PHOTO WITH US AS WELL. ALL RIGHT. CONGRATULATIONS TO THOSE STUDENTS. NEXT, WE MOVE INTO EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE IN THE ARTS. THIS IS A NEAR AND DEAR ONE TO MY HEART. OF COURSE, HAVING BEEN A FORMER MUSIC TEACHER. SO WE WERE VERY PLEASED AND PROUD THIS YEAR TO HAVE TWO STUDENTS WHO WERE RECOGNIZED AND SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ALL-STATE CHORUS. WE'RE REALLY EXCITED FOR THEM. ONE OF THEM IS WITH US TONIGHT, AND WE ARE VERY PLEASED TO TO HONOR HER TONIGHT. YOU PROBABLY HEARD HER SING AT THE WINTER CONCERT LAST YEAR. I'M SURE SHE'LL BE A FEATURED SOLOIST IN THE YEAR TO COME. SO PLEASE JOIN ME IN CONGRATULATING GRACE KIAM. AND I DO REMEMBER SEEING GRACE IN A MUSIC LESSON, AND I THINK LIKE FIFTH GRADE. [00:10:06] I REMEMBER THE BAND ROOM AT SIWANOY, IF I REMEMBER. YEAH. YEAH. TIME FLIES. WE HE'S NOT HERE AT THIS TIME, SO I'LL SHARE THIS WITH MR. BERKOWITZ, BUT ALSO OUR SECOND ALL-STATE CHORUS STUDENT THAT WAS SELECTED WAS ANDREW SCOTT. SO PROUD OF . OKAY. OKAY, FOR OUR NEXT HONOR, I'M GOING TO ACTUALLY INVITE DR. CALLAHAN TO JOIN US UP HERE. YOU KNOW, I WON'T MAKE YOU SAY ANYTHING. YOU CAN JUST JOIN US IF YOU'D BE SO KIND. I KNOW I SAID THIS LAST YEAR, AND I'VE BEEN SCARED TO SAY IT. I WAS IN THE CLASSROOM FOR TEN YEARS. I'VE BEEN AN ADMINISTRATOR FOR 20 YEARS. AND IN MY FIRST 18 YEARS AT AS AN ADMINISTRATOR, MOSTLY AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL, MOSTLY DEALING WITH HIGH SCHOOLS. NEVER HAVE I EVER SEEN PERFECT SCORES ON AP EXAMS. LAST YEAR WAS THE FIRST ONE WITH AN AP PERFECT SCORE. NEVER DID I EXPECT TO. FOR TWO YEARS. FOR THIS YEAR. TO US TO HAVE A SECOND PERFECT SCORE ON AN AP EXAM FROM A PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT. SO TODAY WE'RE WE'RE REALLY PLEASED TO WELCOME AND TO HONOR NOT JUST THE STUDENT, BUT ALSO THE TEACHER, BECAUSE NONE OF US GET WHERE WE ARE WITHOUT THOSE WHO MENTOR AND LEAD US AND TEACH US. SO PLEASE WELCOME AND JOIN ME IN CONGRATULATING TEACHER JAMES ROGERS OF TEACHERS OF THE AP COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES AND HIS PERFECT SCORING STUDENT, JAMES BLACKBURN. AND I WANT YOU TO STAY UP FOR A PHOTO TWO. AND OF COURSE, DR. CALLAHAN HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN BRINGING THAT COURSE TO BE AT THE HIGH SCHOOL. AND THANK YOU TO THE BOARD AND PRIOR BOARDS WHO HAVE FUNDED THE EXPANSION OF OUR STEM PROGRAMING THAT HAVE ENABLED THIS PROGRAM TO BE. MR. ROGERS CAN'T BE WITH US TONIGHT. HE'S BEEN A FOUNDATIONAL TEACHER IN BUILDING OUR TECHNOLOGY COURSEWORK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL, SO WE'RE INCREDIBLY THANKFUL FOR HIM, PROUD OF ALL THE WORK THAT HE DOES WITH HIS STUDENTS. THIS COURSE HAS ONLY BEEN ONLINE FOR THREE YEARS. YEP, WE HAD REALLY ONE SECTION THAT WAS KIND OF FLOUNDERING AND WE'RE UP TO FOUR FULL SECTIONS OF AP COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR OUTSTANDING WORK. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. I TOLD JAMES WE MAY NEED HIM TO DO AN AI WORKSHOP FOR US. SO WE HAVE ONE MORE SPECIAL HONOR TONIGHT. [4.2 Colonial Elementary School Recognition] AND WE HAVE A GROUP THAT'S MOVED DOWN TO THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL. THE FOUNDATION OF WHAT WE DO. AND WE WERE THRILLED THIS YEAR TO BE NOTIFIED BY THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OF CANDIDACY BACK IN THE SPRING. I THINK IT WAS. AND TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, THAT IS BASED ON STATE ASSESSMENT SCORES. SO THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. EACH YEAR ALL THE STATES SUBMIT THEIR SCORES FOR ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, AND THEY SELECT THOSE SCHOOLS THAT ARE THE TOP IN ACHIEVEMENT AND SCHOOLS THAT ARE TOP IN GROWTH AND COULD BE BOTH. SO WE WERE INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY PROUD AND HONORED THIS YEAR TO BE RECOGNIZED AND TO BE RECOGNIZING TONIGHT THE PRINCIPAL AND SOME OF THE CORE FACULTY THAT HELPED WITH THAT APPLICATION FROM COLONIAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. I'M GOING TO INVITE THEM ALL UP NOW. OUR BLUE RIBBON AWARD WINNING COLONIAL SCHOOL. [00:15:03] SO. PRINCIPAL RACHEL GARCIA. KATHLEEN MCCARTHY. THAT'S ALL I CARE ABOUT. THE NATIONAL BLUE RIBBON IS AN INCREDIBLY PRESTIGIOUS AWARD. WE WERE SO PROUD TO HAVE OUR FIRST BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL HERE IN PELHAM. I'M PROBABLY GOING TO START A TREND, BUT REALLY JUST EXCITED AND SO APPRECIATIVE TO THE SCHOOL FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THAT THEY DO DAY IN, DAY OUT. LIKE THEY LITERALLY WORK MAGICAL MIRACLES IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. AND THEY ESPECIALLY THROUGH THESE LAST YEARS WITH THE PANDEMIC, THE AMAZING WORK THAT WAS GOING ON IN THE CLASSROOMS WAS JUST EVIDENT IN ALL THEY DID. EVERY CHALLENGE THAT CAME THEIR WAY, THEY MET IT EVERY CHILD WITH A NEED. THEY WERE RIGHT THERE TO MEET THAT NEED WITH THEM. I'M GOING TO PUT MS. GARCIA ON THE SPOT FOR JUST A MOMENT. I WARNED HER I WAS GOING TO. IF YOU COULD JUST SHARE WITH US A LITTLE BIT WHAT THE PROCESS WAS LIKE AS BEING SELECTED AND IDENTIFIED BY SCORES WAS ONLY THE FIRST POINT. THERE'S AN ENTIRE APPLICATION PROCESS TO BE RECOGNIZED, AND I WILL SAY THAT WE DO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO WASHINGTON, D.C., IN NOVEMBER. I WILL BE PUTTING THAT LEAVE FORM IN SHORTLY SO THAT WE CAN RECEIVE THAT HONOR FROM THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION. THANK YOU. SECRETARY OF EDUCATION. SO, PRINCIPAL GARCIA, IF YOU COULD COME WITH ME, SHARE, SHARE WITH US HOW YOU WHAT THIS JOURNEY LOOKED LIKE FOR YOU. OKAY. SO FIRST AND FOREMOST, I JUST WANT TO I THINK I CAN SPEAK ON BEHALF OF ALL OF US AT COLONIAL WHEN I SAY HOW INCREDIBLY PROUD WE ARE, OUR FACULTY, STAFF, OUR STUDENTS, JUST TO BE RECOGNIZED AS A BLUE RIBBON SCHOOL. WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH, THOUGH, TO BE THE SCRIBES, RIGHT? TO BE THE SCRIBES THAT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOWCASE ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS AND CELEBRATE ALL THE GREAT THINGS THAT WERE HAPPENING AT COLONIAL, BUT ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CELEBRATE ALL THE WONDERFUL AND GREAT THINGS THAT ARE REALLY JUST HAPPENING IN ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS AND WITHIN OUR DISTRICT. SO WE BELIEVE THAT THIS OPPORTUNITY, AN OPPORTUNITY LIKE THIS, DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN, RIGHT? AND WITHOUT THE UNENDING SUPPORT AND COLLABORATION THAT WE'RE OFFERED EVERY DAY. AND I THINK THAT AS A DISTRICT COMMUNITY, WE REALLY DO THAT REALLY WELL FOR EACH OTHER. AND SO WE'RE INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL TO EVERYBODY, INCLUDING OUR WONDERFUL STAFF HERE, THE APPLICATION PROCESS. AND GUYS, FEEL FREE TO JUMP IN IF YOU WANT. UM, WE WERE NOMINATED AND AT FIRST WE WERE LIKE, OH MY GOSH, THIS IS HUGE. AND I KNOW THAT WE HAD SPOKEN. AND THEN WE ASSEMBLED A TEAM OF TEACHERS WHO WORKED ON PARTS OF THE APPLICATION TOGETHER, AND IT REALLY LED US KIND OF KNOW OUR SCHOOL, RIGHT, AND GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO KNOW OUR SCHOOL AND DIG REALLY DEEP AND HIGHLIGHT ALL THE WONDERFUL THINGS. AND IT WAS LONG, RIGHT? I MEAN, IT TOOK LIKE ABOUT MONTHS, MONTHS OF WORKING AND LOOKING AND CHECKING AND WE SUBMITTED IT. AND THEN AS WE SUBMITTED IT, WE WOULD GET LITTLE EMAILS ABOUT, OH, YOU HAVE TO DO THIS AND OH, YOU'RE ALMOST THERE. AND IT WAS KIND OF ALMOST LIKE, ARE WE GETTING IT OR ARE WE NOT? AND SO FINALLY WE JUST ONE DAY THEY SAID, HEY, CONGRATULATIONS, YOU GUYS. YOU KNOW, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR BLUE RIBBON AWARD. SO WE'RE SUPER PROUD. AND I THANK THESE GUYS FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT. AND WE HAVE JUST A WONDERFUL FACULTY AND STAFF, AND WE'RE SO GRATEFUL TO EVERYBODY HERE FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT. SO THANK YOU. I JUST WANT TO REITERATE WHAT RACHEL SAID ABOUT US JUST BEING THE SCRIBES. REALLY. WE ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS. WE GOT THE INFORMATION DOWN ON PAPER, BUT EVERYTHING THAT WE SHARED REFLECT WHAT'S REFLECTS WHAT'S HAPPENING IN EVERY CLASSROOM AND IN EVERY SCHOOL THROUGHOUT PELHAM SCHOOLS. SO WE REALLY SHARE THIS RECOGNITION WITH THEM FOR FOR US, I THINK IT WAS INTERESTING. WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SO IN THE TRENCHES EVERY DAY IN YOUR CLASSROOM, BUT TO SIT AND ANSWER QUESTIONS AND REALLY REFLECT ON OUR PRACTICES WAS AMAZING. IT WAS EYE OPENING AND SOMETHING THAT PARTICULARLY RESONATED WITH ME WAS NOTICING THAT IT WAS SO CLEAR THROUGH ANSWERING SOME OF THESE PARTICULAR QUESTIONS AND GIVING LIKE CONCRETE EXAMPLES OF WAYS THAT WE SUPPORT SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING. AND IT WAS SO EVIDENT THAT PROVIDING STUDENTS WITH AN ENVIRONMENT THAT'S ENGAGING AND NURTURING AND SUPPORTIVE CREATES INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FEEL LOVED, SUPPORTED, INCLUDED. AND THAT'S WHAT CREATES STUDENTS WHO STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE, AND THAT'S WHAT CREATES STUDENTS WHO WANT TO TAKE RISKS. AND THAT'S WHAT CREATES STUDENTS WHO FEEL SAFE AND LOVED. AND IT WAS JUST SO EVIDENT THAT THAT WAS SO MUCH PART OF OUR CULTURE THROUGH THIS PROCESS. AND I'M SO PROUD TO BE A COLONIAL TEACHER.` WELL, ALEX IS COMING, TOO. AND I KNOW THAT THEY ALL HAVE HAVE MENTIONED IT. I'M GOING TO SAY IT SINCE HE'S HERE. OUR CURRICULUM DIRECTORS ARE CRITICAL IN THE SUCCESS OF ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS. [00:20:04] SO THIS IS ALSO SHARED. DR. CALLAHAN, DR. THOMPSON, JOHN SEBALOS, LAUREN RIBEIRO, OUR DIRECTOR, OUR SUPERVISOR FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION. EVERYTHING THAT FLOWS THROUGH FROM THE DISTRICT OFFICES DOWN AND THE COLLEAGUES THAT MS. GARCIA HAS IN HER OTHER BUILDINGS, THAT THERE'S A LOT OF COLLABORATION ACROSS THE BUILDINGS. AND I THINK EACH OF OUR TEACHERS WOULD SAY THE SAME WITHIN THEIR GRADE LEVELS AND DEPARTMENTS. NONE OF US DOES THIS ALONE. SO THIS REALLY IS THANK YOU FOR HIGHLIGHTING THAT SHARED HONOR. IT IS THE TRUTH. SO THANK YOU. CONGRATULATIONS. . WELL, AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT. WE REALLY ARE SO PROUD OF OUR STUDENTS. YOU MAKE US PROUD. OUR STAFF MAKE US PROUD EVERY SINGLE DAY. SO THANK YOU. FEEL FREE AT THIS POINT. IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO ABOUT THE REST OF YOUR EVENING, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME. BECAUSE I KNOW, ESPECIALLY OUR STUDENTS HAVE LOTS OF WORK TO DO FOR TOMORROW, AND I KNOW OUR STAFF PROBABLY DOES AS WELL. SO THANK YOU FOR COMING ONCE AGAIN. CONGRATULATIONS. I DON'T. HERE. OKAY. SO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS THE COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT PRESENTATION. [4.3 Communications Audit Presentation] SO LIKE I LOVE TO INVITE ALEX WOLFF, OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, TO COME AND TO LEAD OFF THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT. WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THE RESULTS WITH THE BOARD TONIGHT. AND ALEX IS GOING TO WALK US THROUGH KIND OF HOW WE GOT HERE, AND HE'LL BE INTRODUCING US TO OUR RESEARCHER AND PRESENTER TONIGHT AS WELL. ALL RIGHT, WELL. WELL, THANK YOU, DR. CHAMP. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE. I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE. THIS HAS BEEN A REALLY LONG, LONG AND FANTASTIC PROCESS. I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE IN A REALLY GOOD POSITION. I KNOW THAT EVERYONE'S EXCITED TO HEAR THE RESULTS OF THE REPORT. BEFORE WE DO THAT, I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT OUR COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM AND TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE GOT HERE TONIGHT. SO I KNOW CERTAINLY THE BOARD KNOWS WHO I AM. I'M ALEX WOLFF FROM THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER. FOR ANYONE WHO IS AT HOME TUNING IN FOR THIS, JUST I'VE BEEN IN THIS POSITION. I'M GOING TO BE STARTING MY EIGHTH YEAR IN NOVEMBER. BEFORE THAT, I WORKED IN PRINT MEDIA FOR SEVEN YEARS AND SIX OF THOSE YEARS WERE SPENT HERE IN PELHAM AS A REPORTER AND EDITOR. SO I GO WAY BACK WITH THE PELHAM COMMUNITY, AND I'VE BEEN AT THESE BOARD MEETINGS FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME NOW. SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF THE HISTORY AND HOW I CAME TO BE HERE. YES. HOW'S THAT? GOOD. I GOT OVER IT A LONG TIME AGO. I WORE MY HEELS TODAY. SO AS A K-12 SCHOOL DISTRICT, COMMUNICATIONS IS OBVIOUSLY A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY, RIGHT? WE HAVE COMMUNICATIONS OCCURRING AT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT LEVELS AND A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THAT. SO, WE HAVE DISTRICT COMMUNICATIONS THAT ARE GOING OUT TO PARENTS. [00:25:03] WE HAVE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS COMING FROM THE DISTRICT. OUR ADMINISTRATORS AND PRINCIPALS ARE COMMUNICATING WITH PARENTS DAILY AND WITH STUDENTS. OUR TEACHERS ARE COMMUNICATING WITH STUDENTS. THERE ARE TWO WAY COMMUNICATIONS. THERE IS A LOT THAT'S GOING ON. WE'RE ALL TALKING TO EACH OTHER AND WE'RE TALKING TO EACH OTHER FREQUENTLY. MY OFFICE, THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE, IS RESPONSIBLE LARGELY FOR EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS COMING FROM THE DISTRICT, BUT WE ALSO SUPPORT EVERYONE IN THEIR COMMUNICATIONS IN AS MANY WAYS AS POSSIBLE. SO YOU SEE HERE ARE JUST A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE WORK THROUGH IN THE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE. OBVIOUSLY EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS WEBSITE MANAGEMENT, COVERING SPECIAL EVENTS AND PHOTOGRAPHY, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES. ANYTIME THERE'S A CRISIS SITUATION OR EMERGENCY SITUATION, WE'RE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR FAMILIES, WITH OUR STAFF. OBVIOUSLY, BUDGET TIME, THERE'S A LOT, A LOT OF WORK THAT GOES INTO THAT, MANAGING OUR PUBLIC CALENDAR, SUPPORTING DR. CHAMP WITH ANY INTERNAL COMMUNICATION NEEDS SHE HAS. AND ANYTHING THAT OUR ADMINISTRATORS NEED PROOFREADING IT COULD BE DRAFTING, IT COULD BE LENDING AN EYE AND TALKING THROUGH SOME THINGS, YOU KNOW, ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO SUPPORT THEM IN MEDIA RELATIONS AS WELL. THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE A SURPRISE TO ANYONE. MOST OF OUR COMMUNICATION COMES VIA EMAIL. WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT EMAIL PLATFORMS THAT WE USE FOR MASS COMMUNICATIONS, CONSTANT CONTACT AND INFINITE CAMPUS MESSENGER. A REASONABLE QUESTION FOLKS MIGHT HAVE IS WHY DO WE HAVE TWO. AND THE ANSWER IS A LITTLE BIT COMPLICATED, BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING, CONSTANT CONTACT IS A GREAT TOOL. IT'S USED BY COMPANIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY, REALLY GREAT FOR CREATING ENGAGING CONTENT. IT HAS A LOT OF DIFFERENT CUSTOMIZABLE FEATURES. IT'S FANTASTIC FOR THAT. UNFORTUNATELY, IT DOES NOT SYNC WELL WITH OUR STUDENT DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, SO MANAGING CONTACTS HAS BECOME VERY LABOR INTENSIVE ISSUE FOR US. SO WE DO IT'S A MANUAL UPLOAD EITHER FROM THE TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT, WHICH HAPPENS MAYBE TWICE A YEAR IN BETWEEN IF THERE ARE NEW STUDENT REGISTRATIONS. I'M INPUTTING THOSE CONTACTS IN MANUALLY. IT'S IT'S BEEN A BIT OF A TROUBLE SPOT FOR US, TO BE HONEST, IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE REACHING THE PEOPLE THAT WE NEED TO REACH. SO THAT'S LARGELY USED AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL AND AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL. BECAUSE OF THOSE ISSUES WITH CONTACT MANAGEMENT, OUR SECONDARY CAMPUSES TEND TO USE INFINITE CAMPUS MESSENGER. THAT'S OUR STUDENT DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. IT'S GREAT. THE CONTACTS ARE COMPLETELY UP TO DATE, FANTASTIC. BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE THOSE CREATIVE FUNCTIONS THAT CONSTANT CONTACT HAS. SO THAT CREATES SOME TROUBLE. ON THE RECEIVING END FINDING EMAILS, HAVING ENGAGING CONTENT AND SEARCHING FOR THEM IN EMAILS BECAUSE OF THE SUBJECT LINES. IT'S VERY, VERY LIMITED. IT DOESN'T HANDLE LINKS WELL. THERE ARE A LOT OF ISSUES THERE. I'M GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT LATER ON THIS EVENING. SOME OTHER WAYS WE COMMUNICATE TEXT MESSAGES. ANYONE WHO'S A PARENT IN THE DISTRICT PROBABLY GOT A COUPLE OF THOSE YESTERDAY BECAUSE WE HAD SOME EVENTS UNFOLDING. THAT'S USUALLY FOR EMERGENCY SITUATIONS ONLY. WE TRY NOT TO SPAM EVERYBODY WITH EVERY LITTLE THING THAT'S HAPPENING IN THE DISTRICT. BUT IF YOU DO GET A TEXT FROM US, IT'S USUALLY IMPORTANT. WE DO HAVE THE ROBOCALL SYSTEM. OF COURSE, IF THERE'S A SNOW DAY, YOU GET TO HEAR DR. CHAMP'S VOICE. BRIGHT AND EARLY SOCIAL MEDIA. WE HAVE A DISTRICT FACEBOOK PAGE, WHICH IS OUR MAIN SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE. WE ALSO DO HAVE AN ACCOUNT, OF COURSE, BEING THE ARTISTS FORMERLY KNOWN AS TWITTER. WE DON'T USE IT VERY MUCH, TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. WE HAVEN'T FOUND IT TO BE A VERY EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS TOOL FOR US. BUT WE DO HAVE A SCHOOL ACCOUNT. WE ALSO SEND 2 TO 3 TIMES A YEAR A PELHAM FOCUSED NEWSLETTER. THAT'S THE PRINT NEWSLETTER THAT GETS DISTRIBUTED TO ALL HOMES AND BUSINESSES IN TOWN. AND THAT'S A REALLY GREAT WAY FOR US TO REACH FOLKS WHO MAYBE DON'T HAVE STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. AND OBVIOUSLY THE LARGEST ONE OF THOSE COMES AROUND BUDGET TIME, WHICH IS OUR BUDGET NEWSLETTER. JUST A SNAPSHOT OF THE SHEER VOLUME OF EMAILS THAT WE SEND. THIS IS JUST FROM CONSTANT CONTACT. SO THIS DOESN'T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT WHAT CYNTHIA INFINITE CAMPUS, BUT 450 EMAILS SENT OVER THE PAST 12 MONTHS. WE HAVE A REALLY GREAT OPEN RATE, I THINK OF 69%, AND THAT'S REACHING ABOUT 3600 PARENTS AND GUARDIANS AND STAFF CONTACTS. WE DO HAVE ADDITIONAL CONTACTS IN THE SYSTEM OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE KIDS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. THAT'S ABOUT 1500. I WILL SAY THAT WHEN WE DO REACH, SEND EMAILS TO THE FULL CONTACT LIST OR OPEN RATES DO TEND TO COME DOWN. WHAT IS MAKING UP THOSE 450 EMAILS. THE WEEK AHEAD, WHICH WE SEND EVERY SUNDAY, IS JUST A NEWSLETTER TO LET PARENTS KNOW KIND OF HERE'S WHAT'S COMING. [00:30:07] BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING NOTICES AND MEETING RECAPS, SCHOOL EMAILS, ANY EVENT PROMOTION THAT WE MIGHT DO. WE SENT OUT PROMOTION FOR THE ASTRONAUT VISIT THAT WE HAVE COMING UP, AND THAT THING SOLD OUT FASTER THAN YOU COULD EVEN IMAGINE. COUNSELING DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTERS HAVE BEEN PART OF THAT. ANY UPDATES OR REMINDERS ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE OCCURRING IN THE DISTRICT, ATHLETIC REGISTRATION, CHANGES TO THE SCHEDULE? ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE ITEMS THAT WE MIGHT EMAIL OUT. SO WHY DO AN AUDIT? I THINK EVERYBODY HERE RECOGNIZES THAT EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IS PARAMOUNT TO A SCHOOL DISTRICT. WE FUNCTION ENTIRELY IN THE PUBLIC SPACE. EVERYBODY IN THIS TOWN HAS A STAKE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER IN THEIR SCHOOLS. SO BEING ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS IS CRITICAL. AND THAT'S TRUE BOTH EXTERNALLY AND INTERNALLY. I THINK THAT IT PROBABLY GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT THE WAY IN WHICH WE COMMUNICATE AS A SOCIETY AS A WHOLE HAS CHANGED IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. INFORMATION TRAVELS FASTER. SOCIAL MEDIA IS MUCH MORE ENGAGED IN OUR DAILY LIVES. IT'S THINGS THAT HAPPEN ARE MORE WIDELY DISSEMINATED, AND I THINK THAT'S BECOME ESPECIALLY TRUE AS WE HAVE EVOLVED FROM THE PANDEMIC. WE HAVE I THINK WE DO A REALLY GOOD JOB WITH COMMUNICATIONS, BUT I THINK AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE HAVE ALWAYS SOUGHT SORT OF A MINDSET OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, AND I THINK THAT SHOULD APPLY TO EVERYWHERE, INCLUDING OUR COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT. SO WE THOUGHT NOW WOULD BE A REALLY GOOD MOMENT FOR US TO PAUSE, BRING IN A THIRD PARTY AUDITOR AND TAKE A LOOK HOLISTICALLY AT OUR PROGRAM, NOT JUST EVERYTHING THAT COMES FROM THE DISTRICT LEVEL, BUT ALSO ACROSS OUR SCHOOLS. EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS. INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS. TRY AND SEE THE FOREST THROUGH THE TREES AND COME UP WITH SOME REALLY GOOD RECOMMENDATIONS TO MOVE US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. AND PART OF THAT PROCESS WAS REALLY ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY. AND AUDREY IS GOING TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT LATER. BUT WE REALLY WANT TO GET A SENSE FROM OUR STAKEHOLDERS WHAT IS IT THAT WE CAN DO TO MEET YOU WHERE YOU ARE AND PROVIDE AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM? AND THEN WHAT ARE SOME INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICES THAT WE CAN APPLY TO MEET THOSE NEEDS? SO JUST A QUICK REVIEW OF THE TIMELINE. THIS IS REALLY A YEAR LONG PROCESS IN THE MAKING. IN SEPTEMBER LAST SEPTEMBER, WE LAUNCHED AN RFP TO SEEK BIDS FOR COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT. THOSE BIDS WERE RECEIVED. THEY WERE VETTED THROUGH THE COMMUNITY AND A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY ADVOCACY COMMITTEE, AT WHICH POINT WE RECOMMENDED THE NATIONAL SCHOOL PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION AS THE AUDIT FIRM TO COMPLETE THE AUDIT. THE BOARD AWARDED THAT CONTRACT IN JANUARY. WE STARTED THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROCESS IN FEBRUARY AND MARCH WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY GOING THROUGH A COMMUNICATIONS MATERIALS REVIEW. SO WE SENT THEM ALL KINDS OF INTERNAL DOCUMENTS WHICH AUDREY WILL TALK ABOUT AND INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL DOCUMENTS, DOCUMENTS, I SHOULD SAY. THOSE FOCUS GROUPS WERE A LARGE PART OF IT THAT OCCURRED IN MARCH. OVER THE SUMMER, WE RECEIVED A DRAFT REPORT IN AUGUST. WE RECEIVED THE FINAL REPORT AND NOW WE ARE HERE TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT THE RESULTS AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS. SO I'D LOVE TO NOW INTRODUCE AUDREY BRAILER, WHO IS OUR LEAD AUDITOR WITH [INAUDIBLE], TO GO THROUGH THE RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. HI, EVERYONE. THANKS FOR HAVING ME HERE TODAY. OKAY. IS THAT OKAY? OKAY, GREAT. ALL RIGHT. SO THANKS FOR HAVING ME HERE TODAY. I'M GOING TO REVIEW THE COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT REPORT. I JUST WANT TO SAY THE REPORT IS ABOUT 72 PAGES LONG, SO IT'S QUITE A LENGTHY DOCUMENT. SO MY PURPOSE HERE TODAY IS KIND OF TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF THE CLIFF NOTES VERSION. I WOULD DEFINITELY ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO AND READ THE REPORT FOR MORE SPECIFIC DETAILS, BUT I'LL TRY TO GO THROUGH SOME OF THE BIG ELEMENTS FROM THE REPORT. I PLAN TO COVER WHY AND WHAT A COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT INVOLVES. THE AUDIT PROCESS IN THE DISTRICT, INCLUDING THE TIME FRAME AND THE STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED, KEY FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTION STEPS, AND THEN CONSIDERATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION. AND THEN I'LL TURN THINGS BACK OVER TO ALEX TO TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS. SO JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME. I SERVED AS THE LEAD AUDITOR FOR THE DISTRICT ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL SCHOOL PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION. [00:35:08] MY BACKGROUND IS IN SCHOOL PR. I SPENT ABOUT 20 YEARS IN PUBLIC EDUCATION WORKING FOR CAPITAL REGION BOCES, WHICH IS LOCATED UPSTATE NEW YORK IN THE ALBANY AREA. WE HAVE A COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE THAT I SERVED AS A MANAGER FOR FOUR YEARS. I ALSO WORKED OUT IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, JUST LIKE ALEX, IN A PUBLIC INFORMATION ROLE. SO IN AUDITING THE DISTRICT, I WAS SUPPORTED BY AN AUDITING TEAM THAT INCLUDED MELISSA BRAM, SUSAN DOWNING AND NAOMI HUNTER. SO THERE IS A ROBUST REVIEW PROCESS THAT WE GO THROUGH AT ENSRA BEFORE WE TURN OVER THE FINAL DOCUMENTS. SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF THE REASON FOR THE DELAY. OKAY. SO ALEX TOUCHED ON THIS, BUT I WANT TO REITERATE THE PURPOSE OF A COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT. BUT FIRST AND FOREMOST, I REALLY WANT TO RECOGNIZE THE WILLINGNESS OF THE DISTRICT LEADERS, INCLUDING THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE BOARD, TO GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS. IT CAN BE REALLY HARD TO SEE THE RESULTS OF AN AUDIT. RIGHT. YOU'RE ASKING PEOPLE SPECIFICALLY WHAT DO THEY SEE AS ISSUES OR PROBLEMS. SO IT CAN BE HARD TO SEE THAT WHEN THAT INFORMATION COMES OUT. BUT YOU CAN'T IMPROVE UNLESS YOU FIND OUT THOSE REASONS. SO THAT'S REALLY THE BASIS FOR THE AUDIT. SO I'M GOING TO KEEP GOING. SO THE GOAL OF THE COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT WAS TWOFOLD TO SEE DATA, OPINION AND PERCEPTIONS AND FROM THERE ASSESS THE EFFECTIVENESS AND MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS, MARKETING AND ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT. AND IT WAS ALSO TO PROVIDE CUSTOMIZED RECOMMENDATIONS ON STRATEGIES AND BEST PRACTICES TO BUILD AND ENHANCE THE OVERALL COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM IN THE DISTRICT. SO ALEX MENTIONED SOME OF THE MATERIALS THAT WERE PART OF THE DISTRICT MATERIALS REVIEW, AND I LOOKED AT A LOT OF DOCUMENTS I LOOKED AT AND DIGITAL CHANNELS. I LOOKED AT THE WEBSITE, I LOOKED AT VIDEOS, NEWSLETTERS, PRESENTATIONS, POSTERS, FLIERS, SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS. THERE ARE SO MUCH COMMUNICATION THAT IS OUT THERE. SO I REVIEWED ALL OF THESE DOCUMENTS. I LOOKED AT THEM FOR EFFECTIVENESS OF MESSAGE DELIVERY. THE AUDIENCE THAT WAS RECEIVING IT, READABILITY, VISUAL APPEAL AND EASE OF USE. I ALSO REVIEWED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE DISTRICT, SUCH AS DEMOGRAPHIC DATA, STRATEGIC PLANS, COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES, NEWS COVERAGE, BOARD POLICIES, REPORTS, EMAIL ANALYTICS AND A LOT MORE. SO THERE WAS A LOT OF MATERIALS TO REVIEW. SO A BIG PART OF THE COMMUNICATION AUDIT IS ALSO THE SURVEY. IT'S CALLED A SCOPE SURVEY, WHICH STANDS FOR SCHOOL COMMUNICATIONS PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS. AND THIS WAS USED TO COLLECT FEEDBACK FROM FOUR DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT YOU'LL SEE UP THERE. PARENTS AND GUARDIANS, EMPLOYEES, COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND THEN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. SO THE SURVEY WAS ADMINISTERED OVER A ONE MONTH PERIOD FROM FEBRUARY THROUGH MARCH. YOU'LL SEE THE PARTICIPATION NUMBERS ABOVE BY STAKEHOLDER GROUP. AND THEN IT ALSO INCLUDES THE CONFIDENCE INTERVAL FOR EACH AUDIENCE BASED ON THE TOTAL AUDIENCE POPULATION. THIS SAME SURVEY HAS BEEN ADMINISTERED TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND THE FINAL SURVEY REPORT. IT COMPARES THE RESPONSES HERE IN PELHAM TO A NATIONAL BENCHMARK AVERAGES. SO OUTSIDE OF A FEW DEMOGRAPHIC AND OPEN ENDED COMMENT QUESTIONS, ALL OF THE QUESTIONS WERE ON A LIKERT SCALE. AND THERE WAS ONE GROUP WHERE WE SLIGHTLY MISSED OUR TARGET. THAT WAS THE COMMUNITY GROUP. BUT THAT'S NOT ABNORMAL. IT'S REALLY HARD TO REACH THAT GROUP. SO THAT'S NOT SOMETHING ABNORMAL THAT WE FIND WHEN WE DO THESE SURVEYS. SO THE THIRD PIECE IN THE COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT WAS THE FOCUS GROUPS AND INTERVIEWS THAT WERE HELD IN THE DISTRICT OVER A TWO AND A HALF DAY PERIOD. SO I VISITED THE DISTRICT OVER TWO AND A HALF DAYS IN MARCH, AND I MET WITH 13 DIFFERENT GROUPS. SO THESE GROUPS INCLUDED PARENTS AND GUARDIANS AT ALL LEVELS AND INCLUDED SPANISH LANGUAGE FAMILIES, INSTRUCTIONAL AND NON-INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF ACROSS BUILDINGS AND DEPARTMENTS, SCHOOL BUILDING AND DISTRICT WIDE LEADERS, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. EACH GROUP WAS GUIDED THROUGH A SIMILAR SET OF QUESTIONS. SO WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM ALL OF THIS INFORMATION GATHERING AND CONVERSATIONS? AND THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING TO SHARE HERE IN THE KEY FINDINGS AREA. AND THESE ARE MORE OF THE STRENGTHS, THE APPRECIATION FOR HIGH QUALITY ACADEMICS, A VARIETY OF EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, CARING AND DEDICATED TEACHERS AND STRONG [00:40:10] STUDENT SUPPORT STRUCTURES, A RICH PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, STAFF, PARENTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO NOTED THE WIDE VARIETY OF OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED AND THE WORDS THAT WERE USED MOST BY STAKEHOLDERS TO DESCRIBE THE DISTRICT OR COMMUNITY, GOOD, CARING AND EXCELLENCE. SO ON THE FLIP SIDE, SOME OF THE MORE CHALLENGING AREAS THAT CAME UP WERE VARYING OPINIONS ABOUT THE DISTRICT'S IMAGE, A DIVIDE WITHIN THE LARGER COMMUNITY. EXTERNAL INFORMATION SOURCES THAT PROVIDE NEGATIVE PUBLICITY. THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE LACKING ESTABLISHED COMMUNICATION GOALS AND OR A PLAN TO GUIDE THE WORK. AND THEN EMAIL WAS A BIG SOURCE OF FRUSTRATION FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT REASONS. AND THEN STAKEHOLDERS WHO DIDN'T FEEL WELL INFORMED ON DIFFERENT ISSUES. SO CONTINUING WITH THE KEY FINDINGS, I ALSO FOUND THAT CONCERNS CONTINUE TO EXIST ABOUT CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS, ALTHOUGH PROGRESS WAS NOTED IN THAT AREA. I HEARD ABOUT INCONSISTENCY IN COMMUNICATIONS ACROSS THE DISTRICT, SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND DEPARTMENTS. THERE WAS A DESIRE FOR MORE PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE POSITIVE SCHOOL NEWS. EMPLOYEE MORALE AND TRUST. THAT WAS LOW. AND THEN COMMUNICATIONS BREAKDOWNS THAT HAVE CREATED CONFUSION AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS. IN ANOTHER SECTION OF THE REPORT, IT GOES OVER OBSERVATIONS THAT I HAD. SO, IN ADDITION TO THE KEY FINDINGS, SOME OF THESE OBSERVATIONS THAT I HAD AFTER REVIEWING THE MATERIALS AND HAVING CONVERSATIONS AND REVIEWING THE SURVEY RESULTS WERE THAT A STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN IS NEEDED, THAT NEARLY ALL STAKEHOLDERS SELECTED EMAIL AS THE MOST PREFERRED COMMUNICATION. BUT A LACK OF GUIDANCE, PROTOCOLS AND PROCEDURES IS CREATING CHALLENGES. CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS WAS A BIG CONCERN OF ALL STAKEHOLDER GROUPS MORE STRUCTURE, INTENTIONALITY FOR INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT. NO CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE AND A DESIRE FOR MORE IN-PERSON GATHERINGS. SO NEXT, I'M GOING TO SPEND SOME TIME HIGHLIGHTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE REPORT. BEFORE I DO THAT, I WANT TO EXPLAIN THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE DESIGNED TO ADDRESS GAPS AND ASSIST DISTRICT AND SCHOOL LEADERS EFFORTS TO COMMUNICATE CONSISTENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY. THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS REPORT ADDRESS IMMEDIATE COMMUNICATION NEEDS AND THOSE THAT ARE ONGOING BASED ON FEEDBACK GATHERED AS PART OF THE AUDIT PROCESS. AND THEY ARE LISTED IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE. SO, I'M GOING TO JUMP RIGHT TO THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION, WHICH IS TO DEVELOP A STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN. THIS REALLY SERVES AS A FOUNDATION FOR THE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE IN THE IN THE REPORT. A LOT OF THE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE HERE WILL END UP BEING PART OF THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN. THE GUIDANCE HERE IS TO CREATE STRUCTURES THAT WILL ALLOW COMMUNICATIONS TO BE PROACTIVE AND FOCUS ON SUPPORTING THE DISTRICT'S STRATEGIC PLAN. SO AMONG THE ACTION STEPS ARE TO USE THE RPIE METHOD TO DESIGN A STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN. RPIE IS JUST TERMINOLOGY THAT WE USE IN THE PR WORLD AROUND RESEARCH, PLANNING, IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION AS PART OF WHEN YOU CREATE THAT PLAN TO FOCUS ON COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE DESIRED OUTCOMES AND TO INCLUDE PROACTIVE ISSUES MANAGEMENT AS A COMPONENT OF COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING. SO BEING PREPARED TO DEAL WITH UNEXPECTED EVENTS IS PARAMOUNT IN TODAY'S DAY AND AGE. BY FINALIZING AND IMPLEMENTING A CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN, ADMINISTRATORS AND EDUCATORS CAN FOCUS ON MANAGING ANY CRISIS. WHILE THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER FOCUSES ON KEEPING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS INFORMED IN A TIMELY AND ACCURATE MANNER. SO AMONG THE ACTION STEPS HERE IN THIS RECOMMENDATION ARE TO ASSIGN SPECIFIC CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS RESPONSIBILITIES. EMPHASIZE PREPARATION AND TRAINING. PROVIDE CRISIS COMMUNICATION TRAINING SESSIONS FOR ALL ADMINISTRATORS. DETERMINE PROTOCOLS FOR HOW INFORMATION ABOUT CRISES WILL BE DISSEMINATED AND INVOLVE COMMUNITY AGENCIES AND IDENTIFY AVAILABLE RESOURCES. TO BE EFFECTIVE A SCHOOL DISTRICT NEEDS THE SUPPORT AND TRUST OF ITS EMPLOYEES, SO GAINING THAT SUPPORT AND TRUST IS DIFFICULT. BUT KEEPING STAFF INFORMED OF CHANGES AND ISSUES WHILE ENCOURAGING STAFF ENGAGEMENT AND DECISION MAKING SHOWS TRANSPARENCY AND GOOD FAITH. TO THAT END, AMONG THE ACTION STEPS FOR THIS RECOMMENDATION ARE TO TAKE AN EMPLOYEES FIRST APPROACH TO DISSEMINATING INFORMATION TO INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES FOR [00:45:04] FACE TO FACE COMMUNICATION AND ENGAGEMENT, TO BUILD UP THE ABILITY OF EMPLOYEES TO SERVE AS AMBASSADORS, TO INCLUDE A COMMUNICATIONS AMBASSADORSHIP ELEMENT TO EXISTING ORIENTATION PROGRAMS FOR NEW EMPLOYEES AND TO CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE EMPLOYEE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS. SO FOR THE FOURTH RECOMMENDATION, IT FOCUSES ON EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT OF STAFF MEMBERS IN DECISION MAKING. SO THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY HELP TO STRENGTHEN TRUST, CONNECTION AND TRANSPARENCY THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT. SO, AMONG THE ACTION STEPS HERE ARE TO DEVELOP CLEAR PURPOSE STATEMENTS TO OUTLINE THE WORK OF STAFF INVOLVED COMMITTEES, TASK FORCE AND OTHER WORK GROUPS USING ROUNDING CONVERSATIONS TO GET INPUT FROM STAFF. THIS IS JUST A METHOD OF GATHERING INFORMATION IN A STRUCTURED WAY TO SEEK INPUT FROM A VARIETY OF STAFF VOICES AND PERSPECTIVES. THE FIFTH RECOMMENDATION IS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT PROTOCOL STRUCTURES AND TRAINING FOR THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR COMMUNICATING. AND THIS IS BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONS ACROSS THE DISTRICT. GAPS IN CONTENT AND DELAYS AND TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION CAN NOT BE SOLVED BY JUST ONE PERSON ALONE. EMPOWERING STAFF AT ALL LEVELS BY DEVELOPING PROTOCOLS AND PROVIDING TRAINING AND SUPPORT WILL STRENGTHEN THE DISTRICT'S ENTIRE COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM AS A WHOLE. AMONG THE ACTION STEPS HERE ARE TO CLEARLY DEFINE THE COMMUNICATION ROLE FOR ALL DEPARTMENTS TO ENSURE A CONSISTENT, TIMELY AND EQUITABLE FLOW OF INFORMATION TO DEVELOP A CONSISTENT PROCESS FOR HOW KEY INFORMATION IS COMMUNICATED INTERNALLY AND TO DEVELOP A TRAINING PROGRAM FOR ALL STAFF WHO HAVE SIGNIFICANT IF INFORMAL COMMUNICATION RESPONSIBILITIES. SO ESTABLISHING DISTRICT WIDE GUIDELINES FOR PARENT AND GUARDIAN COMMUNICATION, AN ONGOING STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THIS AREA. IT WOULD HELP TO REDUCE SOME OF THE FRUSTRATIONS AMONG EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS AND INCREASE CONSISTENCY IN COMMUNICATION ACROSS THE DIFFERENT BUILDING LEVELS AND DEPARTMENTS. AMONG THE ACTION STEPS HERE ARE TO STREAMLINE AND STANDARDIZE THE TOOLS USED FOR PARENT GUARDIAN COMMUNICATION TO ESTABLISH COMMUNICATION EXPECTATIONS FOR TEACHERS ON POSTING INFORMATION IN INFINITE INFINITE CAMPUS. MAKE INFORMATION EASIER TO CONSUME AND DIGEST. TREAT STUDENTS AS A KEY AUDIENCE AND CONSIDER THEIR COMMUNICATION NEEDS. OKAY. THE DISTRICT HAS ONLY ONE EMPLOYEE SOLELY DEDICATED TO COMMUNICATIONS, AND HE'S LIKELY GOING TO BE GUIDING THIS WORK AHEAD. IT MAY ALSO BE NECESSARY TO CREATE ADDITIONAL STAFF CAPACITY IN THIS AREA THAT WILL HELP TO IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING AND THE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS REPORT. AMONG THE ACTION STEPS HERE ARE TO CONDUCT A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED BY THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER TO DEVELOP A PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER. JOB DESCRIPTION. AN EVALUATION SYSTEM TO INCLUDE THE PUBLIC PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE CABINET TO CONSIDER ALLOCATING FUNDING TO ADD A PART TIME COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT POSITION AND TO DESIGNATE A BUDGET LINE FOR THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE. SO THE FINAL RECOMMENDATION FOCUSES ON MAKING IT EASIER FOR STAKEHOLDERS TO GET THE INFORMATION THEY NEED AND ENGAGE WITH THE DISTRICT ON THEIR OWN TERMS WHEN IT'S CONVENIENT FOR THEM. SO THIS REALLY FOCUSES ON DEVELOPING AN EMAIL MARKETING STRATEGY TO BETTER ENGAGE STAKEHOLDERS TO ENCOURAGE AND FOLLOW BEST PRACTICES FOR EMAIL COMMUNICATION, TO EXPLORE SEAMLESS INTEGRATION OF THE STUDENT INFORMATION AND MASS NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS, TO INSTITUTE PROCESSES TO IMPROVE AND MAINTAIN THE DISTRICT WEBSITE AND SCHOOL WEB PAGES. ENHANCE THE DISTRICT'S SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE. ANOTHER AREA OF THE REPORT LOOKS AT HOW THE DISTRICT COMPARES TWO STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE IN PUBLIC RELATIONS. IT LOOKED AT SIX CRITICAL FUNCTION AREAS, SIX CRITICAL FUNCTION AREAS, AND IN THE REVIEW, THE DISTRICT HAD RATINGS THAT WERE TYPICALLY IN THE EMERGING AND ESTABLISHED RATING. AND THE GOAL IS REALLY TO GET YOU IN EACH OF THESE AREAS TO EXEMPLARY IN COMPARISON TO OTHER SCHOOL COMMUNICATION PROGRAMS. SO THAT WAS A TON OF INFORMATION. THERE'S EVEN MORE IN THE REPORT. BUT REALLY, THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT IF THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE BY ONE PERSON ALONE, COMMUNICATION INVOLVES EVERYBODY. IT REALLY IS A TEAM EFFORT AND IT REALLY IS A LONG TERM PLAN. [00:50:01] THESE ARE NOT THINGS THAT YOU CAN CHANGE OVERNIGHT, BUT YOU CAN START TAKING STEPS TOWARDS IMPROVEMENT. STEP BY STEP. AND THAT THIS REPORT REALLY SERVES AS A ROADMAP FOR GOING FORWARD. IT'S ALL OF THAT RESEARCH THAT YOU NEED TO START BUILDING A PLAN AND START PLANNING THE WORK AHEAD. SO AT THIS TIME, I'M GOING TO TURN IT BACK OVER TO ALEX SO HE CAN TALK ABOUT NEXT STEPS. BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE WHEN HE IS DONE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, AUDREY. YEAH. SO, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, OVER THE SUMMER, WE RECEIVED A DRAFT REPORT, AND THAT WAS A GOOD TIME, ACTUALLY FOR US TO RECEIVE BECAUSE IT GAVE DR. CHAMP AND I A CHANCE TO SIT DOWN AND SORT OF TAKE A LOOK, START TO THINK ABOUT WHAT ARE SOME OF THE AREAS THAT WE CAN START TO IMPLEMENT RIGHT AWAY, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE HIGHEST LEVERAGE AREAS THAT WE CAN WE CAN GET TO? ONE OF THE BIGGEST PIECES OF THAT, AND YOU SAW IT IN RECOMMENDATION ONE, IS TO DEVELOP A STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN. THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS WE KIND OF THOUGHT WOULD BE COMING DOWN THE ROAD. IT WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL RFP RESPONSE FROM INSPIRA. SO WE THOUGHT IT WOULD MAKE SENSE AND WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, SPOKEN WITH THEM ABOUT CONTINUING OUR RELATIONSHIP TO BUILD THAT PLAN OVER THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS. WE'RE VERY, VERY PLEASED THAT WE WILL ACTUALLY BE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH AUDREY. I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD GOOD FOR US BECAUSE SHE IS WELL VERSED IN THE RESEARCH, HAVING WRITTEN THE COMMUNICATIONS REPORT. AND THAT'S REALLY GOING TO PROVIDE US STRUCTURE TO IMPLEMENT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS MOVING FORWARD. AND AS AUDREY MENTIONED, ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT BUILDING THAT PLAN IS WE'RE USING THAT DATA, BUT WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE ABLE TO ASSESS BASED ON BENCHMARKS AND METRICS TO MAKE SURE WE'RE IMPLEMENTING AND BEING EFFECTIVE IN THE WAY WE'RE IMPLEMENTING IT. WE WILL, OF COURSE, BE REVIEWING THAT ANNUALLY. AND AS WE KIND OF DEVELOP IT, OBVIOUSLY DR. CHAMP AND I HAVE GONE THROUGH AND IDENTIFIED OUR PRIORITIES AND WHERE WE THINK WE SHOULD START, BUT WE DEFINITELY WOULD BE SEEKING FEEDBACK FROM THE BOARD IN THAT AREA AS WELL AS YOU READ THROUGH THE REPORT. ANOTHER AREA THAT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT TO US IS IMPROVING INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS. SO WE'VE REALLY TRIED THIS YEAR TO TAKE A STAFF AND EMPLOYEE FIRST APPROACH TO TO WHAT WE'RE DOING FROM A COMMUNICATIONS STANDPOINT, AND THAT'S REALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE AND RECOGNIZING THAT SOME OF OUR FRONTLINE STAFF, YOU KNOW, OUR TEACHERS AND OUR FACULTY ARE THE ONES WHO ARE INTERFACING WITH OUR PARENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY AND WITH OUR STUDENTS. SO THEY NEED TO BE IN THE KNOW AND THEY NEED TO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WHAT WHAT THOSE DECISIONS ARE AND WHY THEY'RE BEING MADE. A COUPLE OF ACTIONS THAT WE'VE TAKEN ALREADY. WE HAVE CREATED AN EMPLOYEE POCKET GUIDE THAT HAS KEY FACTS AND HIGHLIGHTS. I THINK THE BOARD HAS A COPY OF THAT IN FRONT OF YOU TONIGHT. THOSE WILL BE GOING INTO MAILBOXES OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. SO EVERY STAFF MEMBER HAS ONE. ON MONDAY, WE WILL LAUNCH OUR VERY FIRST EMPLOYEE ONLY EMPLOYEE FOCUSED NEWSLETTER THAT'S DEVELOPED BY SENIOR LEADERSHIP JUST TO PROVIDE ANOTHER AVENUE TO KEEP OUR STAFF MEMBERS IN THE LOOP ON WHAT'S GOING ON FROM THE DISTRICT LEVEL. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY EARLIER THIS YEAR AT OUR NEW TEACHER ORIENTATION TO PRESENT TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM TO HELP OUR STAFF WHO ARE ONBOARDING IN THE DISTRICT, GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT TO EXPECT. WE SPOKE ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT IN A CRISIS SITUATION OR AN EMERGENCY, THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMUNICATION THEY MIGHT RECEIVE, WHERE IT'S GOING TO COME FROM AND DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS AROUND THAT. AND I KNOW DR. CHAMP IS EXCITED TO START SUPERINTENDENT LUNCHES WITH THE FACULTY ON A MONTHLY BASIS, SO SHE'LL BE MOVING THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOLS AND THAT JUST GIVES AN ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK LOOP, A CHANCE FOR HER TO SHARE WHAT'S GOING ON FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE. BUT I THINK MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO LISTEN AND GET SOME FEEDBACK FROM OUR STAFF. YOU KNOW, AS WE MOVE FORWARD THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. AND THE LAST PIECE THAT I WANT TO MENTION, I THINK THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. I SPOKE EARLIER ABOUT CONSTANT CONTACT AND INFINITE CAMPUS AND THE VARIOUS ISSUES AND PROS OF BOTH OF THOSE THINGS. WE'RE REALLY EXCITED THAT I KNOW IT SAYS OCTOBER HERE. IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT LATER THAN THAT. TECH ROLLOUTS CAN SOMETIMES BE A LITTLE SLOWER THAN WE WANT, BUT WE ARE GOING TO BE TRANSITIONING TO PARENTSQUARE AS A COMMUNICATIONS TOOL AND WHAT THAT'S GOING TO DO A LOT OF REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS FOR US. NUMBER ONE, ON THE CONTACT MANAGEMENT SIDE, IT'S GOING TO SYNC WITH INFINITE CAMPUS EVERY NIGHT. SO THOSE CONTACTS ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE UP TO DATE AND THAT'S GOING TO GIVE US THE CONFIDENCE THAT WE'RE REACHING THE PEOPLE THAT WE NEED TO REACH ON THE RECEIVING END. I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE REALLY, REALLY GOOD FOR PARENTS. THERE WILL BE AN OPTION TO HAVE A FREE, FREE APP. [00:55:01] YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE IT. YOU CAN STILL RECEIVE EMAIL AS YOU DO, BUT YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE PARENTSQUARE APP AND YOU'LL RECEIVE THOSE PUSH NOTIFICATIONS AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE PAST POSTS AND PAST EMAILS RIGHT ON YOUR PHONE. I KNOW YOU KNOW MY DAUGHTER IS IN DAYCARE, THEY HAVE AN APP, I GET NOTIFICATIONS FOR BASICALLY EVERYTHING SHE DOES DURING THE DAY. IT'S ACTUALLY FANTASTIC. I LOVE IT. I CAN ALWAYS CHECK IN AND JUST SEE HOW'S THE DAY GOING? WHEN WE LOOK THROUGH THE LENS OF CULTURAL COMPETENCE, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE GOALS OF OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, ONE OF THE FEATURES THAT REALLY ATTRACTED US TO PARENTSQUARE IS FOLKS WILL BE ABLE TO GO IN AND SET A HOME LANGUAGE. AND WHEN THEY DO THAT, THE MESSAGES THAT WE POST ARE GOING TO AUTOMATICALLY TRANSLATE INTO THAT HOME LANGUAGE. SO, WE DO A LITTLE BIT OF TRANSLATION. NOW, I'LL TELL YOU, IT'S VERY TIME CONSUMING. IT IS WELL WORTH IT. BUT TO HAVE THAT, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO HAPPEN FOR ALL PARENTS IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, I THINK WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT ANOTHER YOU KNOW, AUDREY SPOKE ABOUT THIS. THERE ARE A LOT OF CONCERNS AROUND EMAIL AND THERE'S EMAIL FATIGUE AND WE KNOW THAT. AND IF YOU'RE A PARENT AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND YOU ALSO HAVE ONE IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND MAYBE YOU HAVE ONE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEN YOU'RE GETTING DISTRICT EMAILS AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU'RE LOOKING THROUGH YOUR INBOX AND EVERY FEW HOURS YOU HAVE A NEW EMAIL AND YOU'RE TRYING TO SORT OUT AND FIND WHAT'S IMPORTANT AND WHAT'S NOT. PARENTSQUARE DOES HAVE AN OPTION THAT YOU CAN RECEIVE THE NOTIFICATIONS FROM A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR FROM YOUR SCHOOL AS PART OF A DAILY DIGEST AT 6 P.M. EVERY DAY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT. YOU CAN CONTINUE RECEIVING THEM AS YOU DO NOW, BUT THAT I THINK, IS GOING TO BE A REALLY NICE OPTION FOR FOLKS AND MAYBE HELP CUT DOWN ON SOME OF THOSE THOSE CONCERNS AND ISSUES. AND I ALSO WILL TELL YOU, JUST FROM MY STANDPOINT, MOVING DOWN FROM TWO SYSTEMS TO ONE SYSTEM IS GOING TO CREATE A LOT OF EFFICIENCY, ESPECIALLY IN A SITUATION LIKE WE HAD YESTERDAY, WHERE WE DID HAVE A LOT OF NOTIFICATIONS GOING OUT BECAUSE WE HAD SOME SECURITY CONCERNS GOING ON IN THE COMMUNITY AND WE HAD A SITUATION DEVELOPING IN ONE OF THE SCHOOLS. I'M TOGGLING BETWEEN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT TABS AND TRYING TO FORMAT MESSAGES IN DIFFERENT WAYS, AND PARENTS IS GOING TO PUT THAT ALL IN ONE SCREEN FOR ME. AND SO I'M VERY EXCITED FROM A PERSONAL LEVEL THAT'S GOING TO BE A LOT EASIER BEFORE I OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS. YOU KNOW, THIS IS MAYBE A ONCE IN A LIFETIME. WE'LL SEE OPPORTUNITY FOR US. I THINK IT'S BEEN A REALLY, REALLY INFORMATIVE PROCESS TO GO THROUGH. I THINK IT'S GOING TO PUT US IN A REALLY GOOD PLACE. NONE OF THAT HAPPENS WITHOUT THE HELP OF A LOT OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE. AND I JUST WANT TO THANK SOME AND YOU KNOW, FIRST OFF, THE BOARD AND THE PREVIOUS BOARD FOR SUPPORTING US AND TAKING THIS LEAP. NOT A LOT OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS. I'M REALLY EXCITED THAT WE WERE GIVEN THAT OPPORTUNITY. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT. OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY COMMITTEE WORKED REALLY HARD BEHIND THE SCENES ON A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS FROM VETTING THAT RFP AND RATING THE RFP TO HELPING SPREAD WORD ABOUT THE SURVEY TO REACHING THOSE FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE WERE STRUGGLING TO REACH. AND WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS WITHOUT THEIR HELP AND SUPPORT. OUR ADMINISTRATORS PROVIDED AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF INFORMATION, A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT, YOU KNOW, INTERNAL EMAILS TO STAFF. YOU DON'T EXPECT THOSE TO BE SEEN BY A THIRD PARTY AUDITOR, NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING TO HIDE THERE, BUT IT TAKES A LOT OF TRUST TO PROVIDE US WITH THOSE MATERIALS AND TO ENGAGE IN THIS PROCESS. SO I WANT TO THANK THEM FOR THAT. EVERYONE WHO FILLED OUT THAT SURVEY, I FULLY RECOGNIZE IT WAS A LONG SURVEY AND I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYONE TAKING THE TIME TO DO THAT, ESPECIALLY OUR STUDENTS, OUR ADMINISTRATORS, OUR STAFF, OUR PARENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS. YOU KNOW, WE REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR FAMILIES WHO DON'T NECESSARILY SPEAK ENGLISH AS THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCESS. THAT'S NOT ALWAYS EASY FOR US TO DO. WE HAD A TEACHING ASSISTANT, MATILDA JANSE, WHO TRANSLATED THE SURVEY EVERY QUESTION AND EVERY POSSIBLE ANSWER INTO ALBANIAN FOR US. AND THEN OUR ELL COORDINATOR, MARIAM GASHI, WAS ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE THAT SURVEY TO ALL OF OUR FAMILIES. THEN ON TOP OF THAT, THE ELL CLUB, WHICH IS A GROUP OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, TOOK THOSE PAPER SURVEYS AND INPUTTED ALL THE DATA INTO THE ONLINE SYSTEM, AND THEY DESERVE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF THANKS FOR DOING THAT. WE'RE REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF THAT EFFORT. AND LASTLY, ON THAT FRONT, RÉGULO GUZMAN, WHO'S A HIGH SCHOOL SPANISH TEACHER, SERVED AS OUR TRANSLATOR FOR THE SPANISH LANGUAGE SPEAKING FAMILY FOCUS GROUP. SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE HER EFFORT ON THAT. AND LASTLY, JUST I WANT TO THANK AUDREY AND THE TEAM AT INSPIRA FOR BEING WITH US EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, PROVIDING SUPPORT, ANSWERING OUR QUESTIONS, AND REALLY PUTTING US THROUGH A REALLY THOROUGH AUDIT PROCESS. SO I'M REALLY HAPPY WITH THE RESULT. I LOOK FORWARD TO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. AND WITH THAT, PLEASE, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR AUDREY OR MYSELF, WE'RE HERE. THANK YOU. [01:00:03] WHEN YOU THINK OF SORT OF THE THE TOP PRIORITIES FOR YOU, THERE'S THE SORT OF EIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS. AND THE FIRST ONE SEEMS LIKE IT'S PROBABLY THE HIGHEST PRIORITY BOTH FROM THE AUDITORS AND ALSO JUST SORT OF THINKING ABOUT HOW YOU ORGANIZE THIS. ARE THERE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS ON THERE THAT YOU LOOK AT AND SAY, LIKE, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT FROM THE INSIDE, SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING THAT YOU CLEARLY NEED AND RECOGNIZE A NEED TO PRIORITIZE? YEAH. THANKS FOR THE QUESTION. ABSOLUTELY. I WOULD SAY RIGHT OFF THE BAT, CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS IS SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON REALLY HARD OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS. WE HAVE BUILT A CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN, BUT IT IS NOT NEARLY AS ROBUST AS WE WANT IT TO BE. SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE AUDIT REPORT NOTES THIS. I THINK WE'VE MADE SOME GOOD PROGRESS IN THAT AREA, BUT DEFINITELY FOCUSING THERE AND ASSIGNING SOME MORE ROLES AND TRYING TO BE A LITTLE BIT QUICKER. YOU KNOW, OUR GOAL IS TO BE THE TRUSTED SOURCE OF INFORMATION IN OUR COMMUNITY. AND I THINK IF WE'RE ABLE TO BE A BIT MORE RESPONSIVE AND REALLY GET OUR SYSTEMS IN PLACE, WE'LL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT. THE OTHER ONE I THINK IS INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS. I THINK IT'S ANOTHER AREA THAT WE'VE WORKED ON A LOT, BUT I THINK IT'S BUILDING CAPACITY AND BUILDING STRUCTURE BECAUSE IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE NECESSARILY HAVE A LOT IN PLACE FOR. WE TRY AND WE TRY AND DO THE BEST WE CAN, BUT I THINK IF WE'RE ABLE TO PUT SOME STRUCTURE AROUND THAT AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WITH SOME OF THE AREAS I HIGHLIGHTED THAT WE'VE ALREADY STARTED, WE'RE ALREADY DOING THAT. I THINK THERE'S A LOT MORE WE CAN DO. AND I DEFINITELY THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE AN AREA OF FOCUS RIGHT OFF THE BAT. ALEX, THANK YOU FOR DOING THE SURVEY, OF COURSE, AND EVERYBODY ELSE WHO PARTICIPATED. IT'S BEEN A LONG PROCESS, AS YOU SAID, AND I'M GLAD THAT SOME OF THE LOW HANGING FRUIT HAS BEEN ALREADY KIND OF PICKED AND YOU STARTED WORKING ON IT IN TERMS OF THE INTERNAL COMMUNICATION AND MAYBE, DR. CHAMP, HOW WOULD THE CLIMATE SURVEY THAT'S COMING AND GOING TO HAPPEN GOING TO INTEGRATE INTO THAT? BECAUSE I KNOW YOU ALREADY STARTED PUTTING SOME PLANS TOGETHER. YEAH, I SEE THEM WORKING HAND IN HAND, YOU KNOW, AND ACTUALLY, ALEX AND I WERE TALKING EARLIER TODAY. I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE RECOMMENDATIONS HERE CERTAINLY WE SHOULD KEEP IN MIND AS WE HEAD TOWARDS STRATEGIC PLANNING, THE CLIMATE SURVEY, SAME THING. AND YOU KNOW, THERE WERE ELEMENTS OF SCHOOL CULTURE AND CLIMATE, OBVIOUSLY, THAT WERE CAPTURED HERE BECAUSE COMMUNICATIONS IS SO INTERTWINED WITH THAT. SO THIS HAS GIVEN US SOME, YOU KNOW, SOME GOOD INFORMATION. AND I KNOW IN CONVERSATIONS WITH AUDREY, I'M CERTAINLY NOT PUTTING WORDS IN HER MOUTH, YOU KNOW, COMING THROUGH THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE BEEN REALLY CHALLENGING FOR ALL SCHOOLS. AND I THINK IF YOU READ ANY OF THE ARTICLES, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MORALE ISSUES. THERE'S THE CHALLENGES IN EDUCATION AS A WHOLE. SO I DON'T THINK WE'RE OUT OF THE NORM, BUT THAT ALSO DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE DON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. YOU KNOW, WE REALLY I THINK IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT FOR US AND FOR ME TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT WE WE HEAR THAT FEEDBACK AND WE TAKE IT SERIOUSLY AND WE HONOR THAT AND AND DO WHAT WE CAN TO FILL THOSE GAPS AND TO REESTABLISH SOME OF THAT BETTER COMMUNICATION, REBUILD TRUST WHERE IT'S BEEN LOST, CLARIFY ANYTHING. THAT'S WHERE THERE'S CONFUSION, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. SO I THINK MY HOPE IS THAT AND I WAS GOING TO STEVE IS UNABLE TO BE WITH US TONIGHT BECAUSE HE'S SICK, BUT HE WAS GOING TO REPORT THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE LAUNCHING THE CLIMATE SURVEY. OCTOBER 16TH IS OUR TARGET DATE. SO WE SHOULD BE GETTING THE RESULTS OF THAT BACK END OF JANUARY, BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY. MY HOPE IS THAT WE SAW SOME ELEMENTS OF CLIMATE AND CULTURE HERE. MAYBE WHEN WE GET THOSE RESULTS, I KNOW THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT SURVEYS, BUT MAYBE THERE SHOULD BE SOME HOPEFULLY SOME NOTED IMPROVEMENT IN SOME OF THOSE AREAS. BUT I THINK THE TOOLS OF THE COMMUNICATION AUDIT AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE GOING TO HELP US TOWARDS CONTINUING TO IMPROVE CLIMATE PLUS WHATEVER ADDITIONAL INFORMATION COMES OUT OF THAT SURVEY. SO TO ME, IT'S ALL HAND IN HAND. AND I JUST WANTED TO TO THANK ALEX. THERE'S PROBABLY NOT I'M PROBABLY THE ONLY MORE TRANSPARENT ROLE IN THE DISTRICT THAN THE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE. SO JUST FOR HIM TO BE EVEN WILLING TO, HE CAME TO ME A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, I THINK, AND SAID, I GOT THIS IDEA. DO YOU THINK THIS IS SOMETHING WE COULD DO JUST TO BE WILLING TO DO THAT IN A COMMUNITY WITH SUCH HIGH EXPECTATIONS? I JUST WANT TO APPLAUD HIM FOR HIS WILLINGNESS TO DO THAT AND TO INITIATE THAT AND THEN TO ENGAGE, YOU KNOW, THE COMMITTEE AND THE BOARD AND EVERYONE TO TAKE THE LEAD IN THAT, KNOWING THAT TRANSPARENCY, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS WHAT IS THE PHRASE DAYLIGHT IS THE BEST ANTISEPTIC. SO SO KNOWING THAT THERE WOULD BE A LITTLE STING FROM THAT, BUT ALSO KNOWING THAT THAT IS HOW YOU IMPROVE. SO I JUST APPLAUD THE THE WILLINGNESS TO DO THAT AND GO THERE. [01:05:05] I ALSO WANT TO THANK YOU, ALEX. THANK YOU. ARE THERE SPECIFIC TOPICS THAT YOU'RE FOCUSING ON IN EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT? YOU MENTIONED THE FIRST NEWSLETTER COMING OUT. IS THERE SOME AREAS OF FOCUS THAT YOU'RE. WELL, WE'RE JUST DABBLING RIGHT NOW, BUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A SECTION FOR EACH DEPARTMENT. SO EACH ONE OF THE ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS AND MYSELF WILL HAVE A SECTION. SO SOME OF THE SOME OF THE TOPICS I THINK MY THEME IN THIS FIRST ONE IS GOING TO RELATE TO THE COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT, WHY WE'RE DOING THIS. I THINK THAT'S WHEN I REFLECT BACK ON SOME OF THE FEEDBACK. YOU KNOW, IF PEOPLE DIDN'T FEEL THEIR VOICES WERE HEARD AND COMMUNICATED IN DECISION MAKING, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE THAT THEIR VOICES WERE HEARD, BUT THE DECISION DIDN'T GO A DIFFERENT WAY, IT WENT A DIFFERENT WAY. AND MOST OF US UNDERSTAND THAT AS PROFESSIONALS, WE EXPRESS OUR OPINION. THINGS DON'T ALWAYS GO OUR WAY, RIGHT? BUT WHEN PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHY, I THINK THAT HELPS THEM TO UNDERSTAND. AND I THINK BACK, WE PROBABLY IF I COULD REDO SOME THINGS FROM THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, THE WHY WOULD BE AND I KNOW WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME LAST YEAR TALKING ABOUT THE WHY, BUT COMMUNICATING NOT WHY I THINK WOULD HAVE COULD HAVE HELPED IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES. SO, YOU KNOW, FOR ME, MY INTRODUCTION IS JUST TALKING ABOUT THE COMMUNICATIONS AND WHAT OUR GOALS ARE. YOU KNOW, I KNOW TRACY'S GOT SOME NEW STAFF IN HER DEPARTMENT, SO KIND OF A, YOU KNOW, INTRODUCTION TO SOME OF THOSE NEW PEOPLE. YOU KNOW, EACH OF THE DEPARTMENTS, THEY'RE KIND OF THINKING, WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO STAFF, TIMELY, IMPORTANT TO JUST HELP THEM KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHO'S WHO. BUT THEN ALSO WHAT ARE WE DOING? WHY ARE WE DOING IT SO THAT THEY CAN HEAR, YOU KNOW, KIND OF FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON. SO IT'LL PROBABLY EVOLVE AS THE YEAR GOES ON. BUT DEFINITELY, TO ME, TIMELY, RELEVANT AND IMPORTANT WOULD BE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO CAPTURE IN PRETTY BRIEF, THOUGH, TOO, BECAUSE WE ALSO RECOGNIZE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GOING TO WRITE A 70 PAGE NEWSLETTER, YOU KNOW, A FEW PARAGRAPHS FROM EACH DEPARTMENT JUST TO STAY ABREAST OF WHAT'S GOING ON, I THINK COULD GO A LONG WAY. YEAH. AND I THINK, TOO, JUST TO ADD ON TO THAT, I THINK THAT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY PROVIDING THAT CONDUIT FOR INFORMATION, BUT ALSO STARTING TO SET UP THESE STRUCTURES SO THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHEN TO EXPECT SOMETHING AND THAT, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH THERE'S GOING TO BE AN EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER AND THERE WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH DR. CHAMP DURING THE YEAR. AND JUST SORT OF PUTTING THAT INTO PLACE, I THINK IS, I THINK GOING TO GO A REALLY LONG WAY INTO HELPING IN THAT AREA. AND DO YOU HAVE A PLAN TO I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THE CLIMATE SURVEY, BUT SORT OF TO PULSE THE PULSE, THE STAFF OR EVEN THE COMMUNITY AND SEE HOW THINGS ARE GOING AS YOU AS YOU MAKE IMPROVEMENTS? I'M GOING TO DEFER TO AUDREY ON THAT AS PART OF THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME METRICS AND BENCHMARKS AS PART OF THAT. YEAH, IF YOU DON'T MIND. SO PART OF THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN IS THERE'S A HUGE EVALUATION COMPONENT. SO WE'LL BE LOOKING AT AS WE'RE BUILDING THAT PLAN, HOW DO WE EVALUATE LIKE HOW DO WE KNOW THAT THE WORK WE'RE DOING IS CREATING RESULTS, WE'RE ACHIEVING THE OBJECTIVES WE SET OUT FOR. SO THERE'LL BE ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF WAYS THAT WE GATHER THAT INFORMATION FROM, RIGHT? LIKE EMAIL, OPEN RATES, YOU KNOW, OR PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKE, YOU KNOW, SPENDING SOME TIME READING THE DOCUMENT. LIKE THERE'S ALL DIFFERENT METRICS THAT WE CAN DIG INTO. AND CERTAINLY THE CLIMATE SURVEY IS GOING TO BE, I THINK, A GREAT WAY TO KIND OF GET A SENSE, TOO, AROUND COMMUNICATIONS AND THE EFFORTS THERE. SO EVALUATION IS A HUGE COMPONENT BECAUSE YOU CAN DO ALL SORTS OF THINGS AND STUFF, BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU'RE REACHING YOUR GOALS? SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SEEING PROGRESS. THANK YOU. OKAY. ACTUALLY, I HAVE A QUESTION ON THE ACTION. STEP NUMBER SEVEN, WE TALKED ABOUT STAFFING AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SAYING IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO GET A 0.5 STAFF TO HELP HAVE A PART TIMER IN OTHER DISTRICTS OUR SIZE. WHAT IS THE STAFFING LEVELS FOR THE COMMUNICATION, I GUESS, TEAM GROUP? YEAH, I THINK I'D HAVE TO CHECK TO SEE WHAT TYPICALLY THE STAFFING LEVELS WOULD BE, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S UNHEARD OF TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE PERSON GIVING THE COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY WE'RE IN NOW WITH SO MANY PLATFORMS, SO MANY TOOLS AVAILABLE. I THINK PART OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN WILL LOOK AT PRIORITIZING THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO HAPPEN DURING THE YEAR. AND WHAT YOU'RE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH AND ACHIEVE IS GOING TO BE RELEVANT TO THE STAFFING LEVELS. SO MAYBE IT WILL TAKE LONGER TO ACHIEVE THE THINGS THAT YOU WANT OR MAYBE IT COULD BE EXPEDITED A LITTLE BIT MORE IF YOU'RE ABLE TO ADD THAT ADDITIONAL STAFF [01:10:02] CAPACITY. SO BUT I COULD CERTAINLY CHECK ON SOME OF THE DIFFERENT STAFFING LEVELS. I KNOW WE HAVE DATA ON THAT. ACTUALLY A FOLLOW UP TO THE STAFFING QUESTION ISSUE, AND THIS IS PROBABLY MORE FOR DR. CHAMP. I KNOW THAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS TO EXPAND THE OFFICE. IS THERE FLEXIBILITY IN THE BUDGET THIS YEAR TO DO THAT OR ARE WE LOOKING AT THAT FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR? I THINK WE WOULD HAVE TO LIKELY LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING. WE DO CERTAINLY HAVE SOME CONTINGENCY, AS JIM WILL BE VERY QUICK TO TELL YOU, WE'RE RUNNING DEFINITELY MORE LEAN THIS YEAR GIVEN ESPECIALLY SOME OF WHEN WE THINK ABOUT OUR CLASS, YOU KNOW, THE ENROLLMENTS THAT WE HAD, ADDITIONAL SUPPORTS THAT WE PUT IN. AND WE'VE GOT INCREASED TRANSPORTATION COSTS, A VARIETY OF OTHER THINGS. SO WE WOULD HAVE TO LOOK CRITICALLY AT THAT. I THINK MORE MOST LIKELY NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET WOULD MAKE THE MOST SENSE, WHICH WOULD ALSO GIVE ALEX AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMPILE THE LIST OF RESPONSIBILITIES. THAT WAS ANOTHER PIECE OF THAT. SO AS A PRECURSOR TO THAT, A CRITICAL LOOK AT ALL THE FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE I THINK WOULD BE IMPORTANT. YEAH. AND CAN I CAN I JUST ADD AS MUCH AS I WOULD LOVE ANOTHER BODY TO HELP? RIGHT. I THINK IF THAT'S SOMETHING THE BOARD WANTS TO CONSIDER DOWN THE ROAD, TERRIFIC. BUT DO WE WANT TO DO THAT IN A VERY STRATEGIC WAY? AND I DO WANT I THINK IT WOULD BE VERY WISE TO COMPLETE THE ANALYSIS AND REALLY GET A GOOD SENSE OF WHERE OUR NEEDS ARE BEFORE WE EVEN TALK ABOUT THAT. AND, YOU KNOW, I LIVE HERE AS WELL. RIGHT? AND I THINK WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT MOST OF OUR DOLLARS NEED TO GO INTO THE CLASSROOM AND SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS. SO I THINK IT'D BE GREAT TO HAVE ANOTHER PERSON. BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF COMPETING PRIORITIES. SO I TOTALLY RECOGNIZE THAT AND, YOU KNOW, WANT TO DO WHAT'S RIGHT FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AS A WHOLE. ALEX, I HAVE TO THANK YOU ALSO BECAUSE I KNOW YOU TOOK A LOT OF FEEDBACK FROM THE PTA THROUGHOUT THE YEARS. SO THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS. HOW DOES ALTIRIS? DO THEY? ARE THEY INVOLVED IN HELPING DEVELOP THE CRISIS COMMUNICATION PLAN AND ANY REVIEW OF THE COMMUNICATION? ABSOLUTELY. AND I WILL SAY THAT HAVING ALTIRIS JOIN THE TEAM AND ESPECIALLY TO HAVE TOM DRAKE FULL TIME THIS YEAR HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS. SO THE EMERGENCY GUIDE THAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU RIGHT NOW LARGELY DEVELOPED BY THEM. THEY HAVE A TEMPLATE THAT THEY USE. WE, YOU KNOW, ANYONE WHO KNOWS ME KNOWS I CAN'T KEEP MY HANDS OFF A DOCUMENT. SO THERE WAS SOME CHOICE EDITING INVOLVED IN THAT. BUT THEY WERE THEY WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN PUTTING THAT TOGETHER. ADDITIONALLY, JUST HAVING A POINT OF CONTACT WITH TOM ON THE GROUND DURING SITUATIONS LIKE WE HAD YESTERDAY, YOU KNOW, HE'S IN TOUCH WITH ME CONSTANTLY AND THAT'S BEEN TREMENDOUSLY HELPFUL. AND I THINK IF YOU WERE ON THE RECEIVING END, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE GOT THINGS OUT VERY QUICKLY YESTERDAY AND THAT WAS LARGELY BECAUSE TOM WAS KEEPING ME UP TO DATE IN THE MOMENT. SO THAT'S BEEN A REALLY HUGE SHIFT AND A POSITIVE FOR US. THE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN THAT WE DO HAVE WAS REVIEWED BY TOM AND THE ALTIRIS TEAM LAST YEAR, AND I WOULD ENVISION THEM HAVING A MAJOR ROLE AS WE LOOK TO EXPAND THAT MOVING FORWARD. WHEN BECAUSE YOU MENTIONED PARENTSQUARE AND IT SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT APP, BUT WHEN WOULD SOMETHING LIKE THAT. WHEN WOULD WE MOVE FORWARD WITH SOMETHING LIKE THAT OR WHAT WOULD THE. YEAH, WE'RE IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW, SO I WOULD EXPECT THAT THAT TO ROLL OUT BY NOVEMBER. SO WE'RE IN THE PROCESS RIGHT NOW OF SETTING UP THE CONTACT TRANSFER IS SORT OF THE FIRST STEP. AND THEN WE WANT TO DO SOME BEHIND THE SCENES WORK TO, I DON'T LIKE THE WORD BRANDING, BUT IT IS BRANDING. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE CONSISTENT MESSAGE TEMPLATES AND CLEAR EXPECTATIONS. AND THEN THERE'S OBVIOUSLY SOME TRAINING THAT HAS TO GO ON BEHIND THE SCENES SO PEOPLE FEEL COMFORTABLE ON THE BACK END USING IT. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW. AND AS SOON AS WE'RE READY TO LAUNCH, WE'RE READY TO LAUNCH. WE ENVISION IT ROLLING OUT THIS YEAR AND THAT WOULD BE FOR EMAILS FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND PRINCIPALS, BUT SAID YOU COULD ALSO MESSAGE TEACHERS THROUGH THAT THE PLATFORM HAS A TON OF CAPABILITY. I DON'T THINK THAT WE WOULD ROLL IT ALL OUT IMMEDIATELY. I THINK IT'S A YEARS LONG PROCESS, BUT IT HAS THE ABILITY FOR. SO THE EMERGENCY TEXT MESSAGES THAT YOU RECEIVE RIGHT NOW, YOU'RE STILL GOING TO RECEIVE THOSE AS YOU WOULD. THEY'RE JUST GOING TO COME FROM PARENT SQUARE VERSUS INFINITE CAMPUS. LONG TERM, I THINK WE CAN EXPLORE MOVING SOME TEACHER COMMUNICATION THERE AS WELL BECAUSE IT DOES HAVE THAT ABILITY. [01:15:02] AND EVEN FOR STUDENT COMMUNICATION, THERE IS ACTUALLY A STUDENT SQUARE APP. I THINK IT'S THE SAME APP BUT BRANDED A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY. BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK IF WE'RE ABLE TO GET TO THAT POINT, I THINK IT WOULD BE TERRIFIC FOR PARENTS TO HAVE SORT OF ONE STOP SHOPPING, RIGHT? IF THEY'RE GETTING A MESSAGE FROM THE TEACHER, THEY CAN LOOK IN THE APP AND GO NO FURTHER AND ALSO SEE THE MESSAGES FROM THEIR PRINCIPAL AND FROM THE DISTRICT. WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT FARTHER DOWN THE ROAD. AND CERTAINLY WE WOULD HAVE TO WORK VERY COLLABORATIVELY, COLLABORATIVELY WITH OUR TEACHERS ON THAT. BUT IT'S CERTAINLY AN OPPORTUNITY WE CAN EXPLORE. ONE THING I NOTICED IN RECOMMENDATION SEVEN AS WELL, I THINK THE VERY FIRST LINE SAID STAKEHOLDERS TODAY DEMAND TRANSPARENCY AND TWO WAY COMMUNICATIONS. BUT I DIDN'T SEE A LOT OF OF WHAT THE BOARD CAN DO. IS THERE ANYTHING WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT? I MEAN I BOARD COFFEES SEEM TO BE GENERALLY GENERALLY WELL RECEIVED. IS THERE IS THERE ANYTHING WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT IN THAT CONTEXT OF TRANSPARENCY AND TWO WAY COMMUNICATIONS? THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. WE DEFINITELY IN THAT AREA WERE MORE SPECIFICALLY LOOKING AT THE COMMUNICATION FROM DIFFERENT LEVELS. BUT ABSOLUTELY, THERE'S A ROLE FOR THE BOARD TO PLAY. SO THINGS LIKE THIS THAT YOU'RE DOING HERE TODAY, I THINK THERE'S A LOT THAT'S ALREADY UNDERWAY. OBVIOUSLY STREAMING A MEETING, MAKING THE MATERIALS AVAILABLE. BUT YEAH, I WOULD SAY THAT PROBABLY I DIDN'T TOUCH ON THAT AS MUCH. I FOCUSED MORE ON THE OTHER AREAS, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT THAT FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN. IF THERE'S ANY RECOMMENDATIONS TO MOVE THAT FORWARD IN THAT AREA FOR THE BOARD. YEAH, I WOULD. I WOULD ECHO THAT, TOO. I THINK THAT THAT'S IF THAT'S A PRIORITY FOR THE BOARD, WE'D BE HAPPY TO LOOK AT THAT. AS FAR AS DEVELOPING THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN AND LOOKING AT DIFFERENT OPTIONS. GOOD. GREAT. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND, AUDREY, REALLY. THANK YOU. WE APPRECIATE THE WORK YOU'VE DONE IN THE DISTRICT. AND I KNOW SHE JUST HAD A GREAT CONNECTION WITH THE STAFF AND THE FACULTY AND ALL THE STAKEHOLDER GROUPS, AND I WAS REALLY JUST A JOY TO WORK WITH. SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO HELP BUILD OUR STRATEGIC PLAN AND LOOK FORWARD TO THAT CONTINUED PARTNERSHIP. AND ALEX, AGAIN, THANK YOU AS WELL FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP IN THIS. WELL DONE. I'M GOING TO SUGGEST WE MOVE UP PUBLIC COMMENT. I DON'T. DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK? NO. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. MOVING RIGHT ALONG. OKAY. SO NEXT IS SUPERINTENDENTS REPORT. [4.4 Superintendent's Report] OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I'M GOING TO KEEP IT VERY BRIEF BECAUSE I THINK THE AWARDS AND THE COMMUNICATIONS ARE BASICALLY MOSTLY WHAT I WANTED TO SHARE TONIGHT. JUST A COUPLE REAL QUICK PIECES TO WRAP THINGS UP. I KNOW WITH THE BOARD, YOU KNOW, WE TOOK A MORE STRUCTURED APPROACH TO THE SMART GOALS THIS YEAR. SO WE SENT HOME OUR FIRST QUARTERLY REPORT. SO, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SOME FEEDBACK ON THAT OVER TIME TO SEE IF THAT KIND OF HITS THE MARK FOR WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IN COMMUNICATION. WE WANT TO BE SURE TO BALANCE THE WORKLOAD FOR THE CABINET ON HERE, TOO. SO THEY'VE GOT BRIEF REPORTS TONIGHT SINCE OUR FOCUS WAS ON THAT QUARTERLY REPORT. SO THEY'RE GOING TO KEEP IT SUPER BRIEF. I DID WANT TO FOLLOW UP, TOO. OBVIOUSLY, AS ALEX MENTIONED, WE DID HAVE A NUMBER OF ISSUES YESTERDAY. IT WAS, I THINK, A FULL MOON. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS, BUT WE REALLY, YOU KNOW, THE TEAM, I THINK, DID A GREAT JOB OF TRYING TO GET THINGS OUT MORE QUICKLY AND TAKING RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT TONIGHT AND IMPLEMENTING THOSE. SO WE DID GET A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE THE THIRD SITUATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED THAT WAS BEING LOOKED FOR IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. I DID HEAR THIS MORNING THAT THAT INDIVIDUAL WAS ARRESTED EARLY THIS MORNING IN THE HEIGHTS AREA. SO WE DID JUST JUST SO FOLKS DO KNOW, WE WERE IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE VILLAGE PD ALL THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON ON THAT PARTICULAR EVENT. AND WE WERE IN COLLABORATION WITH THEM ABOUT GOING INTO THE LOCK OUT AS WELL AS ENDING THE LOCKOUT. THE INFORMATION AT THAT POINT IN TIME WAS THAT THE INDIVIDUAL WILL, TO THE BEST OF ANYONE'S KNOWLEDGE, HAD MOVED ON TO OTHER COMMUNITIES, WAS NO LONGER IN PELHAM. SO THAT'S WHY WE LIFTED IT THE WAY WE DID. I KNOW SOME FOLKS WERE CONCERNED. OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WHEN AN ARREST CAME BACK HERE AND LITERALLY SOMEBODY'S FRONT DOOR. [01:20:03] ABSOLUTELY. CAN UNDERSTAND THAT CONCERN. YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW IF THE INDIVIDUAL LEFT CAME BACK. YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW. IT'S YOU KNOW, THAT'S KIND OF NOT MY REALM. BUT I YOU KNOW, I DO RECOGNIZE THE CONCERN THAT THAT RAISED FOR SOME FOLKS. WE ALWAYS WORK IN COLLABORATION WITH THEM. WE ALL HAVE THAT COMMON GOAL OF KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR KIDS SAFE. SO, I JUST WANTED TO REITERATE THAT AND THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DID MAKE THAT DECISION AS WELL INFORMED AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME AS WE AS WE COULD FOR OUR COMMUNITY. SO JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT. I ALREADY MENTIONED THE CLIMATE SURVEY. SO THE ONLY OTHER PIECE I WAS GOING TO MENTION TO THE BOARD IS I WILL BE HEADING TO THE ANNUAL NEW YORK STATE COUNCIL OF SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS CONFERENCE THIS WEEKEND. THEY'LL CARRY THAT'LL BE FROM STARTING SUNDAY, SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY. SO I WILL BE BACK UPSTATE AGAIN UP IN SARATOGA FOR A FEW DAYS. BUT LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. IT'S ALWAYS GOOD RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR UPDATES FROM THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, MEET SOME VENDORS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY DO SOME WORK FOR US IN TIME AND JUST TO NETWORK WITH OTHER SUPERINTENDENTS AROUND THE STATE. SO WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THAT. AND THAT'S IT FOR ME TONIGHT. GREAT. THANK YOU. OKAY. BOARD OF EDUCATION COMMITTEE REPORTS. I THINK, JIM, BY UPDATE OR I CAN DO IT NOW IF YOU'D LIKE. YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT FACILITIES? SURE, I'D BE HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW. SO, THIS MORNING, THE FACILITIES MEETING HELD. A COMMITTEE HELD A MEETING. SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT WERE DISCUSSED WERE THE SUMMER WORK, WHICH I KNOW THE BOARD HAS HEARD ABOUT PREVIOUSLY. WE ALSO SHARED WITH THE COMMITTEE OUR 2324 PROJECTS THAT WERE APPROVED IN THE BUDGET, THE HVAC ROOFTOP UNIT REPLACEMENTS FOR THIS BUILDING, AS WELL AS THE PLAYGROUND WORK AT OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. WE'VE UPGRADED AND WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF UPGRADING OUR DOOR SENSORS. WE TALKED ABOUT OUR BUILDING CONDITION STUDY THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS YEAR, THE ENGAGEMENT OF OUR ARCHITECT FOR THAT WORK, AS WELL AS A CAPACITY STUDY AND THE ENGAGEMENT OF THEIR WORK FOR OUR HVAC PROJECTS AS WELL. WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT SOME COMPLIANCE TESTING THAT HAS TO COME UP WITH FACILITIES IN THE NEXT MONTH OR SO, NAMELY OUR REGULAR REGULARLY SCHEDULED LEAD TESTING, WHICH HAS TO BE DONE AT ALL SCHOOLS. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, EVEN THE NEWEST SCHOOLS HUTCHINSON SCHOOL WILL BE TESTED AS WELL. PREVIOUSLY, A SCHOOL OF NEW VINTAGE WOULD HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED. BUT NOW THE STATE LAW REQUIRES WE ALSO TEST AT HUTCHINSON. SO WE'LL HAVE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION AND OUR ANNUAL FIRE INSPECTION COMES UP EVERY YEAR. AND THAT'S, OF COURSE, PART OF WHAT WE DO AS REQUIRED BY STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. AND WE DO THAT. WE ALSO INVITE OUR PARTNERS AND THE FIRE CHIEFS, THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS FROM EITHER FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR BOTH THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS TO OBSERVE, BECAUSE THEY'RE CERTAINLY PROVIDED THAT OPPORTUNITY. AND WE'VE GOT, I THINK, GOOD RELATIONS WITH BOTH OF THEM. WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT OUR WORK COMING UP IN THE NEXT YEAR WITH THE BUILDING CONDITION SURVEY. WITH OUR CAPACITY STUDY, WE HAVE A DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY MOVING FORWARD. I THINK PART OF THAT WORK ALSO INVOLVES LOOKING AT OUR DISTRICT AND LOOKING AT OTHER DISTRICTS AND BENCHMARKING, BENCHMARKING OURSELVES AT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS. LOOKING AT OURSELVES AS DISTRICTS ARE SIMILAR SIZE, OUR SIMILAR STRUCTURE SAY WHERE WE HAVE A COMBINED HIGH SCHOOL, MIDDLE SCHOOL CAMPUS SCHOOLS OF SIMILAR VINTAGE AND TYPES OF VINTAGE. OBVIOUSLY, A LARGE BUILDING LIKE PMHS A LARGE STONE STRUCTURE. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A MODERN BUILDING HERE. WE'VE GOT 100 YEAR OLD BUILDINGS, WE'VE GOT THREE YEAR OLD BUILDINGS. AND ALSO LOOKING AT SUSTAINABILITY AND SOME DIFFERENT MODELS OF SUSTAINABILITY OF SCHOOLS THAT HAVE RETROFITTED FOR HVAC WORK, INDOOR AIR QUALITY, AIR CONDITIONING, ALL THOSE THINGS THAT YOU HEAR ABOUT LOOKING AT GEOTHERMAL, THOSE THOSE TYPES OF SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES. WE ALSO HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY AS YOU LOOK AT IT IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS, YOU SEE A LOT OF IT IS SAVINGS OF FUEL SAVING, OF ENERGY LED LIGHTING RETROFITS AND AND LOOKING AT LIGHTING IN OTHER PLACES WHERE YOU CAN GET BETTER LIGHT, BETTER, LESS MAINTENANCE AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THAT, SUCH AS GLOVER FIELD. IF AN OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED ITSELF FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT WHERE YOU GET A NICE, CLEAN, EFFICIENT, LOWER COST LIGHT, WHERE YOU PROBABLY GET GREATER UPTIME AT THAT FACILITY AS WELL, BECAUSE THEN YOU'D BE ABLE TO, WITH THE CURRENT STRUCTURE AND BEING PUT ON A DEMAND METER, IT'S JUST, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE EXPENSIVE TO USE THOSE LIGHTS. SO, THOSE ARE KIND OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE TALKING TALKING ABOUT, TALKED ABOUT AN ITEM ON THE AGENDA THIS EVENING, WHICH WAS A CHANGE OR GENERAL CHANGE. ORDER NUMBER FIVE FOR THE PROSPECT HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ADDITION. YOU'VE SEEN A NUMBER OF THIS BOARD HAS SEEN A NUMBER OF CHANGE ORDERS. [01:25:01] MOST OF THEM ARE FOR NOTIFICATIONS BECAUSE THEY FALL UNDER A $50,000 THRESHOLD. THIS PARTICULAR ONE FALLS SLIGHTLY ABOVE IT AT $57,000. IN GENERAL, IT RELATES TO GENERAL CONDITIONS COSTS THAT WERE INCURRED BY THE VENDOR AS A RESULT OF DELAYS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROJECT, NAMELY DUE TO OUR UTILITY COMPANY AND OUR GAS LINE. IT ALSO HELPS US GET TO THE FINISH LINE OF CLOSING OUR PROJECT OUT. AND WITH THAT WE HAVE OPTIMISTIC BELIEF AND REALISTIC BELIEF THAT WE WON'T SEE FURTHER CLAIMS FOR THIS PROJECT, WHICH IS A NICE OPPORTUNITY AGAIN TO CLOSE IT WITHOUT ANY ANY LITIGATION, WHICH IS ALWAYS A NICE THING TO TRY TO BE ABLE TO DO AS YOU CLOSE OUT A VERY LARGE CAPITAL PROJECT AND PLAN. SO, THAT'S ON THE AGENDA THIS EVENING AND THAT WAS DISCUSSED AT THE AT THE FACILITIES COMMITTEE MEETING AS WELL. AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE TRAFFIC AT GLOVER FIELD KIND OF OUR OUR WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT A SAFETY COMMITTEE TOMORROW MORNING WHEN WE HAVE, WE'VE GOT THAT AND THE COMMUNICATION AND MEETINGS WE'VE SHARED WITH TOWN OF PELHAM, OUR DISTRICT, WORKING WITH ALEX AND COMMUNICATION AND KIND OF WORKING ON A 3 LEGGED STOOL APPROACH. OBVIOUSLY. THE FIRST IS POSTING NO PARKING SIGNS MARKING THE GROUND. WE'VE DONE WE'VE PUT UP THE SIGNS. THE GROUNDS SHOULD BE STENCILED OUT TOMORROW, WHICH IS GREAT NOTIFICATION, PUBLIC RELATIONS, CONSISTENT MESSAGING TO FOLKS ASKING PEOPLE TO NOT PARK WHERE THEY SHOULDN'T BE PARKING. MAKE SURE THEY PARK IN POSTED AREAS, PROVIDING ALTERNATIVES FOR PEOPLE TO PARK IN AREAS SUCH AS THE SURFACE LOT NEAR TARGET OR IN THE HILL UP BEHIND FRIENDSHIP HILL. AND OF COURSE, THE THE LAST PRONG OR THE LAST LEG OF THAT STOOL IS ONE YOU DON'T WANT TO GET TO IS IF YOU EVER NEED TO GET TO AN ENFORCEMENT STEP. AND THAT'S BY FAR THE LAST STEP WE WANT TO GET TO. WE WANT TO WORK VERY HARD ON STEPS ONE AND TWO. AND WE REALLY DON'T WANT TO GET TO THAT. STEP THREE, WE THINK WITH ONE AND TWO, A LOT OF GOOD COMMUNICATION, A LOT OF CONSISTENT MESSAGING AND AND ALTERNATIVES TO FOLKS WILL BE ABLE TO DO THAT AND AGAIN, WORK WITH OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS BECAUSE IT WAS IT'S A VALID CONCERN THEY BROUGHT UP. SO I THINK WE'RE WE HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THAT, TOO. AND THE ISSUE WITH THE PARKING IS THAT THEY CAN'T GET EMERGENCY VEHICLES. SO THAT IS A CONCERN. EXACTLY. WHEN YOU WHEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE PARKING ON UNMARKED AREAS, SAY NEXT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD IN PARTICULAR WHERE RICHIE BELFIELD IS DOWN TO PROBABLY CLOSE TO THE AREA WHERE YOU'LL SEE ONE OF THOSE CONTAINERS, THERE'S NO MARKED PARKING THERE. AND HISTORICALLY, AND PEOPLE HAVE JUST HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARK THERE. BUT IT REALLY TIGHTENS THAT AREA UP. AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU CAN GET IT CAN BE A CHOKE POINT AT THE BOTTOM WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO DROP THEIR CHILDREN OFF, TURN AROUND AND MOVE FORWARD, WANT TO TURN AROUND AND GET OUT. BUT IT REALLY CAN CHOKE UP THAT PROCESS AND IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT, ESPECIALLY. THE CONCERN IS IN THE CASE OF EMERGENCY, BEING ABLE TO GET THE PROPER EQUIPMENT AND PERSONNEL DOWN THERE TO WHERE THEY NEED TO BE IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION. JIM, ON THE THE GLOVER CROSSING ISSUE. AND I GUESS WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THIS MORE IN DEPTH TOMORROW IN THE SAFETY COMMITTEE FROM MY SORT OF CURSORY UNDERSTANDING OF IT. IT'S ONE OF THESE ISSUES WHERE THERE ARE A SURPRISING NUMBER OF JURISDICTIONS INVOLVED. YES, RIGHT. AND YOU HAVE DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS KIND OF LOOKING AT EACH OTHER. AND IT ONLY TAKES ONE NOT TO DO ANYTHING. AND LIKE THE PROBLEM JUST PERSISTS. SO CAN YOU JUST GIVE A FLAVOR FOR WHICH JURISDICTIONS AND WHICH KIND OF PUBLIC BODIES ARE INVOLVED IN A DECISION LIKE THIS? SO THAT FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE, JUST PUT A CROSSING GUARD THERE OR FIX THE FIX THE BOX. THE BUTTON. YEAH, FIX THE BUTTON. LIKE JUST PAINT A PICTURE OF THE VARIOUS PARTIES INVOLVED, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND. OKAY. WELL, THE THE AREA WHERE THE STUDENTS WALK AND THE CROSSING AREA FALLS WITHIN THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON. I PULLED THE TOWN OF PELHAM MAP. I'VE PULLED THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON MAP. IT FALLS WITHIN THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON. YOU HAVE A SITUATION WHERE I BELIEVE THAT'S A COUNTY ROAD, BUT MAINTAINED BY THE CITY. YOU HAVE PEOPLE COMING OFF OF A STATE ROAD, THE HUTCHINSON, WHERE YOU HAVE THE TRAFFIC LIGHT THERE AND THEN FOLLOWING IT, OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE A SECONDARY TRAFFIC LIGHT. WE'VE HAD MODERATE SUCCESS AT COMMUNICATING WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF TRAFFIC FOR THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON AND THEN HELPING US GET SOME EXTENDED TIMING ON THAT GREEN LIGHT. WE'VE ALSO REACHED OUT TO THEM MORE RECENTLY AND SHARED WITH THEM OUR CONCERNS ABOUT THE WALK DON'T WALK SIGNS THAT ARE INOPERABLE AS WELL AS THE PEDESTRIAN PUSH BUTTON THAT EITHER DON'T WORK OR AREN'T THERE. SO THEY CONTRACT OUT THROUGH A VENDOR. YOU'LL PROBABLY SEE THEIR TRUCKS ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. IT'S CALLED VERDE. THEY HAVE GREEN TRUCKS. THEY PRETTY MUCH SERVICE MOST MUNICIPALITIES IN AREAS IN THE REGION AND THEY WILL THEY WILL NEED TO ADDRESS IT THAT WAY. [01:30:02] WE HAD SOME OF THE TIMING ADDRESSED ON THAT TRAFFIC LIGHT. JOHN CONDON, OUR DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES, WAS VERY PERSISTENT AND IT MAY NOT FEEL LIKE IT, BUT WE DID HAVE SOME OF THAT TIMING EXTENDED ON THAT TRAFFIC LIGHT OVER THE SUMMER. AND WHILE THEY WERE OUT TO LOOK AT IT, THEY SAW THAT THERE WAS A CUT IN THAT LOOP AND THEY WERE ABLE TO REPAIR THAT LOOP. SO WE BELIEVE WE COULD SEE SOME IMPROVEMENTS THERE AS WELL. BUT THOSE ARE ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS, OTHER THINGS WE CAN LOOK AT. OBVIOUSLY, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S A SAFE WALKING ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR STUDENTS. ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID FOR OUR STUDENTS WHO WORK OR EXCUSE ME, WHO PRACTICE OR PLAY AT THE HUTCHINSON SCHOOL IS WE PROVIDED THEM A WALKING ENVIRONMENT. TIPS AND TRICKS, NOT TIPS AND TRICKS, BUT TIPS AND THINGS TO BE MINDFUL AS YOU WALK. CERTAINLY OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO TO REMIND OUR STUDENTS TO BE SAFE WHEN THEY'RE WALKING. AND ESPECIALLY THEY CAN LOOK AT THEIR PHONES WHEN THEY'RE ON THE SIDEWALK. BUT PLEASE, WHEN YOU CROSS THE ROAD, LOOK UP AND LOOK BOTH WAYS. AND I THINK CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I THINK THERE'S ALSO ONE OTHER SORT OF JURISDICTION INVOLVED, WHICH IS THE CONSTABLE WHO IS THERE. THE CONSTABLE IS THERE PRETTY MUCH DAILY UNTIL ABOUT 7 P.M. AND WE HAD A NICE CONVERSATION WITH OUR PARTNERS. THE CONSTABLE IS EMPLOYED BY THE TOWN OF PELHAM. AND AS YOU KNOW, RECREATION IS A TOWN OF PELHAM PROGRAM. WE'VE GOT A VERY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR PARTNERS AT TOWN OF PELHAM. A LOT OF THEIR PROGRAMS, AS YOU KNOW, I'M SURE YOU'VE PARTICIPATED AND THEY'RE VERY SUCCESSFUL AND VERY WIDELY USED. BUT THEY USE OUR FACILITIES SOON AFTER OUR FACILITY. SO IT SEEMS TO BE AS OUR PROGRAMS ARE WINDING DOWN, THEIR PROGRAMS CAN BE WINDING UP. AND SOMETIMES THAT'S ALSO WHERE WE FIND PROBLEMS WITH TRAFFIC AND SOME STANDSTILL OF OF TRAFFIC AND DIFFICULTY. AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO WORK WITH THEM. THAT'S WHY ALEX, I'VE PULLED ALEX INTO THIS. AND HE'S ALWAYS I'M NOT JUST SAYING THIS BECAUSE YOU'RE HERE, ALEX. I'M REALLY I REALLY MEAN IT. ALEX IS ALWAYS A GREAT PARTNER AS FAR AS GETTING THAT COMMUNICATION OUT AND TRYING TO DEVELOP A GOOD, CONSISTENT, FRIENDLY MESSAGE, BUT ALSO AN INFORMATIVE MESSAGE TO OUR COMMUNITY THAT WE REALLY NEED. WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE IT BETTER AND WE NEED EVERYBODY'S HELP, BUT WE WANT TO PROVIDE THOSE ALTERNATIVES SO PEOPLE KNOW WHAT TO DO. SO, THERE ARE A LOT OF STAKEHOLDERS IN WHAT MAY SEEM LIKE A SIMPLE PROBLEM TO FIX. I'VE LEARNED THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF STAKEHOLDERS INVOLVED, AND I JUST, YOU KNOW, THANKS FOR BEING TENACIOUS AND CONTINUING TO TRY AND INFLUENCE THE PARTIES YOU CAN INFLUENCE. AND PLEASE CONTINUE TO DO THAT BECAUSE I THINK THE ANXIETY AROUND THAT THAT PARTICULAR CROSSING IS REALLY JUSTIFIED. THANK YOU. YEAH, AND I THINK WE'VE GOT A GOOD PLAN AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT AT SAFETY BECAUSE I DON'T THINK ANY ONE PERSON OWNS THE BEST IDEA. AND I THINK IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT CAN BE IMPROVED UPON, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT, TOO. OKAY. THANKS. BUT YOU THINK THE CROSSWALK SIGNAL AND BUTTON THAT'S MOUNT VERNON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR IT FROM THE FROM THE MAPS I'VE LOOKED AT I PULLED THEM ALL OFF WESTCHESTER COUNTY GIS MAPS THOSE THOSE ARE EXITS OF THE HUTCHINSON. THEY FALL WITHIN THE CITY OF MOUNT VERNON. OKAY I REPORTED IN MOUNT VERNON HAS A WEBSITE. YOU CAN GO ON THEIR WEBSITE AND REPORT LIKE ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS. SO I PUT IT IN THERE JUST FOR WHAT THAT'S WORTH. YEAH. AND JOHN KIND OF HAD A VERY GOOD CONVERSATION WITH THAT PERSON. AND IT'S JUST AS FAR AS THE TIMING GOES AND WHEN THEY'RE ABLE TO SCHEDULE IT, OF COURSE, WE FALL TO THEIR SCHEDULING AND TO THEIR, YOU KNOW, THEIR LEVEL OF URGENCY. AND YOU ALSO DON'T WANT TO SET A PRECEDENT. LIKE IF WE REALLY WANT TO BE AGGRESSIVE AND TAKE CARE OF IT OURSELVES, THEN YOU SAID ALL SORTS OF CRAZY PRECEDENTS. YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD. IT'S HARD. OKAY. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE IN TERMS OF YOUR REPORT THAT YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT? I HAVE A SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING TOMORROW MORNING, AND NEXT WEEK WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A FINANCE AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING. ALSO AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING, OUR AUDITOR FROM O'CONNOR, DAVIES DOBBIN, WILL BE HERE. AND THEY'LL PROVIDE THE RESULTS OF OUR EXTERNAL FINANCIAL AUDIT FOR THE 2023 FISCAL YEAR. AND THAT'S WHAT THE AUDIT COMMITTEE AND FINANCE COMMITTEE WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT NEXT WEEK, AS WELL AS THE WORK PLAN FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR. OKAY. THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY OTHER BOARD COMMITTEES THAT HAVE MET? I DON'T THINK SO, NO. OKAY. NEXT, WE HAVE ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS UPDATE ON AUTHENTIC LEARNING. [4.6 Assistant Superintendent's Update on Authentic Learning] SO I WANT TO START BY SAYING, AS ARE MANY AWARDS AND ACCOLADES INDICATE, WE HAVE A LOT OF WONDERFUL THINGS HAPPENING SURROUNDING TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE DISTRICT. IT HAS BEEN A VERY BUSY FEW WEEKS. WE HAVE MET WITH BOTH OUR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY LEADERSHIP TEAMS AS WELL AS I MET WITH MY INSTRUCTIONAL DIRECTORS TO DISCUSS UPCOMING EVENTS, THINGS THAT ARE JUST COMING DOWN THE PIKE, WHICH I'M ABOUT TO SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT. [01:35:04] OUR SEAL OF CIVIC READINESS COMMITTEE MET EARLIER THIS WEEK OR LATE LAST WEEK, LATE LAST WEEK, AND THE PURPOSE OF THAT MEETING WAS TO REVIEW SOME OF THE STUDENTS PROGRESS WHO ARE IN THE PILOT PROGRAM WITH OUR AP GOVERNMENT CLASS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE ON TRACK TO BE ELIGIBLE BECAUSE OUR AP GOVERNMENT CLASS IS A GROUP OF STUDENTS WHO SOME OF WHOM THIS IS THEIR FIRST AP COURSE. AND SO, SOME OF THE ORGANIC WAYS THAT ONE WOULD ACCUMULATE POINTS TOWARDS ACHIEVING SEAL HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE PAST. A LOT OF THOSE KIDS, NOT A LOT A FEW OF THOSE STUDENTS ARE CHASING SPACE COMMITTEE MET YESTERDAY IN ANTICIPATION OF THE VERY TIRED PUN OF THE LAUNCH THAT'S HAPPENING ON TUESDAY, BUT I DEFINITELY AM EMBRACING IT WITH LELAND MELVIN. WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO BE HOSTING HIM. AND AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, THE EVENT WAS SOLD OUT WITHIN MOMENTS OF IT BEING OR NOT SOLD OUT, FILLED UP WITHIN MOMENTS OF IT BEING RELEASED. AND I AM ALSO GOING TO TELL YOU THAT THE WAITING LIST, WHICH IS A MIRROR OF THE NUMBER OF SEATS, SO WE'RE APPROXIMATELY 400, IS ALSO FULL. SO WE DO ANTICIPATE IT BEING A WONDERFUL EVENT AND KICKING OFF A SERIES OF THE FULL YEAR OF WONDERFUL EVENTS WHICH ARE GETTING INCREASINGLY INTERDISCIPLINARY. WE HAD MR. VON BARKOV AND MS. FALLON AT OUR MEETING YESTERDAY AS WELL, TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY'RE PLANNING ON INTEGRATING SPACE INTO BOTH OUR MUSIC PROGRAMS AND OUR ART PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. SO THAT'S VERY, VERY EXCITING AND ALSO SPEAKS TO WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AUTHENTIC LEARNING IN A VERY REAL WAY. WE HAVE BEGUN, AS I THINK I MENTIONED LAST TIME, OUR DROP IN MATH TUTORING, AND WE ARE WORKING TO ADD TO THAT SOME PRECALCULUS DROP IN TO TUTORING AS WELL IN THE COMING WEEKS. THIS MORNING I WAS AT PAW BOCES FOR A CURRICULUM COUNCIL MEETING WHERE I WAS ABLE TO ENGAGE IN A WORKGROUP THAT I DECIDED TO LEAD ON MTS AND WE'RE GOING TO FOLLOW UP THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WHICH GOES HAND IN HAND WITH OUR GOAL OF REALLY CREATING A FRAMEWORK FOR MTS AS A DISTRICT. AND I PLAN TO SERVE ON A TRI-STATE VISITATION COMMITTEE IN ARDSLEY WHOSE FOCUS IS MTS TOWARDS THE END OF OCTOBER, SO THAT WE ARE ALL ROWING IN THE SAME DIRECTION TOWARDS OUR GOAL. AND JUST AS A SIDE NOTE, BEFORE I GIVE UP THE MICROPHONE, PARENTSQUARE IS SOMETHING THAT WE USE IN THE DISTRICT WHERE I LIVE RIGHT NOW AND IT IS A WONDERFUL WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE COMMUNICATIONS COME IN ONE PLACE. SO I USE IT AS WELL. WHAT'S THAT? WE USE IT AS WELL AT OUR HIGH SCHOOL AND IT'S GREAT. IT REALLY IS. IT'S A GREAT TOOL BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT SEARCHING THROUGH DIFFERENT APPS TO FIND OUT WHICH CHILD NEEDS TO GO WHERE, WITH WHICH TEAM. SOMETIMES THERE ARE TWO WITH ONE TEAM AND IT'S ALL REALLY JUST THERE AND YOU CAN GET THE DIGEST AT THE END OF THE DAY, BUT YOU CAN ALSO STILL GET THE OTHER NOTIFICATIONS AS WELL. SO, I'M A FAN. GREAT. THANK YOU. NEXT ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS UPDATE ON THE WHOLE CHILD. [4.7 Assistant Superintendent's Update on The Whole Child] GOOD EVENING. SO, IN SPECIAL EDUCATION, WE HAD OUR FIRST CO-TEACHING SESSIONS THAT STARTED ELEMENTARY WAS ON OUR FIRST VISIT WAS ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH. SECONDARY WAS JUST YESTERDAY. THE GOALS OF THE FIRST CO-TEACHING SESSIONS ARE JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR COACHES RECONNECTING WITH THE TEAMS, REVIEWING THE MODELS, REVIEWING THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE. THEY HAVE A HUGE TEACHER WEBSITE AVAILABLE FOR THE TEACHERS TO ACCESS RESOURCES AND ALSO HELP THEM ESTABLISH THEIR CO-PLANNING TIMES. IN ADDITION, WE WORKED WITH THE COACH TO SET GOALS FOR THIS YEAR AND THE GOALS ARE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CO TEACHERS HAVE A SYSTEM IN PLACE TO SUPPORT DELIVERY OF EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION, ENSURE THAT THE CO TEACHERS HAVE A SHARED APPROACH AND FRAMEWORK IN ORDER TO PROVIDE ACCESS FOR ALL LEARNERS AND TO ENSURE SPECIAL EDUCATION. TEACHERS HAVE A SYSTEM FOR DATA COLLECTION, RELATION TO IEP GOALS AND ALSO ENSURE OUR CO TEACHERS HAVE A GOOD FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF UNIVERSAL DESIGN FOR LEARNING UDL AND DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION. SO, THAT'S OFF AND RUNNING. LAST NIGHT WAS THE FIRST SEPTA MEETING WHICH I ATTENDED, SO OUR NEW SEPTA CO-CHAIRS DID A GREAT JOB. THEY TALKED ABOUT THEIR GOALS FOR THIS YEAR IN ADDITION TO THE EVENTS THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE, SUCH AS PELHAM SCOTT TALENT. THEY'VE GOT SOME OTHER EXCITING THINGS GOING ON THIS YEAR WITH SPEAKERS THAT THEY'VE SET UP ON THEIR OWN AND THEY'RE WORKING WITH ME AS WELL. THEY WILL HAVE SOMEONE COMING IN TO ONE OF THEIR MEETINGS FROM THE OFFICE OF PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES TO TALK TO PARENTS ABOUT ACCESSING THAT SYSTEM. AND IN ADDITION, IN, I BELIEVE, FEBRUARY, THEY HAVE AUTHOR DEBORAH RYBA COMING IN. [01:40:07] SHE IS THE AUTHOR OF TILT PARENTING. SHE IS AN ACTIVIST AND A PODCAST HOST. AND SHE TALKS ABOUT RAISING CHILDREN WHO ARE WIRED DIFFERENTLY. SO THAT SHOULD BE ALSO AN EXCITING EVENT IN THE COUNSELING DEPARTMENT. LAST TUESDAY WAS OUR SENIOR COLLEGE NIGHT AND THAT WAS A GOOD EVENT. WE HAD MS. SUSAN WILLARD FROM HOBART, WILLIAMS AND SMITH COME TALK TO THE STUDENTS AND THE PARENTS OF SENIORS. SHE GAVE A GREAT PRESENTATION, REALLY INFORMATIVE ABOUT HOW PARENTS SHOULD AND STUDENTS SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT RESEARCHING POTENTIAL COLLEGES. WHAT GOES INTO APPLICATION? WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR EARLY DECISIONS SINCE THEY'RE CHANGING A LITTLE BIT OF THE GUIDELINES WITH THE COMMON APP, THE CR, AND ALSO, JUST MOST IMPORTANTLY, SHE EXPRESSED TO THE STUDENTS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO BE THEIR TRUE, AUTHENTIC SELVES WHEN THEY'RE WRITING THEIR COLLEGE ESSAY. SO THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. COLLEGE ALSO, WHAT'S IMPORTANT FOR OUR COLLEGE BOUND SENIORS AND THEIR FAMILIES IS THE FINANCIAL AID NIGHT, WHICH IS COMING UP OCTOBER 24TH. THE OTHER BIG EVENT THAT'S HAPPENING IN UPCOMING AND DR. CHAMP MENTIONED IT ON OCTOBER 11TH IS THE PSAT ADMINISTRATION FOR ALL OF OUR SOPHOMORES AND JUNIORS. SO, WE'LL HAVE ABOUT 435 STUDENTS WHO WILL BE LOGGED ON THE PSAT. AND THE NAMESAKE, WHICH IS THE NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP TEST, IS ALL ONLINE THIS YEAR. SO THE COUNSELORS WERE PUSHING INTO THE CLASSROOMS JUST THIS WEEK TO MAKE SURE THAT THE STUDENTS WERE HAD THEIR PASSWORDS, WERE ABLE TO ACCESS THEIR ACCOUNTS. THEY'RE USING AN APP CALLED BLUE BOOK, WHICH IS HOW THEY'LL TAKE THE EXAM. SO ONCE THEY'RE LOGGED ON AND WE KNOW THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS, THEY COULD ALSO START PRACTICING DIGITALLY HOW TO TAKE THE PSAT ONLINE THE SAME DAY. ALSO THAT WE'RE DOING THE COLLEGE ADMINISTRATION, THE PSAT FOR THE SOPHOMORES AND JUNIORS, THERE WILL BE A COLLEGE BOOT CAMP FOR THE SENIORS, SO THE COUNSELORS WILL BE PUSHING INTO THE SENIOR CLASSES, MAKING SURE THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY NEED TO DO ABOUT THEIR APPLICATION PROCESS THAT FORMS ARE UPLOADED TO NAVIANCE AND JUST THEY'RE READY TO GO AS THEY START TO SEND OFF COLLEGE APPLICATIONS. AND IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL, THE MIDDLE SCHOOL COUNSELORS, OVER THE COURSE OF THIS MONTH, WE'RE PUSHING INTO SIXTH GRADE CLASSES. THEY START THEIR WORK. THEY HAVE A SORT OF A LESSONS. TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF, WHICH REALLY STARTS THE CONVERSATION TO THINK ABOUT INTERESTS, WHICH STARTS THE CONVERSATION TO THINK ABOUT CAREERS, WHICH STARTS YOUR CONVERSATION, TO THINK ABOUT PROGRAMING AND CLASSES WHEN YOU GET TO HIGH SCHOOL. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. DO WE HAVE ANY AIR UPDATES? [4.8 Executive Director's Update on Human Resources and Learning] JUST ABOUT. I MENTIONED IT EARLIER ABOUT THE CLIMATE SURVEY IS SCHEDULED TO BE ROLLED OUT THE 16TH OF OCTOBER. OKAY. DOESN'T LOOK. NOBODY'S HERE FROM THE PUBLIC. NO. DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD JIM? ON YOURS? HE'S OUT. EXCELLENT. HE DROPPED THE MIC ALREADY. I THINK WE COULD DO MOVE ON TO SECTION SIX, AND I PROPOSE THAT WE DO 6.1 AND 6.2 AS A CONSENT [6. Financial Reports and Motions] AGENDA. SO I'D ACCEPT A MOTION. SO MOVED. SECOND, ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THESE ITEMS? THERE'S THE FIELD TRIP TO MONTREAL. AND WHICH SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF FUN. YEAH, I'M SURE IT IS. OKAY. AND THE CHANGE ORDER THAT WE KIND OF DISCUSSED ALREADY. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ABSTENTIONS? NO. AND 6.3., I'LL ACCEPT A MOTION TO ACCEPT A DONATION. SO MOVED. SECOND, AND JUST TO READ THIS, STATES RESOLVED. THE BOARD OF EDUCATION DOES HEREBY ACCEPT THE MONETARY DONATION OF $6,720 FOR EIGHT ONE EIGHTH SIZE INSTRUMENTS, AND THAT GRATITUDE BE BESTOWED UPON ITS DONOR, THE PELHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION. SO THAT'S FOR ORCHESTRA. YES, IT'S CRITICAL TO HAVE THE SMALLER SIZE INSTRUMENTS FOR ELEMENTARY AGE STUDENTS. SO ESPECIALLY SOMETHING LIKE A BASS. THAT'S GREAT. MUCH APPRECIATED. THANK YOU. YES, THANK YOU. I'D SAY A BIG THANK YOU, BUT MAYBE IT'S AN EIGHT SIZE. THERE YOU GO. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ABSTENTIONS? NO. OKAY. AND I THINK WE CAN. [7. Superintendent's Personnel Recommendations] [01:45:03] I'D ACCEPT A MOTION TO DO 7.1 THROUGH 7.3 AS A CONSENT AGENDA. SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY. ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? NO, JUST SOME UPDATING OF SOME LEAVE OF ABSENCES, SOME CLUB APPOINTMENTS, ADDITIONAL HOURLY STAFF BEING APPOINTED, ET CETERA. SO JUST KIND OF CONTINUING CLEANUP OF ONGOING STAFFING FOR THE YEAR. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ABSTENTIONS? NO. AND NEXT, I'LL ACCEPT A MOTION TO APPROVE SCHEDULE D. [8.1 Motion to Approve Schedule D - Committee on Special Education (Confidential)] SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ABSTENTIONS? 9.1 IS NEW BUSINESS THING. OKAY. SO I THINK WE CAN GO ON AND ACCEPT. I'LL ACCEPT A MOTION TO ADJOURN. SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OKAY. OKAY, WE ARE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.