[00:00:02] OKAY. HELLO. GOOD EVENING EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING OF NOVEMBER 5, [2. Public Session - 7:30 p.m.] 2025. LET'S RISE FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. PLEASE NOTE THAT TRUSTEE DARRA GORDON IS JOINING US REMOTELY THIS EVENING DUE TO WORK RELATED TRAVEL. NATALIE, WOULD YOU PLEASE REITERATE OUR EXECUTIVE SESSION MOTION? [2.3 Reiteration of Executive Session Motions] HELLO. WE MET AND DISCUSSED THE RECORD OF A PARTICULAR STUDENT DURING EXECUTIVE SESSION. I SAID THANK YOU, NATALIE. BEFORE WE BEGIN, I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO EXTEND OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHIES TO THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF CHLOE RRIPAJ A PELHAM STUDENT WHO PASSED AWAY AFTER ILLNESS. WE HOPE HER LOVED ONES FEEL SUPPORT FROM THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY DURING THIS VERY DIFFICULT TIME. LET'S TAKE A BRIEF MOMENT OF SILENCE IN MEMORY OF CHLOE. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE WHO RAN FOR OFFICE IN OUR LOCAL ELECTIONS HELD YESTERDAY. [2.4 Opening Remarks] WE APPRECIATE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE PELHAM COMMUNITY. TONIGHT WE ARE HOLDING A BUSINESS MEETING, BUT WE ALSO HAVE SEVERAL SPECIAL MOMENTS. AT THE START OF OUR AGENDA, ONE IS WE'RE PLEASED TO WELCOME AND SWEAR IN PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR NICHOLAS DE JANEIRO TO THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AS OUR SECOND EX OFFICIO STUDENT BOARD MEMBER, JOINING EMERSON. WELCOME, NICHOLAS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING YOU AND YOUR VOICE AND YOUR PERSPECTIVE AT OUR BOARD TABLE. WE ARE ALSO DELIGHTED TO CONGRATULATE AND CELEBRATE PROSPECTS HILL'S PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER, NICHOLAS D'AMBROSIO. WELCOME, MR. D. [APPLAUSE] HE IS SELECTED AS THE NEW YORK STATE AHPERD ELEMENTARY TEACHER OF THE YEAR. THIS AWARD IS PRESENTED TO AN OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR WHO DEMONSTRATES EXCEPTIONAL LEADERSHIP AND PROVIDES EXTRAORDINARY SERVICE TO THIS PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION AND TO YOUR PROFESSION. THIS AWARD IS VERY WELL DESERVED. YOU ARE ADMIRED BY YOUR COLLEAGUES AND YOUR STUDENTS. CONGRATULATIONS WE'RE SO PROUD TO SHARE IN YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS TONIGHT. [APPLAUSE] THANK YOU. WE WILL BE DOING MORE HONORING IN A FEW MINUTES. MORE HONORING IN OUR BUSINESS MEETING ALEX WOLF IS HERE. WELCOME, ALEX, TO THE MEETING TO REVIEW THE RESULTS OF THE FIRST SCOPE COMMUNICATION SURVEY, AS WELL AS THE ACTIONS THE DISTRICT HAS TAKEN OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS TO STRENGTHEN AND IMPROVE DISTRICT COMMUNICATIONS. AS A REMINDER, THE SECOND ROUND OF THE SCOPE SURVEY IS CURRENTLY OPEN, SO PLEASE TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK AND COMPLETE THE SURVEY. YOUR INPUT IS INVALUABLE AS WE CONTINUE WORKING TO ENHANCE HOW THE DISTRICT CONNECTS WITH THE COMMUNITY. FINALLY, WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT HERE THIS EVENING. A GROUP OF STUDENTS AND PARENTS ARE HERE TO ADVOCATE FOR MODIFIED TENNIS AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL. I WANT TO THANK THESE STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COME TO A BOARD MEETING TO EXPRESS YOUR VIEWS AND TO ADVOCATE FOR SOMETHING YOU CARE ABOUT. I ALSO APPRECIATE THAT YOU BROUGHT YOUR REQUEST TO MR. TOOMBS, WHICH HELPS ENSURE THAT IT IS CONSIDERED THOUGHTFULLY. THE BOARD IS ALWAYS READY TO LISTEN TO STUDENTS AND FAMILIES IN OUR COMMUNITY. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DISTRICT HAS RECEIVED SEVERAL REQUESTS FOR NEW SPORTS AND MORE SUPPORT FOR EXISTING SPORTS AND CLUBS. WHILE THE DISTRICT STRIVES TO PROVIDE A WIDE RANGE OF ATHLETIC OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING BOYS AND GIRLS VARSITY SPORTS, UNIFIED SPORTS AND MODIFIED SPORTS, THE NUMBER OF SPORTS IT CAN OFFER IS LIMITED BY FIELD SPACE, STAFFING, THE SIZE OF THE STUDENT BODY, AND THE OVERALL SCHOOL BUDGET AND NEEDS OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY. MR. TOOMBS AND DOCTOR CHAMP CAREFULLY REVIEW EACH REQUEST WITHIN THIS CONTEXT TO ENSURE THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM IS SUSTAINABLE AND ACCESSIBLE TO AS MANY STUDENTS AS POSSIBLE. SO THANK YOU FOR COMING AND LET'S GET STARTED. OKAY, I THINK WE'VE GOT MINUTES. OH, ACTUALLY, NO. BEFORE WE GO TO MINUTES, WE HAVE THE SWEARING IN OF OUR NEW BOARD, STUDENT BOARD MEMBER. [2.5 Swearing in of Ex Officio Student Board Member] SO MISS MILLER, OUR DISTRICT CLERK, IS GOING TO ASSIST WITH THAT. [00:05:02] I, NICHOLAS DE JANEIRO, DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I WILL SUPPORT THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, AND THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY DISCHARGE THE DUTIES OF STUDENT, EX OFFICIO MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION ACCORDING TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY. [APPLAUSE] AND I THANK YOU. THANK YOU, NICK, AND WELCOME. I KNOW FOR FOLKS WHO ARE JUST JOINING US FOR THE FIRST TIME, HAVEN'T BEEN TO BOARD MEETING THIS YEAR IS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE HAVE HAD STUDENT, EX OFFICIO BOARD MEMBERS JOINING THE PELHAM BOARD OF EDUCATION, SO WE'RE THRILLED TO HAVE THEM. NICK IS JOINING US TO REPRESENT SENIORS. EMERSON IS HERE AS A JUNIOR AND ACTUALLY NOT JUST TO REPRESENT THEIR CLASS, BUT REALLY TO REPRESENT THE ENTIRE STUDENT BODY. AND SINCE IT'S THE FIRST YEAR NICK WILL BE SERVING ONE YEAR FOR HIS SENIOR YEAR. EMERSON IS IN A TWO YEAR TERM AND THEN WE WILL EACH YEAR WE'LL BRING ON A NEW STUDENT AS A JUNIOR, WHO WILL THEN WORK TO SERVE TWO YEARS SO THEY CAN KIND OF LEARN THE ROPES OF BEING PART OF THE BOARD GIVES US A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR STUDENT VOICE, ESPECIALLY AS WE THINK ABOUT THINGS, DIFFERENT POLICIES AND DIFFERENT PRESENTATIONS, COMMITTEES, DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE REPORT ON THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. SO WELCOME TO BOTH OF YOU. AND THEY WILL HAVE A REPORT ON THE AGENDA RIGHT AFTER MINE. SO WITH THAT, I THINK WE CAN GO TO MINUTES AND THEN WE'LL GO TO REPORTS. [3. Approval of Minutes] DO I HAVE A MOTION TO TAKE 3.1 AND 3.2 AS A CONSENT AGENDA. SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY. THIS IS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 8, 2025 MEETING AND THE OCTOBER 22ND, 2025 MEETING. ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON THE MINUTES? NO. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. NONE OPPOSED. SO THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED, DR. CHAMP. GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. [4.1 Superintendent's Report] AS WELL, CONGRATULATIONS TO MR. D'AMBROSIO. YOU CAN TELL BY THE STUDENT TURNOUT THAT THIS IS A, WELL, A BELOVED TEACHER AT PROSPECT HILL. AND I'M ALSO EXCITED. IN A MOMENT, I'LL BE INVITING PRINCIPAL JEANNINE CARR AND ATHLETIC DIRECTOR JOE TOOMBS UP TO HELP JOIN IN THAT HONORING. I WANT TO JUST START WITH A COUPLE DIFFERENT HIGHLIGHTS. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR STUDENT ATHLETES ON A SUCCESSFUL FALL SEASON. THINGS ARE PRETTY MUCH COMING TO A CLOSE. A HEARTBREAKER LAST SATURDAY WITH THE END OF THE FOOTBALL SEASON. WE DO STILL HAVE A FEW INDIVIDUAL STUDENTS CONTINUING ON POST SEASON IN SWIM AND CROSS COUNTRY. BUT REALLY A SUCCESSFUL SEASON. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CELEBRATING OUR FALL ATHLETES AT AN UPCOMING BOARD MEETING. MR. TOOMBS AND I WORK ON THOSE AWARDS. HIS OFFICE PREDOMINANTLY DOES THAT. SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO HONOR THOSE STUDENTS IN THE FUTURE. AND BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WINTER SEASON STARTS UP NOVEMBER 17TH, SO WE ONLY GET ABOUT A WEEK OR TWO DOWNTIME. AND THAT'S FOR VARSITY AND JV. MODIFIED WILL BE STARTING ON THE 24TH. ALSO GOING ON IN THE DISTRICT, I KNOW THAT THE BOARD REPORTS ON OUR BOARD COMMITTEES ON A REGULAR BASIS. SO THOSE ARE ALL UP AND RUNNING FOR THE YEAR, DATES ARE SCHEDULED. SO ESPECIALLY BOND STEERING HAS BEEN VERY ACTIVE AND POLICY AS WELL. FINANCE, WELLNESS AND SEVERAL OTHER COMMITTEES HAVE ALREADY MET THIS YEAR AT THE BOARD LEVEL. ALSO JUST WANTED TO RAISE AWARENESS INTERNALLY. THERE ARE ADDITIONAL COMMITTEES THAT OUR ADMINISTRATORS AND OUR FACULTY SERVE ON. SO IMPORTANT ONES THAT ARE DRIVING MANY OF OUR INITIATIVES, LIKE OUR MTSS ACADEMIC COMMITTEE THAT DOCTOR COMERFORD LEADS, MTSS SEL COMMITTEE THAT MS. HOLTZ HAS STARTED THIS YEAR. OUR CERTAINLY OUR CURRICULUM DIRECTORS ALSO LEAD WORK IN LITERACY COMMITTEES, MATH, SCIENCE, ETC.. WE HAVE AN AI COMMITTEE THIS YEAR WHO'S BEEN DOING WORK THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT AND USING AI AS A DISTRICT. AND WE EVEN HAVE THINGS LIKE AN APPR COMMITTEE. THAT'S OUR ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW COMMITTEE THAT DOCTOR FITZGERALD WILL BE STARTING UP VERY SOON. SO THERE'S A LOT OF INTERNAL WORK THAT GOES ON. I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT BECAUSE A LOT OF THAT OFTEN GOES UNSEEN AND UNNOTICED. BUT THOSE THAT'S REALLY WHERE A LOT OF THE WORK OF THE DISTRICT IS DRIVEN AND COLLABORATED UPON WITH TEACHER AND ADMINISTRATIVE VOICE. SO THANKS TO THE ADMINISTRATORS WHO LEAD THAT WORK AND TO THE FACULTY WHO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE. THIS PAST WEEK, WE HAD A EXCUSE ME, LAST WEEK, A OUR FIRST PLC EARLY RELEASE DAY. AND THAT WAS A VERY WELL PLANNED LOTS OF THOUGHTFUL WORK WENT IN THERE. AND AS YOU REMEMBER, BACK IN THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, DOCTOR COMERFORD WORKED WITH THE ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM TO DEVELOP OUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PLANS FOR THE YEAR. SO HEADING INTO THAT DAY, THE SCHEDULE AND TOPICS AND FOCUS WAS KNOWN TO CONTINUE TO MOVE OUR LARGE INITIATIVES FORWARD. SO THANKS TO EVERYONE AND THE HARD WORK THAT HAPPENED THERE. ADDITIONALLY, AS WAS MENTIONED TO THE BOARD IN SOME OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF PREPARING FOR TRI STATES VISIT AND SORRY, DOCTOR COMERFORD, I'M STEALING SOME OF YOUR UPDATE FOR THE NIGHT, BUT YOU CAN JUST TAKE IT OFF THE LIST. TRI STATES IS A LOCAL CONSORTIUM OF HIGH ACHIEVING SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN THE TRI STATE REGION. SO CONNECTICUT, NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, WHERE WE MEET WITH PEER SCHOOLS AND TALK REALLY THINK DEEPLY ABOUT [00:10:06] OUR PRACTICE. AND WE HAVE CRITICAL FRIENDS VISITS REALLY FOR THE PURPOSE OF THINKING TOGETHER ABOUT THE WORK, ABOUT HOW DO WE IMPROVE WHAT ARE WE DOING? WHAT'S GOING WELL? WHAT ARE SOME AREAS THAT WE MAY WANT TO THINK ABOUT CONTINUING TO GROW? SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT JANUARY VISIT. THAT'S A MASSIVE UPLIFT IN WORK FROM, AGAIN, OUR ADMINISTRATORS AND OUR FACULTY. SO THANK YOU TO THEM AGAIN. IT'S BEEN A VERY, VERY HEAVY LOAD ON THEM THIS FALL. AND THEY'RE OF COURSE DOING AN AMAZING JOB. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT VISIT IN JANUARY. ADDITIONALLY, THE BOARD THANK YOU FOR YOUR GUIDANCE THAT YOU GAVE US AT OUR LAST MEETING ABOUT BUDGET. SO JIM'S OFFICE, MR. HRICAY'S OFFICE HAS ALREADY LAUNCHED THE EMAILS TO START THE BUILDINGS AND DEPARTMENTS THINKING ABOUT NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, BELIEVE IT OR NOT. SO WE'LL BE WORKING CLOSELY, SCRUTINIZING YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENT PRIORITIES AND NEEDS AND PROGRAMS. AS YOU AS YOU MENTIONED EARLIER ACROSS THE DISTRICT, WE CONTINUE TO HAVE VERY YOU KNOW, RESOURCES ARE INCREASINGLY RESTRICTED IN A TAX CAP ENVIRONMENT WITH INFLATION AND RISING COSTS, MANY OF WHICH ARE BEYOND OUR CONTROL. SO YOUR GUIDANCE IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE GUARDRAILS THAT WE LOOK AT AS WE MOVE FORWARD. AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO REALLY SCRUTINIZE AND PRIORITIZE MANY THINGS TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS. BUT I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WORK HAS BEGUN. I WILL SAY TONIGHT I, YOU KNOW, WAS GOING TO BRING A BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE, BUT THAT'S NOT APPROPRIATE TO SCHOOL. THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS OFFICIALLY HOMEOWNERS AGAIN. WE CLOSED ON THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE FRANKLIN ENTRANCE. SO 29 FRANKLIN IS NOW OFFICIALLY OUR PROPERTY AS OF TODAY'S CLOSING. SO THANK YOU TO THE COMMUNITY THAT PASSED THAT. IT'S THE WORK ON RENOVATING THAT AND GETTING THAT UP TO STATE AND OCCUPANCY REQUIREMENTS FOR SCHOOL PROPERTY IS GOING TO BE SOMEWHAT EXTENSIVE. SO WE DO NOT ANTICIPATE OCCUPYING FOR AT LEAST A YEAR OR SO. AND WITH THAT, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE NOW LOOKING, GETTING THE ARCHITECTS INTO REALLY HONE IN WHAT ENGINEERING AND WHAT RENOVATION PLAN WOULD LOOK LIKE. AND PAIRED WITH THAT, WE'RE GOING TO NOW ALSO HAVE TO IDENTIFY WHAT'S THE ADDITIONAL SPACE WITHIN THIS CAMPUS THAT WOULD BE NEEDED TO HOUSE THE REMAINING STAFF FROM SANBORN SO THAT WORK WILL BEGIN AGAIN WE'RE TALKING AT LEAST A YEAR TO YEAR AND A HALF OUT BEFORE TAKING OCCUPANCY OF THAT, BUT WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE THAT NEXT CHAPTER CLOSED AND TO START TO MOVE AHEAD. A COUPLE MORE ITEMS. WITH THAT, WE HAVE OUR OWNER ARCHITECT CONSTRUCTION MANAGER MEETING COMING UP THIS WEEK, WHICH IS PREPARATION FOR NEXT WEEK'S BOND STEERING MEETING. AND WE'VE GOT ENGINEERS COMING TO THAT. WE'VE GOT SOME BEGINNINGS OF DEVELOPED PLANS. SO IT'S GOING TO BE, I THINK, A LOT OF MEATY DISCUSSION. AFTER THAT MEETING, I EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO THEN ASSEMBLE OUR SITE PLAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO GET SOME FOLKS SOME THOUGHTS ON THE OUTSIDE PLAN, SOME REACTIONS AND FEEDBACK THERE. AND THEN I THINK NOT LONG AFTER THAT, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO HOLD A NEIGHBORHOOD SIWANOY INFO SESSION TO BRING THE NEIGHBORS IN PARTICULAR, BUT THE WHOLE SIWANOY COMMUNITY UP TO SPEED ON THE CURRENT DESIGN PROCESS. SO I JUST WANT TO KEEP THAT OUT IN FRONT OF US. SO WATCH FOR THOSE DATES. AGAIN. WE'RE TALKING A FEW WEEKS OUT, BUT THAT'S ON THE HORIZON AND ON THE FOREFRONT OF OUR MINDS. FINALLY TOMORROW, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WILL BE STARTING THEIR PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES FOR THE FALL. SO HALF DAY FOR HALF DAY RELEASE FOR THE STUDENTS. SO THE ELEMENTARIES CAN START ON THURSDAY EVENING AND THEN ALL DAY ON FRIDAY. SO THANKS TO OUR PARENTS FOR ACCOMMODATING THAT IT'S ONE OF, WE KNOW, A REALLY IMPORTANT THING FOR OUR FAMILIES TO BE ABLE TO MEET WITH OUR TEACHERS. AND THANKS TO TO THE TEACHERS WHO ARE ESPECIALLY AND OUR ADMINISTRATORS WHO ARE WORKING THINGS OUT. SO THAT OUR NEWLY DEPARTMENTALIZED, FIFTH GRADE PARENTS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH BOTH TEACHERS OR ALL THREE OF THEIR TEACHERS, DEPENDING ON THE STRUCTURE. WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE NEED MORE SLOTS FOR THOSE SO THAT EACH TEACHER, EACH TEACHER NOW HAS MORE STUDENTS ON THEIR CASELOAD. SO THEY NEED MORE TIME TO MEET WITH STUDENTS. SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT. BUT WE THOUGHT, ESPECIALLY THIS FIRST TIME, VERY IMPORTANT THAT PARENTS HAVE THE CHANCE TO MEET WITH BOTH TEACHERS. SO WE'LL SEE HOW IT GOES. GET SOME FEEDBACK ON THAT AND WORK TO CONTINUE TO EVOLVE THAT OVER THE YEARS. SORRY ABOUT THE LENGTH OF THAT. I KNOW WE'VE GOT A BIG AUDIENCE WHO'S HERE FOR EXCITING THINGS. SO I WILL END MY REPORT THERE. AND I THINK FROM THERE WE GO TO OUR STUDENT BOARD REPORTS. [4.2 Ex Officio Student Report] THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME AGAIN. SO LAST WEEK, SENIORS CELEBRATED ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED TRADITIONS OF THEIR HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE HALLOWEEN DRESS UP DAY. THIS EVENT MARKS A MILESTONE MOMENT FOR THE SENIOR CLASS, WHO ARE THE ONLY STUDENTS PERMITTED TO PARTICIPATE. IT IS A DAY THAT HAS BEEN EAGERLY AWAITED SINCE FRESHMAN YEAR, AND SERVES AS A FUN AND MEMORABLE WAY TO COMMEMORATE THEIR FINAL YEAR. AT THE SAME TIME, SCIENCE RESEARCH SENIORS ARE IN THE MIDST OF COMPLETING THEIR REGENERON SCIENCE TALENT SEARCH STS APPLICATIONS, AND THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS COMPETITIONS IN WHICH THEY PARTICIPATE. IT'S GOING ON TONIGHT, LAST NIGHT AND THE NIGHT BEFORE. SO VERY HECTIC. [LAUGHTER] AND THAT'S THE THING YOU NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT AFTERWARDS TO GO BACK TO. [00:15:04] YEAH. PREPARING THESE APPLICATIONS REQUIRES WEEKS OF INTENSIVE EFFORT, INCLUDING EXTENSIVE DATA ANALYSIS AND WRITING. BALANCING THIS COMMITMENT ALONGSIDE COLLEGE APPLICATIONS IS A REMARKABLE ACCOMPLISHMENT. A HEARTFELT THANK YOU GOES TO AMPLIFY FOR ORGANIZING LATE NIGHT WORK SESSIONS, AND TO MR. BELTECAS AND DOCTOR TORTORELLA FOR THEIR CONTINUED DEDICATION AND SUPPORT IN HELPING SENIORS ACHIEVE SUCCESS. THE PSAT WAS ALSO ADMINISTERED RECENTLY MARKING AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE FOR JUNIORS AND SOPHOMORES. FOR SOPHOMORES IN PARTICULAR, THIS IS THEIR FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH STANDARDIZED TESTING FOR COLLEGE PREPARATION. THE PSAT SERVES AS AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SAT AND ACT EXAMS, HELPING STUDENTS DETERMINE WHICH TESTING PATH MAY BE BEST SUIT THEIR GOALS. TWO WEEKS AGO, STUDENTS SUBMITTED THEIR NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY APPLICATIONS, AND THIS PROGRAM RECOGNIZES OUTSTANDING STUDENTS WHO DEMONSTRATE EXCELLENCE IN SCHOLARSHIP, LEADERSHIP, SERVICE, AND CHARACTER. ALSO, WHILE THE UPPERCLASSMEN WERE ENGAGING IN PSAT TESTING, FRESHMEN ENJOYED A FIELD DAY FILLED WITH TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITIES ON THE SCHOOL FIELD. THEY PARTICIPATED IN GROUP CHALLENGES DESIGNED TO FOSTER COLLABORATION AND STRENGTHEN CLASS BONDS. FINALLY, LAST WEEK, STUDENTS ATTENDED A COLLEGE OF NIGHT EVENT IN EASTCHESTER. IT WAS AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE POST-SECONDARY OPTIONS AND START PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE. PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL WILL HOST THE EVENT NEXT YEAR, PROVIDING A CHANCE FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO WELCOME COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES TO CAMPUS. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND I MEANT TO SAY EARLIER, I SO APPRECIATE HAVING THE STUDENTS ON THE BOARD NOW, BECAUSE I USED TO TRY TO COVER SOME OF WHAT WAS GOING ON IN HIGH SCHOOL, BUT I DIDN'T EVEN BEGIN TO TOUCH THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT, EMERSON. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. NICK, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD TO THAT TONIGHT? OKAY. I THINK THAT COVERED ALL OF IT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. WE WON'T PUT TOO MUCH PRESSURE ON YOU FOR YOUR FIRST NIGHT. [LAUGHTER] BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND AS I SAID TO THEM, YOU KNOW, THEY GOING FORWARD, AS THEY GET TO KNOW ONE ANOTHER AND WORK TOGETHER, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO MAYBE TAG TEAM AND, YOU KNOW, SHARE SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES. AND BOTH OF THEM, I KNOW, HAVE BEEN VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY FIND WAYS TO TAP ALL THE DIFFERENT STUDENT GROUPS AND HEAR FROM THE DIFFERENT VOICES AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND THE SCHOOL. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. IF YOU NEED TO LEAVE. GO. FEEL COMFORTABLE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO STAY VERY WELCOME TO STAY AS LONG AS YOU'RE ABLE. NEXT. YES. OKAY. AND I WANT TO SAY ONE CLARIFICATION TOO I MISSPOKE EARLIER. WE DO NOT HAVE A HALF DAY FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. I KNOW. IT IS A FULL DAY OF SCHOOL. MY MISTAKE. THANK YOU, MISS MARRERO, FOR CORRECTING THAT. I STILL HAVE MY OLD FRAME OF MIND. IT'S EVENING CONFERENCES. SORRY, GUYS. FULL DAY OF SCHOOL. I WAS LIKE, WHAT? I'M SORRY. THANK YOU. BUT LET'S. YES, LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR EXCITING EVENT. I'M GOING TO GO OVER TO THE MICROPHONE. I'M GOING TO INVITE PRINCIPAL CARR AND OUR ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, MR. TOOMBS, IF YOU WOULD JOIN ME AT THE MICROPHONE, PLEASE. THANK YOU. ARE YOU GOING TO GET A PICTURE? ALL RIGHT. [4.3 NYS AHPERD Elementary PE Teacher of the Year Presentation] JUST TO KICK THINGS OFF, I'M REALLY EXCITED TODAY TO RECOGNIZE MR. D'AMBROSIO. HE'S BEEN KNOWN TO MANY OF US LOCALLY, AS JUST AN AMAZING EDUCATOR. AND NOW HE IS KNOWN TO THE ENTIRE STATE. THEY CAN'T TAKE HIM. HE IS OURS. AND HE IS OUR SPECIAL, SPECIAL EDUCATOR. BUT WE JUST COULD NOT BE MORE PROUD. I BECAME ACQUAINTED WITH THIS ORGANIZATION, THE ASSOCIATION FOR HEALTH, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, RECREATION AND DANCE. IT IS ONE OF THE PREMIER STATE ORGANIZATIONS. WHEN I WAS A HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL IS WHEN I FOUND OUT ABOUT IT. AND MY SCHOOL HAD ACHIEVED AN HONOR THERE AND I GOT TO GO AND SEE, REALLY, THIS IS THE PREMIER ATHLETICS ORGANIZATION IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN THE STATE. SO IT'S TO BE RECOGNIZED BY THIS IS QUITE AN ACCOMPLISHMENT. SO, NICK, WE'RE INCREDIBLY PROUD OF YOU. I'M GOING TO LET THE FOLKS WHO KNOW YOU MUCH BETTER THAN ME TO SHARE SOME HONORS ABOUT THE WONDERFUL EDUCATOR AND PERSON THAT YOU ARE. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING BOARD, CABINET AND COMMUNITY. TONIGHT, I HAVE THE ESTEEMED PRIVILEGE OF INTRODUCING AN IMMENSELY TALENTED EDUCATOR WHO IS IN HIS 22ND YEAR OF POSITIVELY IMPACTING THE LIVES OF STUDENTS HERE AT PELHAM AND WHO HAS RECENTLY HONORED AS THE NEW YORK STATE AHPERD ELEMENTARY PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER OF THE YEAR. COACH D'AMBROSIO. NEW YORK STATE IS NEW YORK STATE'S ASSOCIATION FOR HEALTH, PHYSICAL EDUCATION, RECREATION AND DANCE. THIS ASSOCIATION HAS BEEN SUPPORTING MOVEMENT EDUCATORS FOR ALMOST 90 YEARS, AND IS BY FAR THE AUTHORITY ON PHYSICAL LITERACY, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ADVOCACY LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY. I MYSELF HAVE BEEN A LONG STANDING MEMBER OF THIS ASSOCIATION AND OFTEN DREAMT ABOUT BEING AWARDED SUCH AN HONOR. [00:20:04] SO IT'S A HIGH MAGNITUDE HONOR FOR SURE. I'LL NEVER FORGET MY FIRST YEAR HERE AT PELHAM. I FELT LIKE WITH EACH PASSING WEEK, I HEARD MORE AND MORE OF NICK'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS PRIOR TO REALLY GETTING TO KNOW HIM. DIFFERENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF NICK'S WERE PRESENTED TO ME AT EVERY TURN, COACHING ITEMS WOULD ARISE AND I WOULD HEAR, OH, NICK CAME UP WITH THIS IDEA TEACHING REPORT. THE TEACHING ITEMS OR REPORT CARD ITEMS WOULD SURFACE AND I WOULD HEAR, WELL, NICK AT PROSPECT HILL DOES IT THIS WAY. AND HE SORT OF TOOK ON THIS LIKE MYTHICAL QUALITY AROUND TOWN. AND HIS NAME WAS REALLY INVOLVED IN EVERYTHING. IN EVERY PLACE I TURNED, IT STARTED TO FEEL, AND I'M QUOTING THE USUAL SUSPECTS. IT STARTED TO FEEL LIKE A KEYSER SOZE WAS IN OUR OUR MIDST, PULLING ALL THESE LEVERS BEHIND THE SCENES. SINCE THEN, IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE WORKING WITH SOMEBODY SO COMMITTED TO EDUCATION THROUGH MOVEMENT AND THE STUDENTS AT PELHAM. NICK'S RESUME HAS A RARE QUALITY NOT OFTEN SEEN IN TEACHING RANKS. HIS REACH AND IMPACT IS LITERALLY KINDERGARTEN THROUGH 12TH GRADE. THROUGH THOUGH, PRINCIPAL CARR GETS TO HAVE NICK DURING THE DAY, HIS WORK ON COMMITTEES ON OUR MODIFIED JV AND VARSITY SIDELINES HAS HIM WORKING WITH ALL OF OUR AGE GROUPS. AS A COACH, NICK COACHED FOOTBALL FOR 17 YEARS, AND HIS FILM STUDY AND GAME STRATEGY ARE STILL MARVELED AT BY OUR YOUNGER COACHES. HE'S COACHED EVERY LEVEL OF GIRLS BASKETBALL AND STILL, AS I FOUND OUT, RECENTLY, MANAGES THE RECORDS FOR THAT PROGRAM GOING BACK DECADES BECAUSE HE JUST HAS ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD, APPARENTLY. [LAUGHTER] COACHING BOTH JV AND MODIFIED SOFTBALL AND MODIFIED BASEBALL IN THE SPRING OVER THE YEARS, DESPITE ALL THESE LATE NIGHTS FROM COACHING, NICK STILL ORGANIZES THE PROSPECT HILL MORNING INTRAMURAL. I GUESS SLEEP IS NOT AN OPTION. AND HE SHOWED ME HIS SLEEP APP THE OTHER DAY AND HE DOES NOT SLEEP, SO IT IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. HE'S BEEN DOING THIS FOR DECADES AT PH. AND ALUMNI OFTEN RECOGNIZE AND I'VE HEARD THIS SOME OF THEIR FONDEST MEMORIES OF PELHAM SCHOOLS WERE THOSE MORNING INTRAMURALS. COACH AND I DID SOME QUICK MATH EARLIER TONIGHT, AND WE BELIEVE OVER 1000 STUDENTS HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY MORNING INTRAMURALS AT PROSPECT HILL. ALSO, NICK IS WHAT WE CALL AN EDUCATOR OF EDUCATORS. SINCE 2012, NICK HAS SERVED AS AN ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AT MANHATTANVILLE COLLEGE, WHERE HE'S GUIDING FUTURE PE TEACHERS AND SHARING THE BEST PARTS OF WHAT HE DOES EVERY DAY. THROUGH THIS ROLE, HIS INFLUENCE EXTENDS FAR BEYOND OUR DISTRICT AND IS SHAPING GENERATIONS OF TEACHERS WHO WILL CARRY HIS EXAMPLE INTO THE CLASSROOM. NICK'S PASSION FOR INCLUSION HAS BEEN A HALLMARK OF HIS CAREER. AFTER EARNING HIS DEGREE AT SUNY CORTLAND, HE CONTINUES EDUCATION AT THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY AND ADAPTIVE PHYSICAL EDUCATION, AND THIS COMMITMENT HAS TRANSFORMED THE WAY PELHAM APPROACHES PE FROM INDIVIDUALIZED MODIFICATIONS TO HIS PEER COACH PROGRAM THAT HE RUNS. NICK HAS ENSURED EVERY STUDENT, REGARDLESS OF ABILITY, CAN PARTICIPATE FULLY AND FEEL PROUD OF WHAT THEY DO. WHAT STANDS OUT THE MOST ABOUT NICK, THOUGH, IS NICK'S PROFESSIONALISM AND HUMILITY. GETTING HIM TO GIVE US ANYTHING FOR THIS SPEECH HAS BEEN LIKE DENTAL WORK. [LAUGHTER] HE IS THE MOST HUMBLE INDIVIDUAL YOU'LL EVER MEET, DESPITE HIS RESUME. HE LEADS BY DOING BY SHOWING UP EARLY, SUPPORTING COLLEAGUES, MENTORING NEW STAFF, AND ALWAYS STRIVING TO IMPROVE THE PROGRAM FOR HIS STUDENTS. WHETHER HE'S PRESENTING AT A CONFERENCE, INTRODUCING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES IN HIS CLASSROOM, OR COLLABORATING WITH PEERS, NICK'S WORK REFLECTS DEEP BELIEF IN THE POWER OF TEACHING AND THE POTENTIAL OF EVERY CHILD. NICK, YOUR DEDICATION, CREATIVITY, AND HEART HAVE ELEVATED THE STANDARD OF WHAT PHYSICAL EDUCATION CAN BE, NOT JUST HERE IN PELHAM, BUT ACROSS OUR STATE. CONGRATULATIONS, NICK, ON THIS WELL-DESERVED AWARD, NEW YORK STATE AHPERD ELEMENTARY TEACHER OF THE YEAR. [APPLAUSE] ONLY TEN MORE PAGES TO GO, NICK. JUST BEAR WITH US. IT IS WITH GREAT PRIDE AND JOY THAT I SPEAK ABOUT SOMEONE WHO TRULY IS AN OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR, AND I DON'T THINK ANY WORDS I SAY CAN TRULY DO YOU JUSTICE, BUT I'M GOING TO GIVE IT A SHOT. SINCE JOINING PELHAM IN 2004, NICK HAS BROUGHT ENERGY, PASSION AND DEDICATION TO HIS ROLE AS A PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER AT PROSPECT HILL. BUT HIS IMPACT GOES MUCH FURTHER BEYOND TEACHING PE, HE SHAPES NOT JUST HEALTHY BODIES, BUT CONFIDENT, KIND AND WELL-ROUNDED YOUNG PEOPLE. AND IF YOU DON'T WANT TO TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, THE STUDENTS THEMSELVES SAY IT. THEY TALKED ABOUT HOW MUCH HE LOVES TO CREATE FUN GAMES. YOU LET THEM SHOW OFF THEIR DANCE MOVES. YOU MAKE THEM LAUGH BY TRYING TO STEAL THE BALL, AND YOU ALWAYS MAKE THEM FEEL WELCOME AND SAFE. ONE OF OUR NEW STUDENTS THIS YEAR SHARED THAT HE YOU WERE ONE OF THE FIRST ADULTS THAT MADE HIM FEEL WELCOME AT PROSPECT HILL BECAUSE YOU WENT RIGHT OVER AND INTRODUCED YOURSELF [00:25:02] TO HIM, AND EVEN JUST THAT SMALL TASK MADE HIM FEEL LIKE HE WAS PART OF OUR SCHOOL. NICK MAKES PE A PLACE WHERE KIDS CAN BE THEMSELVES, TAKE RISKS AND HAVE FUN WHILE LEARNING IMPORTANT SKILLS. BUT NICK'S IMPACT ISN'T LIMITED TO HIS STUDENTS. COLLEAGUES DESCRIBE HIM AS AN OUTSTANDING PE TEACHER, A COLLEAGUE, AND A FRIEND. THEY SHARED HOW HE'S ALWAYS WILLING TO PITCH IN WHENEVER NEEDED, NO QUESTIONS ASKED. HE GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND TO SUPPORT HIS COLLEAGUES, CHECKING IN WHEN SOMEONE'S GOING THROUGH A TOUGH TIME, WHETHER PERSONALLY OR PROFESSIONALLY. HIS RELIABILITY, COMPASSION AND POSITIVE ATTITUDE MAKE HIM AN INVALUABLE MEMBER OF OUR TEAM. ONE COLLEAGUE THAT'S HERE WAS ACTUALLY SHE'S A TEACHER HERE. I WON'T EMBARRASS HER, BUT SHE WAS IN HIS PE CLASS AS A FIRST GRADER, AND SHE SAID EVEN BACK THEN, HE WAS ALWAYS READY. SHE'S TURNING RED RIGHT NOW. YOU COULD PROBABLY SPOT HER. SHE SAID HE WAS ALWAYS READY TO HELP, ALWAYS READY TO LISTEN. AND SHE SAID THIS MANY YEARS LATER, HE'S STILL THAT SAME PERSON. MR. D ORGANIZES FIELD DAY. HE COORDINATES INTRAMURALS. HE SERVES AS TEACHER IN CHARGE. ALWAYS STEPPING UP, ALWAYS LEADING BY EXAMPLE. THROUGH INITIATIVES LIKE JUMP ROPE FOR HEART, MDA HOP-A-THON, THE LATEST FUNDRAISER, TROT FOR TREES. HE HAS HELPED TO RAISE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WHILE TEACHING STUDENTS ABOUT EMPATHY, KINDNESS AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. SO WHENEVER YOU ASK ME TO DO ANYTHING NOW, NICK, I HOPE THIS DOESN'T GET YOU IN TROUBLE AT HOME. MEGAN, HE GIVES US THREE WORDS. NO MATTER WHAT YOU ASK HIM, HE SAYS WHATEVER YOU NEED, WHATEVER YOU NEED. AND HE TRULY MEANS IT. WHETHER IT'S HELPING A COLLEAGUE, MENTORING A STUDENT, COACHING AN ATHLETE, TALKING TO A NEW TEACHER, SUPERVISING RECESS, TALKING TO STUDENTS IF THEY HAD AN INTERACTION THAT NEEDS SOME REMEDIATION FROM AN ADULT. NICK GIVES SELFLESSLY OF HIS TIME WHILE BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS, OFFERING ENCOURAGEMENT, AND KEEPING STUDENTS SAFE AND SUPPORTED. OFF THE FIELD HE'S AN AMAZING FATHER TO ANDREW, JONATHAN, AND TESSA, COACHING AND GUIDING THEM WITH THE SAME DEDICATION HE SHOWS HIS STUDENTS AND THEY ARE HERE TONIGHT. AND THEN, OF COURSE, HIS WONDERFUL WIFE MEGAN, WHO WE KNOW IS THE REAL BRAINS OF THIS OPERATION, AND A FELLOW EDUCATORS ALWAYS SO SUPPORTIVE. A FEW WEEKS AGO, WE HAD, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD PROSPECT HILL HAD THE CEO OF G.O.A.T BRANDS COME TO TALK TO US. AND G.O.A.T IS USUALLY A TERM I SEE THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME. AND IT'S USUALLY RESERVED FOR ATHLETES LIKE MICHAEL JORDAN AND DEREK JETER AND, YOU KNOW, STEPHEN CURRY. BUT THE CEO OF G.O.A.T ACTUALLY CAME TO TALK TO US BECAUSE HE REALLY DESCRIBED THE BRAND THAT HE CREATED, G.O.A.T AS IT APPLIES TO JUST ORDINARY PEOPLE DOING EXTRAORDINARY THINGS. AND BY THOSE MEASURES, NICK, YOU ARE THE G.O.A.T OF PROSPECT HILL. [APPLAUSE] IT IS AN ABSOLUTE HONOR TO CELEBRATE NICK AND HIS AWARD. CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR OUR STUDENTS, OUR SCHOOL, YOUR COLLEAGUES, AND THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. [APPLAUSE]. YEAH. YEAH. YEAH. PROBABLY NOT. YOU GOT THE KIDS IN THE PICTURE. THEY'RE SO CUTE. THE BOYS LOVE IT. EVERYBODY LOVES HIM. GET OUT OF THE WAY. I'M NOT IN THE BACKGROUND. I KNOW, I KNOW HE'S GONNA BE. WHERE ARE YOU GOING? YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO UP FRONT TO GO TAKE A PICTURE. OH, WE'RE GOING TO BE IN THE PICTURE. ALL RIGHT. TWO. THREE. AND THE LAST ONE, I SAY CONGRATULATIONS AS LOUD AS YOU CAN. ARE YOU READY? ONE. TWO. THREE. CONGRATULATIONS. [00:30:03] [APPLAUSE] YEAH. AND A ALUMNI EVENT. LIKE. RIGHT NOW. YEAH. AND. IT'S FOR CHARITY. YEAH, IT WAS TWO. YEAH. I THINK THERE WAS ONLY ONE GREEN, SO. YEAH. THANK YOU. JEFF. IT WAS AN EYE DROP ALARM. HIM. YOU OKAY? I LOADED HIM UP BEFORE I CAME. AN ALARM AT 8:00 AT NIGHT? YEP. GOT IT. WE WERE ON THE EVEN HOURS TODAY. YEP. AWESOME. ALL RIGHT, SO THEN WE'LL GO STRAIGHT TO THIS. BRING THEM UP. YEAH, I THINK WE SHOULD. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ZOOM THROUGH EVERYTHING. BUT THEN I THINK. JIM, DO YOU WANT BEFORE. BEFORE. ALEX, SHOULD I BRING. YEAH. OKAY. I'LL BRING. OH, TOM. BECAUSE HE'S GOT A. OH YEAH. THAT'S FINE. HE'S GOT TO GET OUT. RIGHT. YEAH. TOTALLY FINE. YEAH. READY FOR TENNIS? YEAH. YEAH, BUT ARE WE READY TO DO IT? YEAH. OKAY. WE'RE ON. RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. OKAY, OKAY, I'M GOING TO MOVE UP THE MOVE UP PUBLIC COMMENT. [5. Communications and Comments from the Public] SO WHOEVER IS COMING UP TO SPEAK, CAN YOU COME OVER. OVER TO THE PODIUM? COME TO THE PODIUM. AND STATE THEIR NAME? YEAH, MAYBE SKIP ADDRESS. OKAY. AND BEFORE. BEFORE YOU START SPEAKING, CAN YOU LET US KNOW YOUR NAME, PLEASE. THANK YOU. I KNOW. YES. GOOD EVENING. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. MY NAME IS ETHAN CREVECOEUR AND I'M A SEVENTH GRADER AT PELHAM MIDDLE SCHOOL. AND I'M MAC ALDERMAN, ALSO A SEVENTH GRADER HERE AT PMS. AND I'M LIAM SEPLER, ALSO A SEVENTH GRADER. THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK HERE TONIGHT. WE'RE HERE BECAUSE WE'D LIKE TO PROPOSE CREATING A MODIFIED TENNIS TEAM FOR SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADERS. MANY OF US ALREADY LOVE PLAYING TENNIS. SOME OF US TAKE LESSONS OR JUST PLAY WITH FRIENDS FOR FUN. BUT RIGHT NOW, THERE'S NO SCHOOL TEAM AVAILABLE UNTIL HIGH SCHOOL. MANY NEARBY WESTCHESTER DISTRICTS, INCLUDING ARDSLEY, HASTINGS, BLIND BROOK, IRVINGTON AND EASTCHESTER ALREADY OFFER MODIFIED TENNIS OPPORTUNITIES FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS. A MODIFIED TENNIS TEAM WOULD GIVE STUDENTS OUR AGE THE CHANCE TO REPRESENT PELHAM, DEVELOP TEAMWORK, AND BUILD SKILLS BEFORE MOVING UP TO THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL. WHO KNOWS, MAYBE ONE DAY WE'LL EVEN BE THE NEXT STATE CHAMPIONS. WE'VE SPOKEN WITH MANY STUDENTS AND THERE'S A LOT OF EXCITEMENT ABOUT JOINING IF A TEAM IS CREATED. TO SHOW THE SUPPORT WE ORGANIZED A PETITION TO PRESENT ALONG WITH THIS PROPOSAL WITH ABOUT 130 SIGNATURES. WE KNOW THE BOARD HAS RECEIVED PETITIONS FOR OTHER MODIFIED SPORTS OVER THE YEARS, BUT WE BELIEVE TENNIS HAS STRONG, LASTING INTEREST IN PELHAM AND COULD BECOME A PROGRAM FOR YEARS TO COME. BASED ON THE POSITION FOR SPRING 2025 WE ARE ANTICIPATING BETWEEN 15 TO 20 BOYS INTERESTED. FOR THE 2026 TO 2027 SCHOOL YEAR COMBINED PARTICIPATION FOR BOYS AND GIRLS COULD DO 40 ATHLETES FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR. ABOUT 20 ATHLETES ARE ALREADY SHOWING INTEREST. WE BELIEVE THESE NUMBERS WILL CONTINUE TO GROW AS MORE STUDENTS DISCOVER TENNIS AND THE PROGRAM BECOMES ESTABLISHED AT PELHAM MIDDLE SCHOOL. I LOVE PLAYING TENNIS AND I ALWAYS HAVE. I LEARNED IT FROM MY GRANDPA WHEN I WAS YOUNG, AND I'VE BEEN PLAYING WITH SO MANY OF MY FRIENDS FROM PELHAM SINCE MY EARLY SIWANOY DAYS. TENNIS WOULD BE A GREAT FIT FOR PELHAM BECAUSE IT'S AN INCLUSIVE, LOW COST SPORT THAT DOESN'T NEED MUCH EQUIPMENT. WE ALSO ALREADY HAVE COURTS AVAILABLE AT GLOVER AND JULIANNE'S. ORIGINALLY, WE HOPE TO PROPOSE A COED TEAM FOR SPRING 2025, BUT AFTER SPEAKING WITH MR. TOOMBS, WE LEARNED THAT NEW YORK STATE REGULATIONS DON'T ALLOW THAT FORMAT. [00:35:03] FOR SPRING 2025 WE SUGGEST STARTING WITH A BOYS MODIFIED TEAM, FOLLOWED BY SEPARATE GIRLS AND BOYS TEAMS BEGINNING IN THE 2026 TO 2027 SCHOOL YEAR. AS FOR FUNDING, WE CAN EXPLORE GRANTS, COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, PARENT CONTRIBUTIONS TO HELP SUPPORT THE INITIAL SEASON IN SPRING 2025. WE WOULD ASK THAT THE DISTRICT CONSIDER INCLUDING THE PROGRAM IN THE 2026 TO 2027 BUDGET. WE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IDEA WAS CONSIDERED LAST YEAR, BUT NOT APPROVED. WE BELIEVE THAT STUDENT INTEREST IS MUCH STRONGER NOW, AND WE HOPE YOU'LL MAKE IT AN ACE FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. WE HOPE YOU'LL GIVE US THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE TENNIS PART OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL ATHLETICS. WE PROMISE WE WILL DO OUR PART AS STUDENTS TO SHOW UP EVERY DAY, WORK OUR HARDEST, AND COME TOGETHER AS A STRONG AND WINNING MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING HERE TONIGHT. AND THAT WAS A VERY WELL THOUGHT OUT PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. THANKS. I WONDER IF STUDENTS COULD YOU MAYBE GIVE US EITHER LEAVE A COPY OF YOUR COMMENTS WITH US OR EMAIL A COPY TO MR. TOOMBS. WE'D REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. AND I AGREE VERY, VERY ARTICULATE ARGUMENT AND RATIONALE. VERY WELL THOUGHT THROUGH. MUCH APPRECIATED. WE UNFORTUNATELY, WE CAN'T MAKE DECISIONS LIKE THAT TONIGHT, JUST AS YOU PROBABLY EXPECTED THAT. BUT CERTAINLY, AS MS. DE ANGELIS SAID IN HER OPENING COMMENTS, WE'LL TAKE ALL OF THESE REQUESTS AND COMMENTS VERY SERIOUSLY AND UNDER ADVISEMENT AS WE HEAD INTO THE BUDGET PROCESS. THANK YOU. YEAH, YEAH. WHY DON'T YOU GIVE IT TO MR. TOOMBS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY. THANK YOU. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. HAVE A GREAT NIGHT. GOOD. YES. GOOD NIGHT. THANK YOU. YEAH. IT'S SURPRISING THAT THE STATE DOESN'T. GO AHEAD, BOYS AND GIRLS. YOU KNOW. WHAT? I KNOW. I SAW THAT. LOVE IT. THAT'S WHY I'M LIKE. OKAY. I'M EXCITED. OKAY. I'D LOVE TO DO. ARE WE SELLING POM POM? POM POM? [6.9 Motion to Close the Public Comment Period and Approve the Pelham Public Schools District-Wide Safety Plan] BEFORE ALEX, BEFORE YOU CAN YOU KNOW, YOU CAN DO YOUR PRESENTATION. I'M GOING TO MOVE UP 6.9. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD AND APPROVE THE PELHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS DISTRICT WIDE SAFETY PLAN? SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY. WE HAVE. YEAH. WE WANT TO HEAR FROM MR. DRAKE. YEAH, WE HAVE TOM DRAKE HERE. THEN WE WILL DO OUR FINAL VOTE. YEAH, I THOUGHT I WAS OFF THE HOOK THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME THIS EVENING. DOCTOR CHAMP AND THE BOARD. MUCH LIKE LAST SUMMER, WHERE WE WERE GIVEN GUIDANCE BY THE NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT RELATING TO TRAUMA INFORMED DRILLS. WE HAD TO REOPEN OUR PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD AGAIN. THEN SAME THING HAPPENED THIS YEAR TO MOST DISTRICTS IN THE ENTIRE STATE, BECAUSE MOST DISTRICTS ARE IN THEIR 30 DAY PERIOD SOMETIME IN JULY OR AUGUST. AND THEY RELEASE THIS GUIDANCE LATE IN AUGUST. AND REALLY, IT'S RELATING TO ADDING JUST LANGUAGE ABOUT HOW TO RESPOND TO CARDIAC EVENTS IN OUR BUILDINGS, HOW TO TREAT THE CARDIAC EVENTS IN THE BUILDINGS, AND HOW TO TRAIN OUR PEOPLE RELATING TO CARDIAC EVENTS. IT ALSO HAS GUIDANCE RELATED TO AEDS WHERE THE AEDS ARE LOCATED, WHERE WE LIST THEM, HOW WE LIST THEM WITHIN THE BUILDING, AND THE BUILDING LEVEL PLANS WHICH THIS DISTRICT ALREADY DID. WE ALREADY HAVE OUR AEDS LISTED AND ALL OF OUR PLANS. THEY'RE ALSO LOCATED. THE LOCATIONS ARE ALSO LOCATED IN ALL THE RED FOLDERS THAT ARE LOCATED IN EVERY CLASSROOM. SINCE COMING TO THE DISTRICT, MR. HRICAY HAS BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE OF TRAINING OUR PERSONNEL, AND WE'VE GOTTEN TO A REGULAR ROTATION OF TRAINING BETWEEN CPR, FIRST AID. WE JUST DID FIRST AID AND STOP THE BLEED TRAINING WITH OUR SAFETY TEAM IN THE HIGH SCHOOL AND THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. ONE THING UNIQUE TO THIS DISTRICT WE'VE LOCATED STOP THE BLEED KITS IN EVERY AED BOX IN ALL OF OUR BUILDINGS OR IN THE NURSE'S OFFICE IN SOME OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. SO I THINK WE'VE PUSHED PRETTY FAR AHEAD ON TRAINING. I THINK WE'VE PUSHED PRETTY FAR AHEAD ON THIS GUIDANCE. BUT IT DID COME OUT. THE TIMING WAS LATE. AND THEN WHEN WE SOUGHT OPINION FROM NEW YORK STATE ON WHAT WE SHOULD DO, SHOULD WE CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT, REDO IT, THEN REOPEN IT. THEY SAID EVERYBODY THAT'S IN PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD SHOULD VOTE ON IT, CLOSE IT AND THEN REOPEN IT. SO I'M SORRY BUT I APPRECIATE YOU PUSHING THIS UP BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY NOT DUE UNTIL JANUARY 1ST, [00:40:02] SO I'M GLAD WE'RE GETTING IT DONE AND IT'LL JUST BE BEHIND US NOW. SO THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. ANYTHING ELSE? DID WE GET DID WE GET ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC? I THINK WHAT'S BENEFICIAL TO THE DISTRICT, WHAT THAT BRINGS TO THE DISTRICT IS WHEN THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN THEY THEY CERTAINLY WORK COMPREHENSIVELY THROUGHOUT THE STATE. THEY HEAR ABOUT A LOT OF THESE THINGS HAPPENING AHEAD OF TIME. IF IT'S NEW IF WE DON'T HAVE IT 100%, WE'RE USUALLY ABOUT 90% THERE ALREADY BEFORE THESE THINGS COME OUT. SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO SOME TRAINING ON THIS, SOME OF THIS COMPLIANCE TRAINING AS A RESULT OF THIS NEW CARDIAC COMPONENT WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT WHAT THAT TRAINING COULD BE, AND THEN THIS WILL JUST BE PART OF THE RECURRING PROGRAM EVERY YEAR. AND AS TOM SAID, WE'VE TRIED TO BE MUCH MORE PROACTIVE IN PROVIDING GREATER TOOLS FOR PEOPLE SO THEY HAVE ADDITIONAL TRAINING AND KNOWLEDGE IN DOING THEIR JOBS AND BEING ABLE TO RESPOND IN THE UNFORTUNATE CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANKS. THANK YOU. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. DOES ANYONE. DOES ANYONE HAVE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR. AYE. NONE OPPOSED. SO THE DISTRICT WIDE SAFETY PLAN IS APPROVED. ALL RIGHT. AGAIN THANK YOU. AGAIN FOR THE SECOND. UNOPPOSED. OKAY, OKAY. NEXT WE HAVE ALEX. WELCOME, ALEX. YES, I WOULD SAY I KNOW. OKAY. SO WE'RE I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR ALEX TO PRESENT TONIGHT WHEN HE AND I OBVIOUSLY [4.4 Communications Presentation] SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS. AND WHEN HE FIRST SHOWED ME THIS PRESENTATION BACK IN THE SUMMER, I THOUGHT, WOW, THIS IS REALLY GOOD AND REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE BOARD TO HEAR. AND I THINK VALUABLE FOR THE COMMUNITY TO HEAR, TOO, BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK. ALEX IS A DEPARTMENT OF ONE AND JUST THE AMOUNT THAT SCHOOL DISTRICTS, NOT JUST OURS, BUT ALL HAVE COME TO DEPEND ON COMMUNICATIONS IN THIS ENVIRONMENT IS JUST SIGNIFICANT. SO TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK GROWTH. AND I JUST I'M EXCITED FOR HIM TO SHARE. AND WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT ALEX HAS DONE. HIS DEPARTMENT HAS DONE. AND THE GROWTH THAT WE AS A DISTRICT HAVE HAVE EXPERIENCED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. SO THANK YOU, ALEX. GO AHEAD. THANK YOU FOR THAT INTRODUCTION. AND I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE BOARD. THE FACT THAT I'M STANDING HERE AND TALKING ABOUT THIS IS A TESTAMENT TO HOW MUCH THE BOARD OF EDUCATION VALUES COMMUNICATIONS IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. OKAY. AND THAT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE. OBVIOUSLY, THERE ARE A LOT OF COMPETING RESOURCES, AND A LOT OF OUR TIME AND ENERGY IS SPENT APPROPRIATELY ON OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM. AND SOMETIMES IN OTHER PLACES, COMMUNICATIONS IS AN AFTERTHOUGHT. THAT'S NOT THE CASE HERE. AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. SO I APPRECIATE THAT. AND THANK YOU. AS YOU MAY REMEMBER, IN THE 22-23 SCHOOL YEAR, WE PERFORMED A COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT OF OUR DISTRICT. WE WORKED WITH THE NATIONAL SCHOOL PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION TO PERFORM THAT. THAT IS REALLY THE LARGEST PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR SCHOOL COMMUNICATORS IN THE COUNTRY. AND THEY THE AUDIT SERVICE IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY PROVIDE. THIS WAS REALLY A COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS THAT LOOKED AT OUR DISTRICT WIDE COMMUNICATIONS, OUR SCHOOL COMMUNICATIONS, EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, ANY PLANS AND PROCEDURES THAT WE HAVE AND OUR MATERIALS THEMSELVES. SO IT WAS REALLY A THREE PRONGED PROCESS. THE FIRST PRONG OF THAT WAS A DIGITAL SURVEY, WHICH WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF RE-ADMINISTERING. WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT LATER. THE SECOND PART WAS A SERIES OF FOCUS GROUPS AND INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED BY OUR AUDITOR. SO SHE MET WITH A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS TO REALLY GET AN ASSESSMENT OF HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM, PROVIDE THAT QUALITATIVE FEEDBACK THAT CAN ACCOMPANY THE SURVEY RESULTS AS WELL. AND THEN AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THE COMMUNICATIONS MATERIALS REVIEW. SO LOOKING AT EXAMPLES OF OUR NEWSLETTERS, EXAMPLES OF OUR INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, EXAMPLES OF REALLY ANY PLANS AND PROCEDURES THAT WE HAD, ANYTHING RELATED TO ANY RECENT CRISES THAT WE HAD? LOOKING BACK AT OUR 2018 BOND COMMUNICATIONS, ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THAT WE WERE WILLING TO TURN OVER, THEY WERE WILLING TO LOOK AT AND ASSESS. BEFORE I MOVE ON THE RESULT OF THAT WAS A COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT REPORT, WHICH IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE TO THIS DAY. IT DETAILS BASICALLY ALL OF THEIR FINDINGS, AS WELL AS ANY STRENGTHS AND ANY WEAKNESSES THEY FOUND AND A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTION STEPS THAT WE WERE EXPECTED TO CONSIDER AND HAVE CONSIDERED AND TAKEN ACTION TO SORT OF IMPLEMENT, [00:45:05] MOVE FORWARD AND SORT OF OPTIMIZE OUR COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM BASED AROUND THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS. SOME OF THE STRENGTHS THAT WERE FOUND REALLY FALL INTO A FEW KEY BUCKETS. OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM IS REALLY WELL REGARDED IN PELHAM. I THINK THAT WAS THAT'S FANTASTIC. OUR TEACHERS ARE PHENOMENAL. PEOPLE REALLY VALUE THAT. AND WE HAVE A TON OF SUPPORT FOR OUR STUDENTS THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT. ANOTHER THING THAT CAME UP WAS THE PARTNERSHIPS AND THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY THAT WE HAVE HERE IN PELHAM WITH A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO BE INVOLVED IN OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, WHETHER THAT'S THROUGH COMMITTEES, THROUGH PTA, AND THROUGH DIFFERENT INVOLVEMENT IN OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE STRENGTHS THAT THEY FOUND. AS WE MOVE INTO SOME OF THE CHALLENGES, ONE THING I WANT TO NOTE IS THE AUDIT ITSELF IS DESIGNED TO FIND CHALLENGES. WE DID NOT GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS BECAUSE WE WANTED A PAT ON THE BACK. WE WENT THROUGH IT BECAUSE WE WANTED TO FIND OUT WHERE WE COULD GET BETTER. SO THERE ARE MORE CHALLENGES LISTED THAN STRENGTHS, BUT THAT IS BY DESIGN. SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE FOUND WAS THAT WHAT WE HAD A LOT OF REALLY GOOD COMMUNICATIONS PIECES IN PLACE. WE DIDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE IT ALL WRITTEN DOWN AS PART OF A STRATEGIC PLAN. THERE WAS A LOT OF FRUSTRATION ABOUT EMAIL. AND THIS IS THIS ONE HAS BEEN A HARD NUT TO CRACK BECAUSE WE HAD FOLKS WHO FOUND THAT WE HAD TOO MUCH INFORMATION COMING OUT, AND ALSO FOLKS WHO FELT THAT THEY WERE NOT INFORMED ENOUGH. SO TRYING TO BRIDGE THOSE TWO THINGS TOGETHER HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE. THERE WAS ALSO SOME INSTANCES OF NEGATIVE PUBLICITY FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES THAT WERE HELPING TO FEED A DIVIDE WITHIN THE LARGER PELHAM COMMUNITY AS IT RELATES TO OUR SCHOOLS AND LEADING TO DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT THE IMAGE OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. SOME OF THE OTHER CHALLENGES FOUND WERE FOUND AROUND CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS. WE HAD A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORMS AT PLAY, WHICH CREATED SOME CONFUSION. WE HAD SOME ISSUES AROUND EMPLOYEE MORALE AND TRUST AND SOME COMMUNICATIONS BREAKDOWNS THAT LED TO SOME CONFUSION AND MISUNDERSTANDING. THERE WERE EIGHT TOTAL RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDED IN THE AUDIT. EACH OF THEM CAME WITH A NUMBER OF RELATED ACTION STEPS. I'M NOT GOING TO READ EACH ONE OF THESE HERE. LARGELY THEY RELATED TO STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING, INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, AND BUILDING CAPACITY FOR COMMUNICATIONS ACROSS THE DISTRICT. SO THOSE ARE THE REMAINDER OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THAT SLIDE. THE FIRST RECOMMENDATION WAS TO BUILD A STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN. THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT IS THAT IT WOULD SET OUR COURSE FOR THE REST OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTION STEPS. SO AS SOON AS WE RECEIVE THE AUDIT REPORT, WE REENGAGED NYSPRA, WHO CONDUCTED THE AUDIT TO ASSIST US IN DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN. WHAT THAT PLAN PROVIDES. IT IDENTIFIES OUR KEY AUDIENCES. IT PROVIDES KEY MESSAGING THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER WHEN WE'RE SPEAKING TO THOSE AUDIENCES. IT GIVES US AN ACTION PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND TOOLS TO ASSESS HOW WE'RE PERFORMING THROUGHOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS. MUCH OF WHICH IS EMBEDDED IN THE RE-ADMINISTRATION OF THE SURVEY THAT WE'LL TALK ABOUT LATER. SO I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE SINCE THAT AUDIT WAS PERFORMED IN ADDITION TO THE STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN, WE'VE WORKED VERY HARD AT DEVELOPING OUR CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN. WITHIN THAT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE REALLY FOCUSED ON ARE BUILDING REDUNDANCY WITHIN OUR CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS STRUCTURE. SO IF I'M UNAVAILABLE, SOMEBODY KNOWS WHAT THEIR ROLE IS AND THEY'RE GOING TO STEP UP AND BE ABLE TO LEAD COMMUNICATIONS. OR IF I AM AVAILABLE AND WE HAVE A SERIOUS ISSUE GOING ON, WE'RE ABLE TO BRING FOLKS IN AND HAVE CONVERSATIONS AROUND WHAT WE NEED TO COMMUNICATE. THAT WASN'T NECESSARILY HAPPENING BEFORE IT WOULD HAPPEN IN POCKETS, BUT NOW WE HAVE SOME REAL STRATEGY BEHIND IT. YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR ME SAY STAFF FIRST A LOT TONIGHT. AND THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT WE DON'T WANT TO INFORM OUR PARENT COMMUNITY, BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STAFF KNOW WHAT NEEDS TO BE COMMUNICATED BEFORE IT GOES OUT TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT OUR STAFF ARE ON THE FRONT LINES, AND WE WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, BE ABLE TO HELP OUR STUDENTS THROUGH ANY CRISIS THAT THAT ARISES. SO IF WE'RE, YOU KNOW, HAVING AN EARLY DISMISSAL, IT'S PRETTY IMPORTANT THAT OUR TEACHERS KNOW THAT STUDENTS ARE GOING TO BE SENT HOME BEFORE THEY'RE ACTUALLY SENT HOME, AS FAIRLY CANDID EXAMPLE OF THAT. WE ALSO WANTED TO DO SOME EDUCATION AROUND WHAT OUR COMMUNICATIONS PLANS ARE, WHAT OUR TERMINOLOGY IS DURING COMMUNICATIONS DURING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS. [00:50:09] SO WE HAVE PUBLISHED EVERY YEAR FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS IN EMERGENCY INFORMATION GUIDE, MR. DRAKE WITH ALTARIS WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN HELPING GET THAT OFF THE GROUND AND WE DISTRIBUTE THOSE AT OPEN HOUSES AT ALL SIX SCHOOLS EACH FALL. AND THEN STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUR LOCAL POLICE AND EMERGENCY RESPONDERS AND OUR FIRE DEPARTMENTS AS WELL AS ALTUS HAS BEEN ALSO VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT IN THIS. AND THEN THE LAST PIECE THERE IS DEBRIEF MEETINGS. I THINK FOLKS MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW ANYTIME THERE'S AN EMERGENCY SITUATION IN OUR SCHOOLS, WE HAVE DEBRIEF MEETINGS. WE'VE MADE IT A POINT DURING THOSE MEETINGS TO BRING COMMUNICATIONS UP AS A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION TO SEE WHAT WENT WELL, WHAT DIDN'T GO WELL, WHO KNEW WHAT, WHEN AND HOW CAN WE DO BETTER IN OUR NEXT SITUATION? THAT HAS COME UP A NUMBER OF TIMES. RELATED TO STRATEGY, TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHILE I'M THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DOCTOR CHAMP IS THE SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT BY BOARD POLICY. BY SORT OF DEFINITION, IF YOU WORK FOR THE PELHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS, YOU ARE A COMMUNICATOR. IF YOU ARE A TEACHER, YOU'RE COMMUNICATING WITH STUDENTS AND PARENTS ON A DAILY BASIS. SAME THING IF YOU'RE A BUILDING PRINCIPAL OR A CURRICULUM DIRECTOR. THE SAME THING IF YOU'RE A CUSTODIAN OR A SAFETY MONITOR. ANYONE WHO'S IN OUR DISTRICT IS IN A VERY PUBLIC FACING ROLE AND IS HAVING INTERACTIONS THAT ARE SHAPING AND BUILDING TRUST DAILY. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT ANYONE INVOLVED IN OUR ORGANIZATION IS EQUIPPED TO BE AN AMBASSADOR FOR OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO WE'VE TAKEN A COUPLE OF STEPS THERE. LAST YEAR WE ACTUALLY BROUGHT IN SOME REALLY TALENTED PEOPLE FROM THE CAPITAL REGION BOCES COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT, WHO LED A WORKSHOP WITH OUR DISTRICT ADMINISTRATORS ON THE PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. AS WE'VE ROLLED OUT PARENTSQUARE, I HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING WITH OUR ADMIN TEAM AND OUR K-5. WELL, K-12 REALLY TEACHERS AND PARENTS FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING A LEVEL UP SESSION THAT WE DID THIS YEAR DURING SUPERINTENDENT'S CONFERENCE DAY WHICH I THINK WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY. AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT ANYONE WHO'S NEW INTO THE DISTRICT IS GETTING AN OVERVIEW OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM. SO WHETHER THAT'S NEW ADMINISTRATOR WE'LL HAVE ONE ON ONE MEETINGS AND SORT OF REVIEW THE AUDIT, REVIEW OUR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN. OR IF YOU ARE THE NEW TEACHERS, EVERY YEAR WE HAVE A NEW BATCH OF TEACHERS. AND THEN DOCTOR FITZGERALD AND I WILL MEET WITH THEM AND I'LL PRESENT ALL OF THIS TO THEM AS WELL. SO WE'RE TRYING TO REALLY BUILD THAT CAPACITY FROM THE GROUND UP. AND THE OTHER STEP WITH THAT IS NOT JUST FOCUSING ON WHO'S NEW, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO BRING COMMUNICATIONS TO THE FOREFRONT WITH OUR ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM AND OUR KEY COMMUNICATORS, ESPECIALLY OUR PRINCIPALS. SO EACH SUMMER I WILL SIT DOWN WITH THEM AND WE'LL JUST HAVE A CONVERSATION. WHAT WENT WELL FOR YOU LAST YEAR? WHERE ARE SOME AREAS THAT YOU FEEL LIKE WE COULD DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER? HOW CAN I BETTER SUPPORT YOU AS A COMMUNICATOR AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE AWARE OF WHAT MY GOALS FOR THE YEAR ARE, SO THAT WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE MOVING FORWARD? AS IT RELATES TO INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, WHICH WAS A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF OUR AUDIT. AGAIN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT STAFF FIRST FLOW OF COMMUNICATIONS. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE OUR ADMINISTRATORS ARE AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON. THEN WE'RE INFORMING OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF, AND THEN WE'RE ABLE TO INFORM OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. I DO WANT TO NOTE WITH THAT, IF THERE'S A SITUATION THAT WE HAVE TO GET INFORMATION OUT QUICKLY, WE'RE NOT GOING TO WASTE TIME DOING THIS. RIGHT. WE'RE GOING TO IF THERE'S A SAFETY SITUATION OR AN EMERGENCY WHERE WE NEED TO EQUIP PEOPLE WITH INFORMATION QUICKLY, WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT. BUT THIS IS OUR GOAL AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO. SOME MORE TANGIBLE STEPS THAT WE'VE TAKEN THERE. WE HAVE DEVELOPED AN EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER THAT COMES OUT ONCE A MONTH. IT'S GOT A REALLY GREAT AMOUNT OF INFORMATION IN THERE. AND I THANK OUR ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS WHO ARE SITTING AT THE TABLE AND DOCTOR CHAMP, WHO PUT IT A LOT OF TIME INTO PREPARING PIECES FOR THAT. SO WE'RE STILL BUILDING UP AND TRYING TO GET IT READ A LITTLE BIT MORE. THAT'S ONE OF OUR GOALS FOR THE YEAR. BUT IT HAS BEEN AN IMPORTANT TOOL FOR US. DOCTOR CHAMP HAS THE LAST FEW YEARS BEEN MEETING IN EACH BUILDING WITH TEACHERS TO HOLD INFORMAL LUNCHEONS TO JUST CREATE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR FEEDBACK HAVE SOME CASUAL CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THINGS AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, HAVE SOME OF THESE CONVERSATIONS THAT I THINK MAYBE PEOPLE WANT TO HAVE BUT DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW WHERE THAT OPPORTUNITY IS GOING TO LIE. SO WE'VE TRIED TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THAT. AND THEN ANOTHER THING WE'VE REALLY TRIED TO FOCUS A LOT ABOUT A LOT OF OUR TIME ON IS CLOSING FEEDBACK LOOPS. [00:55:05] AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS A LOT OF TIMES WE'LL GO OUT AND WE'LL ASK FOR FEEDBACK FROM OUR STAFF OR EVEN FROM OUR COMMUNITY, AND WE'LL GET A LOT OF IT, AND SOME OF IT WILL WORK WITHIN WHAT THE ULTIMATE DECISION THAT'S MADE IS, AND SOME OF IT WON'T. AND I THINK THAT IT'S INCUMBENT ON US TO ARTICULATE WHAT IT WAS THAT WE'VE HEARD, WHAT IT WAS THAT WE'RE DOING AND WHY WE WENT IN A PARTICULAR DIRECTION SO THAT PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEIR VOICE WAS HEARD AND IT WAS VALUED, EVEN IF IT'S NOT THE DIRECTION THAT ENDED UP, WE ENDED UP GOING. SO WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME THINKING ABOUT THAT. AS IT RELATES TO OUR COMMITTEES, WE'VE MADE A POINT TO HAVE CLEAR PURPOSE STATEMENTS. SO IF YOU'RE SERVING ON A COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW WHY YOU'RE THERE AND WHAT YOUR ROLE IS. WE TRY AND MAKE SURE WE'RE HEARING FROM A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT VOICES, NOT JUST THE PEOPLE WHO ARE READY TO JUMP IN AND VOLUNTEER EVERY TIME WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT SOME PEOPLE WHO MAYBE ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE SHY ARE MAYBE NOT AS WILLING TO STEP FORWARD, ARE ALSO HAVING THEIR VOICE AT THE TABLE WHENEVER POSSIBLE. AGAIN, SPEAKING ABOUT BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF OUR STAFF TO BE AMBASSADORS, WE REALIZED WE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE A MECHANISM FOR SHARING LIKE KEY BASELINE DATA WITH OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF ABOUT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. SO NOW WE HAVE DEVELOPED A POCKET GUIDE. I MEANT TO BRING SOME TONIGHT, BUT I FORGOT. I'M SORRY, I CAN BRING THEM NEXT TIME. THAT WE HAND OUT TO ALL STAFF EACH YEAR THAT JUST HAS SOME REAL BASIC DEMOGRAPHIC DATA. SOME HIGHLIGHTS ABOUT WHAT WE'RE PROUD OF. IT'S GOT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN IN THERE. JUST SO THEY HAVE A READY AND GRAB IT AND LOOK UP THE PIECE OF INFORMATION ANYTIME THEY WANT AND BE, YOU KNOW, HAVE A REAL GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF OF OUR DISTRICT AS A WHOLE. AND THEN ANY CHANCE WE GOT, WE HAVE AND WE HAD A REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITY TONIGHT WITH MR. D'AMBROSIO. TO CELEBRATE THE SUCCESS OF OUR EMPLOYEES. I DON'T THINK WE ARE NECESSARILY DOING THAT AS WELL AS WE COULD HAVE DONE IN THE PAST, AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR, YOU KNOW, ADDRESSING ANY MORALE ISSUES AND BUILDING UP PEOPLE BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME REALLY TALENTED PEOPLE HERE AND THEY'RE DOING GREAT THINGS AND WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THEM FOR THAT. EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS. I'M NOT GOING TO SURPRISE ANYONE HERE. PROBABLY THE BIGGEST PIECE OF THAT HAS BEEN THE SHIFT TO PARENTSQUARE. IF YOU WERE HERE IN THE PRE PARENTSQUARE ERA, WE HAD A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE WERE DOING. AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL, WE WERE USING CONSTANT CONTACT, WHICH WE WERE ALSO USING AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL. THAT WAS GREAT. YOU COULD MAKE REALLY NICE LOOKING EMAILS. THE ONLY ISSUE WAS THAT THE CONTACT DATA DIDN'T LINK UP WITH OUR STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM, SO WE HAD TO DO A LOT OF MANUAL UPLOADING. PEOPLE COULD OPT OUT AND THEN THEY WOULDN'T KNOW TO OPT BACK IN. AND SORT OF THE CONTACT LISTS WERE A BIT MESSY BECAUSE OF THAT. THE MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL WERE USING THE INFINITE CAMPUS MESSENGER SYSTEM, WHICH HAD GREAT DATA BUT DOESN'T HAVE ANY CREATIVE TOOLS FOR BUILDING NEWSLETTERS OR BUILDING INFORMATION. SO IT WASN'T REALLY LOOKING THAT NICE WHEN IT GOT INTO PEOPLE'S INBOXES, WHICH WAS LEADING TO PEOPLE MISSING OR NOT READING THAT INFORMATION. SO WE REALLY WANTED TO COME UP WITH A UNIFIED SYSTEM FOR THIS, WHICH IS WHAT LED US TO PARENTSQUARE. AND PARENTSQUARE KIND OF CAPTURES THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS. IT'S GOT ALL THE CREATIVE TOOLS THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO BUILD AN ENGAGING NEWSLETTER, AND IT ALSO SYNCS NICELY WITH INFINITE CAMPUS SO THAT CONTACT INFORMATION IS CONSTANTLY UP TO DATE. IF SOMEONE MOVES OUT OF THE DISTRICT, THEY'RE REMOVED FROM THE LIST. IF THEY MOVE INTO THE DISTRICT, THEY'RE ON THE NEXT NIGHT. WHICH HAS BEEN FANTASTIC FOR US. PARENTSQUARE DOES GIVE US SOME DATA, SOME ANALYTICS TO LOOK AT AND SEE HOW WE'RE DOING. I DID HAVE A CHANCE TO MEET WITH SOME PARENTSQUARE REPS OVER THE SUMMER, AND THEY WERE GIVING US A LOT OF KUDOS FOR THIS. WE WERE AT 100% CONTACT ABILITY. THAT MEANS THAT AT LEAST ONE PARENT IN EVERY HOUSEHOLD IS ACTIVELY RECEIVING MESSAGES THROUGH PARENTSQUARE, WHETHER THEY'RE READING THEM OR NOT. THAT'S A DIFFERENT STORY, BUT WE KNOW THAT THE MESSAGES ARE GETTING THROUGH THIS OTHER NUMBER ON PARENT APP DOWNLOADS, I HAVE TO TELL YOU, IT'S OUT OF DATE BECAUSE I LOOKED TODAY, IT'S ACTUALLY 59% THE 54% NUMBER. WHEN I SPOKE WITH PARENTSQUARE THEY BASICALLY TOLD ME THEY HAD NOT SEEN A NUMBER LIKE THAT AND THAT WE ARE THE TOP TIER THAT THEY HAVE SEEN FOR THE APP DOWNLOADS. AND THAT'S FANTASTIC. I'D LOVE TO HEAR THAT. BECAUSE IF YOU'RE TAKING THE TIME TO DOWNLOAD THE APP THAT'S TELLING YOU THAT YOU'RE ENGAGED IN OUR COMMUNICATIONS PARENTSQUARE OFFERS A NUMBER OF FEATURES. I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU THE SALES PITCH TONIGHT BECAUSE WE ALREADY BOUGHT THE PRODUCT. BUT I WILL SAY THAT THE NEWSLETTER TOOL THAT THEY ROLLED OUT HAS BEEN A MAJOR SUCCESS FOR US. AND IT'S KIND OF IT'S JUST WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REVAMP OUR DISTRICT AND OUR SCHOOL BASED NEWSLETTERS, I THINK MAKE THEM MUCH MORE ENGAGING, AND HOPEFULLY THAT IS MAKING THEM A LITTLE BIT MORE, [01:00:04] MORE READ. WE'VE ALSO WORKED REALLY HARD TO GET ON A REGULAR CADENCE OF NEWSLETTERS. SO THERE'S SOMETHING THAT COMES OUT FROM THE DISTRICT EVERY SUNDAY. OUR SCHOOLS ARE DOING SOMETHING WEEKLY FROM THE PRINCIPALS AND AT THE K-5 LEVEL, WHERE THERE'S A LOT MORE BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN TEACHERS AND PARENTS. THEY'RE, EACH TEACHER HAS BEEN ASKED TO PUT OUT A NEWSLETTER ROUGHLY EVERY 4 TO 6 WEEKS. SOMETIMES IT DEPENDS ON WHEN THE UNIT CHANGES, BUT WE'RE ON SORT OF A REGULAR STREAM OF THAT, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN THAN HOW WE WERE DOING IT IN THE PAST. SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW WHEN TO EXPECT INFORMATION, AND THEN THAT IS GOING TO MAKE THEM MORE LIKELY TO UNDERSTAND AND READ THAT INFORMATION. SOME ANOTHER MINOR THING IS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BUILT THE DISTRICT BRAND GUIDE SO EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO THE OFFICIAL PELHAM BLUE, THE OFFICIAL PELHAM YELLOW, ANY OF THE LOGOS, THAT SORT OF THING JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR BRAND IS CONSISTENT AND PRESENT THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNICATIONS. AND SORT OF THE LAST BUCKET FROM THE AUDIT TALKED ABOUT SORT OF BUILDING CAPACITY WITHIN THE COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE ITSELF. THIS ONE'S A LITTLE WEIRD FOR ME TO TALK ABOUT. I'M NOT GOING TO LIE. BUT YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY. DOCTOR CHAMP HAS BROUGHT ME INTO THE CABINET MEETINGS THIS YEAR. AND THAT'S NOT BECAUSE I'M SO SPECIAL, BUT IT'S BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE THINKING ABOUT THE DECISIONS THAT ARE BEING MADE AND PUTTING A COMMUNICATIONS LENS ON THEM SO THAT WE'RE NOT THINKING ABOUT HOW WE COMMUNICATE SOMETHING 20 MINUTES BEFORE WE HAVE TO LAUNCH IT TO THE PUBLIC. THAT'S AN OVER EXAGGERATION THAT NEVER HAPPENS. BUT IF WE'RE THINKING ABOUT IT FROM THE GROUND LEVEL, WE CAN THINK ABOUT THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE, HOW WE HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS. AND WHAT'S GOING TO BE AN EFFECTIVE MEANS OF COMMUNICATING THOSE? ONE REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS. I GIVE DOCTOR COMERFORD A TON OF CREDIT ON THIS IS WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THE CHEMISTRY REGION CHANGE EARLIER THIS YEAR. WE REALLY SAT DOWN AND THOUGHT THROUGH, OKAY, WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION THAT NEED TO HAPPEN? WHO NEEDS TO KNOW AT WHAT TIME IN ORDER FOR THIS TO BE EFFECTIVE? AND I THINK THAT ROLLED OUT REALLY, REALLY WELL. AGAIN, SPOKE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS EARLIER. ANYTIME WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOME TRAINING, I WILL HAPPY TO TRAIN ANYONE, ANYWHERE, ANYTIME OR JUST HAVE AN INFORMAL CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE BUILD MORE CAPACITY. AND THEN LAST SPRING, I WAS REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY. WE PARTNERED WITH SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER BOCES TO GET A LITTLE EXTRA COMMUNICATIONS HELP. SO INSTEAD OF A DEPARTMENT OF ONE, WE WERE A DEPARTMENT OF ONE PLUS A DAY AND A HALF A WEEK WHICH WAS ACTUALLY REALLY FANTASTIC AND SUPER HELPFUL, ESPECIALLY AS WE NAVIGATED PRETTY SIZABLE BOND AND BUDGET REFERENDUM. SO THAT WAS FANTASTIC, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO PERHAPS CONTINUING THAT IN A FEW MONTHS. WHICH WE CAN TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT. AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, THE SCOPE SURVEY IS BEING ADMINISTERED RIGHT NOW. IF YOU HAVEN'T TAKEN IT, PLEASE TAKE IT. ANYONE WHO'S IN THIS ROOM OR WATCHING IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT. WE REALLY WANT STRONG PARTICIPATION RATES ACROSS THE BOARD. SURVEY IS OPEN THROUGH NOVEMBER 17TH. THE PURPOSE HERE IS KIND OF TWOFOLD. WE WANT TO ASSESS HOW THE ACTION STEPS THAT WE'VE TAKEN OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS ARE WORKING, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO SEE WHERE FOLKS ARE AT THIS POINT IN TIME. I THINK WHEN WE THINK ABOUT GOING THROUGH THE AUDIT AS A WHOLE, THE PURPOSE WAS REALLY WE THOUGHT ABOUT IT COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC AND REALIZING THAT OUR COMMUNICATIONS LANDSCAPE HAD CHANGED A LITTLE BIT, AND WE WANTED TO GET SOME DATA AS TO HOW THAT WHAT THAT CHANGE WAS, WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT WE WERE DOING AND REALLY HOW THEY WANTED US TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM AND WHAT INFORMATION THEY WANTED TO HEAR. COMMUNICATION IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING. SOCIAL MEDIA HAS EXPLODED, AI IS PRESENT. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE CHANGING CONSTANTLY. THIS IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS POINT IN TIME AND SEE WHAT'S CHANGED AND WHERE WE SHOULD FOCUS OUR EFFORTS MOVING FORWARD. AS A REMINDER, THIS SURVEY IS OPEN TO EVERYONE IN PELHAM. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO TAKE THE SURVEY. IN FACT, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE HEAR FROM FOLKS WHO DON'T HAVE CHILDREN IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT BECAUSE WE KNOW WE TOUCH THE ENTIRE PELHAM COMMUNITY. SO PLEASE IF YOU'RE LISTENING, TAKE THE SURVEY YOURSELF. TELL YOUR NEIGHBOR, TELL TWO NEIGHBORS. SURVEY IS OPEN UNTIL THE 17TH. I WILL ALSO ADD THAT THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HAVE TAKEN THE SURVEY ALREADY DURING THEIR ENGLISH CLASSES ON THE PLC DAY. SO OUR TARGET NUMBER FOR THAT WAS ABOUT 90 STUDENTS TAKING THE SURVEY. WE ARE AT ABOUT 550 SO WE FEEL GREAT ABOUT THAT. I WANT TO THANK DOCTOR SHORT AND MR. LLEWELLYN FOR DEDICATING THAT TIME FOR US. HOW CAN I? QUICK QUESTION HOW ARE YOU DOING GETTING PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT PART OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AT THE MOMENT? [01:05:04] YEAH. SO A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO THAT. ONE IS WE ARE SENDING A POSTCARD TO EVERY HOME IN TOWN THAT WAS DELIVERED TO THE POST OFFICE TODAY. SO YOU SHOULD EXPECT TO SEE IT IN YOUR MAILBOXES OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. AND THAT'S GOT A QR CODE RIGHT TO THE SURVEY. THE OTHER WAY IS WE'RE TRYING TO WORK ON OUR PARTNERSHIPS THROUGH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, CIVICS, JUNIOR LEAGUE, BOOSTER CLUB ALL OF THE ABOVE. SO WE'VE REACHED OUT TO THEM AND ASKED THEM TO DISTRIBUTE THE SURVEY LINK THROUGH THEIR CHANNELS. WE'VE DONE THE SAME WITH THE DAYCARE AND PRE-K CENTERS. RECOGNIZING THAT MANY OF THOSE PARENTS ARE GOING TO DIRECTLY BENEFIT FROM HOW WE IMPROVE OUR COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM AND MAY NOT BE SUPER PLUGGED INTO THE SCHOOLS YET. SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT AS WELL. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SOCIAL MEDIA IS A PART OF THAT AND ANY OTHER IDEAS FOLKS HAVE, WE ARE OPEN. AND DIDN'T SOME HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS GO IN TO THE SENIOR TO THE SENIORS? SO WE HAD PLANNED THAT WE DIDN'T QUITE HAVE THE NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS NECESSARY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. SO WE POSTPONED AND WE'RE WORKING FOR WE'RE WE WILL CERTAINLY BE VISITING THE SENIOR CITIZENS CLUB MEETING. WE'RE JUST KIND OF RETHINKING WHAT THE BEST APPROACH IS FOR THAT. THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT. THE OTHER THING I WOULD MENTION HERE IS THE SURVEY IS AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH, SPANISH AND ALBANIAN, WHICH ARE THE THREE MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGES IN OUR DISTRICT. AND I WANT TO THANK MERYEME GASHI, WHO'S OUR ELL COORDINATOR. SHE'S WORKING WITH THE FAMILIES WHO ARE IN HER PROGRAM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW THAT THE SURVEY IS OPEN TO THEM, WHICH WE DID LAST TIME AROUND AS WELL. AND WE THINK THAT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT. BECAUSE WE WANT EVERYONE TO BE INCLUDED IN THIS. JUST TO WRAP UP, I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING THIS YEAR. WE'RE NOT GOING TO SIT AROUND AND WAIT FOR SURVEY RESULTS TO GUIDE OUR WORK. CERTAINLY KNOW THAT THE BOARD HAD A GOAL FOR THE YEAR THAT HAD A LOT OF COMMUNICATIONS ELEMENTS ON THAT. SO WE ARE WORKING TO TRY AND MEET THOSE GOALS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS WORKING ON IMPROVING OUR IMAGE THROUGH BY LEVERAGING OUR DISTRICT COMMUNICATIONS. LIKE I SPOKE ABOUT USING PARENTSQUARE TO, YOU KNOW, BUILD CAPACITY IN OUR STAFF TO SHARE THEIR STORIES ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THEIR CLASSROOM. BECAUSE I THINK THAT THE INCREDIBLE THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THE CLASSROOM EVERY DAY REALLY SPEAK TO THE VALUE PROVIDED BY THE PELHAM SCHOOLS. SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT. WE WANT TO INCREASE OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT. OUR PELHAM SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE IS A VERY HAPPY PLACE. WE SHARE A LOT OF POSITIVE SCHOOL NEWS. WE WANT TO EXPAND THAT REACH AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. AI IS HELPING US DO THAT. WITH SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION HELPING, YOU KNOW, GET SOME EXCITEMENT INTO OUR POSTS. LOTS OF EMOJIS, ALL THAT STUFF. ALL THAT GOOD STUFF. WE'RE TRYING TO EXPAND OUR USE OF HARD MAILING NEWSLETTERS LIKE PELHAM FOCUS. SO KEEP AN EYE OUT NEXT WEEK. WE HOPE OUR FIRST EDITION OF THAT WILL HIT MAILBOXES. AND THAT'S LIKE A SHORT FOUR PAGE NEWSLETTER THAT JUST HITS SOME HIGHLIGHTS GOING ON IN OUR SCHOOLS. SO WE'RE GOING TO TRY AND DO THAT ONE FOR THE FALL, ONE FOR THE WINTER, AND THEN OUR TYPICAL BUDGET EDITION THAT COMES OUT IN MAY. AND THEN ALWAYS TRYING TO THINK ABOUT HOW CAN WE PROACTIVELY AND TRANSPARENTLY, SHARE INFORMATION ON IMPORTANT ISSUES TRYING TO GET AHEAD OF NARRATIVES BEFORE THEY BECOME PROBLEMS FOR US WHEN WE CAN. AND THEN THE LAST ONE THAT'S ON THERE IS INVESTIGATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR WEBSITE REDESIGN. I WOULD SAY THAT I THINK THAT THE [INAUDIBLE] TALK ABOUT THIS NOW IS THE TALKING STAGE. WE'RE NOT QUITE IN THE WEEDS OF THAT YET, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT OUR WEBSITE WAS REDESIGNED, I BELIEVE, LAST IN 2017, 2018. BEST PRACTICE IS TYPICALLY TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT EVERY FIVE YEARS OR A LITTLE BIT BEYOND THAT. AND THAT'S JUST THINKING ABOUT GIVING IT A REFRESH AND SEEING WHAT OPPORTUNITIES ARE OUT THERE. SO MR. SEBALOS AND I WILL BE TAKING A LITTLE BIT OF A LOOK LATER IN THE YEAR. WE ALSO WANT TO BE COGNIZANT OF BUILDING CONFIDENCE IN OUR FINANCES AND BUDGET PROCESS. WE'VE SPOKEN ABOUT THAT QUITE A BIT THIS YEAR. WE WANT TO SHARE AS MUCH POSITIVE FISCAL NEWS AS POSSIBLE, AND WE HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD STUFF TO SHARE, YOU KNOW LOW PHYSICAL STRESS SCORE, TRIPLE-A RATING, ALL THAT STUFF. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THAT. LOOKING TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR BUDGET PRESENTATIONS THAT WE DO EVERY YEAR. SO JIM AND I ARE WORKING ON THAT. I THINK YOU SAW SOME OF THAT AT YOUR LAST MEETING. AND CONTINUING TO STAY FOCUSED ON ENGAGING ALL OF OUR STAKEHOLDERS THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS OF THE BONDS. SO WE HAVE SOME PRETTY GOOD STRATEGY AROUND THAT. AND WE'LL OBVIOUSLY BE RAMPING UP AS WE GET A LITTLE BIT FURTHER INTO THAT, THAT STAGE. [01:10:04] QUESTIONS. AND THEN QR CODE, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE THE SURVEY RIGHT NOW, FEEL FREE. [LAUGHTER] IT'S THERE. BUT SERIOUSLY, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE RESULTS. AND I APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, THE FOCUS THAT THE BOARD HAS PUT ON COMMUNICATIONS THIS YEAR. ALEX, I THINK THERE WAS A BIT OF BREAKING NEWS THAT YOU WANTED TO SHARE AS WELL. IS IT MINE TO SHARE? NO. WE'RE VERY PLEASED TO FIND OUT THAT THE NEW YORK SCHOOL. I'M ON THE BOARD, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO SAY THIS. NYSPRA THE NEW YORK SCHOOL PUBLIC RELATIONS ASSOCIATION DOES AN ANNUAL COMMUNICATIONS CONTEST. SO WE FOUND OUT A COUPLE DAYS AGO THAT OUR BOND TRIFOLD WON AN AWARD THIS YEAR. NICE. [APPLAUSE]. SO THE ONE THAT WE MET. SO THANK YOU. A LOT OF HANDS WINNING TODAY. IT'S NOT JUST MINE TO SHARE, BUT WE ARE VERY PROUD OF THAT. NICE. THANK YOU. YOU WERE. I KNOW HOW HARD YOU WORKED ON THAT. YES. I'M SORRY I CAN'T LOOK AT YOU WHILE I ASK MY QUESTION. [LAUGHTER] BUT I ACTUALLY JUST WANTED TO. IS IT CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE OTHER POSITIVE ABOUT PARENTSQUARE IS THAT ALL MESSAGES CAN BE TRANSLATED INTO MULTIPLE LANGUAGES. IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT. GREAT. GREAT POINT, DOCTOR COMERFORD. THAT'S ONE OF THE BIG THINGS. AND DOCTOR FITZGERALD APPRECIATES THIS QUITE A BIT. AS PRINCIPAL OF HUTCHINSON. SO IT USED TO BE THAT WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO TRANSLATE OUR COMMUNICATIONS IN A COUPLE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES FOR OUR FAMILIES WHO DON'T NECESSARILY SPEAK ENGLISH BECAUSE THEY NEED TO HAVE THE SAME INFORMATION THAT WE DO. SO THAT USED TO INVOLVE A VERY ARDUOUS TASK OF TAKING THE MESSAGE, WRITING THE MESSAGE, GOING INTO GOOGLE TRANSLATE PULLING IT OUT. IT WAS NOT IT WOULD ALL LOSE ALL OF ITS FORMATTING. THEN YOU HAVE TO GO BACK INTO CONSTANT CONTACT AND PASTE IT IN AND GET ALL THE FORMATTING BACK. PARENTSQUARE DOES THIS AUTOMATICALLY FOR US. SO THE USERS ON THEIR END, OR AS DICTATED BY THEIR HOME LANGUAGE IN INFINITE CAMPUS WILL RECEIVE THEY'RE AUTOMATICALLY TRANSLATED IN THEIR INBOX WHEN THEY RECEIVE THEM, WHICH IS CRITICAL FOR US AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE REACHING AS MANY FAMILIES AS POSSIBLE SO THAT'S A GREAT POINT. AND IT'S REALLY BEEN IMPORTANT FOR US AND WELL RECEIVED FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND. OKAY, OKAY. TWO THINGS. ONE, I TOOK THE SURVEY. IT'S ABOUT TEN MINUTES. IT'S NOT ANNOYINGLY LONG LIKE SO IT'S. AND IT'S EASY. SO I JUST IN CASE ANYONE WAS WONDERING, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AFRAID. CLICK THE LINK. TAKE THE SURVEY. WE'RE NOT GIVING OUT GIFT CARDS, BUT IT'S WORTH IT FOR THE DISTRICT. SECOND, AND I WANT TO I'M GOING TO SAY THIS ABOUT YOU, ALEX, BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SAY IT ABOUT YOURSELF. BUT AND THIS IS AWKWARD SITTING LIKE THIS, ASKING A QUESTION, BUT SO I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING SOME OF ALEX'S NYSPRA COLLEAGUES BECAUSE HE IS ON THE BOARD OF THE STATEWIDE ORGANIZATION AT THE NYSBA CONFERENCE TWO WEEKS AGO. AND, YOU KNOW, ALEX. HE'S A DEPARTMENT. HE'S A DEPARTMENT OF ONE HERE, BUT HE'S NOT OPERATING IN A VACUUM, WHICH IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE BECAUSE COMMUNICATIONS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF IT'S A PRIORITY FOR OUR DISTRICT. IT'S A PRIORITY FOR THE BOARD GETTING THIS RIGHT. IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE CONSTANTLY WORKING ON, AND YOU HAVE A WELL OF RESOURCES BEHIND YOU WITH THIS ORGANIZATION. SO YOU ARE YOU ARE ABLE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS, COMPARE BEST PRACTICES ACROSS DISTRICTS AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT PELHAM IS DOING THE MOST APPROPRIATE OR THE MOST, OR A WELL THOUGHT OUT OR, WELL, YOU KNOW, VETTED PLAN. YOU'RE NOT JUST LIKE PULLING STRINGS BEHIND THE CURTAIN IN YOUR OFFICE MAKING GUESSES IN THE DARK. RIGHT? SO I WANTED TO I WANT TO BRING THAT UP BECAUSE YOU THIS IS BECAUSE THIS IS SO IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY COMPREHENSIVE. AND JUST TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE A REAL EXPERT. WE HAVE SOMEBODY WHO IS CONSTANTLY SEEKING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, WHO TAKES HIS JOB REALLY SERIOUSLY. AND THIS IS, YOU KNOW, IF THIS IS OUR PRIORITY AND TO HAVE ALEX HELPING US, WE CAN SEE HOW THOROUGH HIS PRESENTATION WAS WITH ALL OF THOSE NOTES. SO I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOU AND YOUR HARD WORK AND ALL OF THE EFFORT AND HOW HOW I FEEL. AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT I WON'T SPEAK ON BEHALF OF OTHER PEOPLE, BUT I FEEL LUCKY THAT WE HAVE YOU. I WAS ABLE TO. YOUR COLLEAGUES ALSO TELL US THAT WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE ALEX BECAUSE HE IS SO THOROUGH IN HIS JOB [01:15:03] AND AND SO GOOD AT WHAT HE DOES. SO HE HE IS A DEPARTMENT OF ONE, AND HE IS OUR RENAISSANCE MAN, BUT HE HAS A A STRONG SUPPORT NETWORK BEHIND HIM. THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND THAT'S 100% TRUE ON THE SUPPORT NETWORK. I'M VERY LUCKY TO HAVE SOME REALLY, REALLY TALENTED COLLEAGUES WHO ARE FANTASTIC AT WHAT THEY DO AS WELL. SO, ALEX, I WANTED TO JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR THIS WAS VERY INFORMATIVE. SO THIS IS MY FOURTH YEAR ON THE BOARD, AND I KNOW THIS PROCESS STARTED BEFORE I EVEN JOINED. SO THE FIRST YEAR I JOINED THIS, I GUESS THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE STARTED THIS. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE PREVIOUS BOARDS THAT WERE SITTING HERE WHEN THIS IDEA CAME UP THAT WE SHOULD DO A SURVEY, BECAUSE I DO KNOW THERE WAS A LOT OF CONCERNS ABOUT COMMUNICATION. AND LIKE YOU SAID, WE EITHER SEND TOO MANY OR NOT ENOUGH. SO IT WAS THANKS TO THAT BOARD OR THOSE, BOARD MEMBERS THAT, YOU KNOW, CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF HAVING THIS SURVEY AND TO REALLY DO THIS AUDIT. AND I'VE SEEN ALL THE WORK THAT YOU PUT IN IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS WITH THIS PROCESS TO GET US TO WHERE WE ARE. AND I WAS TELLING CHERYL, THAT ON I THINK IT WAS TUESDAY WHEN THERE WAS AN EVACUATION. IT WAS JUST LIKE IT WAS SEAMLESS. YOU KNOW, I HAPPENED TO BE LOOKING AT MY PHONE. THERE WAS AN ALERT. THERE WAS AN EVACUATION. IT WAS QUICK, PRECISE, EASY. TOLD ME WHY THERE WAS AN EVACUATION. I DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY. I DIDN'T HAVE TO GO TO SOCIAL MEDIA. THEN I GOT THE TEXT MESSAGE. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WITHIN A COUPLE OF 45 MINUTES, AN HOUR GOT ANOTHER ALERT TELLING ME EVERYTHING WAS CLEAR AND THE KIDS WERE BACK. SO THAT IN ITSELF WAS KIND OF LIKE THE COMPLETE CYCLE OF WHAT JUST HAPPENED WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS. LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE WE HAD A SITUATION, IT GOT ADDRESSED. IT WAS PROMPTLY COMMUNICATED TO THE COMMUNITY. AND IT WAS PROMPTLY KIND OF CLOSE THE LOOP OF WHAT OCCURRED. SO I'VE SEEN HOW FAR YOU'VE COME OR WE'VE COME TOGETHER IN THIS PROCESS, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEW SURVEY AND WHAT PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY AND HOW FAR WE COULD CONTINUE TO GROW. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HARD WORK. YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND THAT'S A GREAT POINT. I APPRECIATE THE PRIOR BOARD'S INTEREST IN LETTING US GO DOWN THIS PATH. AND IT HAS BEEN TRANSFORMATIONAL. I THINK WE'LL FIND OUT IN THE SURVEY RESULTS, I SUPPOSE. BUT NO, TO YOUR POINT ABOUT EARLIER IN THE WEEK, TOO. I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THE CAPACITY BUILDING THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO IN MAKING SURE THAT OUR, COMMUNICATIONS IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR RESPONSE. WHICH NOT TO SAY THAT IT WASN'T, BUT I THINK PEOPLE MAYBE ON THE OUTSIDE DON'T NECESSARILY REALIZE THAT EVERYBODY HAS A ROLE WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITY IS FIRST AND FOREMOST TO MAKE SURE THAT KIDS ARE SAFE. RIGHT. AND WE DON'T WANT TO TAKE ANYONE AWAY FROM THAT. BUT SOMETIMES WHAT MIGHT GET LOST IN THAT IS THAT WE'RE NOT THINKING NECESSARILY DIRECTLY ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS. SO MAYBE I WOULDN'T IN THE PAST BE AWARE AS QUICKLY ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WAS HAPPENING OR, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE ABILITY TO RESPOND AS QUICKLY BECAUSE OF THAT. WHEREAS WE'VE KIND OF DEVELOPED A SYSTEM WHERE, OKAY, SOMETHING HAPPENS AND WHETHER IT WHETHER IT'S WHETHER IT'S JIM, WHETHER IT'S TOM DRAKE, WHETHER IT'S THE SCHOOL BUILDING PRINCIPAL, SOMEONE'S GETTING IN CONTACT WITH ME RIGHT AWAY. AND THEN THAT ALLOWS ME TO DO MY JOB AND TAKES THE BURDEN OFF THEM SO THAT THEY CAN DO THEIR JOB. AND WE'VE REALLY FOCUSED ON CREATING THAT SYSTEM. AND I THINK IT'S STARTING TO PAY OFF IN A BIG WAY. SO I APPRECIATE THAT FEEDBACK. ALEX I'LL JUST SAY VERY BRIEFLY, YOU DO A TREMENDOUS JOB. AND I SAW YOU THE OTHER DAY AT THE FARMER'S MARKET, AND I TOLD YOU AND YOUR FAMILY SO THANK YOU. QUICK QUESTION FOR THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO DON'T HAVE KIDS IN THE SCHOOLS AND APOLOGIES IF YOU ALREADY SAID IT, BUT THEY CAN RECEIVE SOME VERSION OF AN EMAIL. IS THAT CORRECT? YES. YEAH. MEANING LIKE ME? YES. RIGHT. WELL, HOPEFULLY YOU'RE GETTING, THEM. I DO GET A LOT OF INFORMATION ON MY OWN, BUT I REALIZED I DON'T. YEAH. IF ON OUR WEBSITE, THERE IS A LINK UNDER THE PARENTS COMMUNITIES COMMUNITY TAB WHERE YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR ALERTS FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. RIGHT OKAY. SO YOU WON'T RECEIVE ALL OF NECESSARILY THE DAY TO DAY MINUTIA. NO THAT'S FINE AND. AND BUT YEAH, STUFF LIKE ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO THE BUDGET AND BOND PROCESS BOARD MEETING UPDATES, STUFF LIKE THAT, THAT ALL GOES OUT TO THEIR LARGER DISTRIBUTION LIST. YEAH. AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S IT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT AND IT'S OBVIOUSLY IN EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT IS THE SAME WAY. THAT IS A DIFFICULT DEMOGRAPHIC FOR US TO REACH. YEAH. SO WE'VE TRIED TO BUILD OUR CAPACITY THERE TOO. LAST YEAR WE SENT A POSTCARD HOME WITH A QR CODE ENCOURAGING FOLKS TO SIGN UP. [01:20:02] WE DID GET 30, 40 PEOPLE WHO SIGNED UP THAT WAY. WHEN THE SURVEY POSTCARD GOES OUT. THERE IS A SEPARATE QR CODE ON THE BACK OF THE SURVEY ENCOURAGING FOLKS TO DO THE SAME. SO WE'RE TRYING WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD THAT LIST TOO. AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE CONNECTED TO EVERYBODY. YEAH. I THINK THAT BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE WITH IN THE COMMUNITY WHO DON'T HAVE KIDS IN THE SCHOOL ANYMORE, EITHER THEY'VE LIVED HERE A VERY LONG TIME AND THEIR KIDS ARE LONG GONE. AND I HAVE NEIGHBORS, YOU KNOW, IN THAT SITUATION OR WHOSE KIDS JUST RECENTLY GRADUATED. SURE. I THINK EVEN POSTING THAT ON SOCIAL MEDIA, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. YEAH, WE DID LAST YEAR, AND WE'LL CERTAINLY DO IT AGAIN. YEAH, I WOULD DO IT AGAIN. AND THEN I'M SURE, YOU KNOW, I'M HAPPY TO SHARE IT TO THE POPULAR BOARDS ON. SPREAD THE GOSPEL. AND SPREAD THE GOSPEL. YES. YEAH. AND THE OTHER THING WE'VE HAVE DONE THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS TOO, IS AS FAMILIES WITH SENIORS ARE EXITING, WE'LL SEND A MESSAGE THROUGH PARENTS SAYING, HEY, YOU'RE GOING TO ROLL OFF THE LIST IF YOU DON'T HAVE OTHER CHILDREN IN THE DISTRICT, HERE'S HOW TO SIGN UP. HASN'T BEEN WILDLY SUCCESSFUL FOR WHATEVER REASON, BUT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT THAT AS WELL. YEAH. THANK YOU. I THAT HASN'T BEEN THAT. SORRY. DID SOMEBODY ELSE. SO I WAS. DARRA WANTED TO SAY. SORRY, I CAN'T SEE. I DIDN'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT ANYBODY. I HAD A QUESTION, THOUGH, REGARDING I THINK WHAT ANNEMARIE WAS SAYING, AND I JUST WANT TO. I JUST WANT TO ECHO. I KNOW HOW COMPLICATED BUILDING COMMUNICATIONS PLANS AND STRATEGIES ARE IN THIS, LIKE, FOREVER MOVING WORLD. SO CONGRATULATIONS AND KUDOS. AND THIS IS A REALLY, YOU KNOW, INCREDIBLE INITIATIVE THAT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT WE'RE DOING I THINK I WAS CURIOUS TOO, ABOUT THAT SORT OF REACHING BEYOND BECAUSE I THINK IT'S A REALLY DIFFICULT THING RIGHT AROUND HOW TO DO IT. AND I'M CURIOUS ABOUT JUST OUR APPROACH, BECAUSE THERE'S PROBABLY DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHICS, RIGHT, OF POCKETS TO YOUR POINT, LIKE OF FOLKS THAT THEIR KIDS GRADUATED, THEN WE'VE GOT OTHER DEMOGRAPHICS. LIKE ARE THERE ANY OTHER PRACTICES BECAUSE WE SOUNDS LIKE WE'VE GOT SOME GREAT PARTNERS AROUND. WHAT ARE SOME REALLY GREAT WAYS TO THINK ABOUT HERE ARE THE FIVE, YOU KNOW, LIKE AUDIENCES WE'RE TRYING TO REACH. THESE ARE THE BEHAVIORS OF WHERE ARE THEY FREQUENT OR WHERE THEY'RE CONNECTED TO WITHIN TOWNS. AND WE CAN JUST REALLY HONE IN AND TARGET, YOU KNOW, LIKE GRABBING THEM OR GETTING THEIR ATTENTION. YEAH. I MEAN, THAT'S IT'S A GOOD QUESTION. IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE CAN GIVE SOME MORE THOUGHT TO. DISTRICTS APPROACH IT IN DIFFERENT WAYS. I THINK SOME OF THEM SORT OF, YOU KNOW, YOU GRADUATED AND SEE YOU LATER. SOME OF THEM, I THINK, PROBABLY TRY AND KEEP FOLKS MORE INVOLVED. I THINK THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A COMMUNITY THAT WANTS TO BE INVOLVED IN THE SCHOOLS. SO THAT'S THAT'S A PRIORITY FOR US. SO YEAH, WE CAN TALK TO MY FRIENDS AND SEE IF ANYONE HAS ANY GOOD IDEAS AROUND THAT. BUT YEAH, I THINK TAPPING INTO, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS IS DEFINITELY A WAY TO DO THAT. AND, YOU KNOW, DIRECT MAILING HAS HAD SOME SUCCESS FOR US AS WELL. SO, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE SOME THINGS WE'VE TRIED. CERTAINLY WE CAN TRY SOME OTHER THINGS TOO. ALEX, I WOULD SAY THAT HAVE YOU CAN YOU DO ON THE PELHAM FACEBOOK PAGE A PINNED POST. WE COULD. YEAH. YEAH. I MEAN, MAYBE ON OCCASION EVERY SO OFTEN LIKE ROTATE THROUGH AND DO A PINNED POST. I FEEL LIKE IF IT'S ONLINE IT'S SUPER QUICK AND EASY AND, AND PEOPLE WILL ARE MORE LIKELY TO SIGN UP THAT WAY. SO NOT THAT IT WOULD HAVE TO BE THERE ALL THE TIME, BUT JUST MAYBE AT KEY MOMENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. YEAH, AND I WOULD SAY TOO, THAT IN THAT SAME VEIN, GROWING OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT TOO HELPS IN THAT, IN THAT REGARD TOO. SO IF MORE PEOPLE ARE SEEING THE POST, MORE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO LIKE THE POST AND BE ENGAGED THAT WAY. SO YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THAT WE'LL HAVE RESIDUALS AS WELL. YEAH. IS THERE A WAY TO HAVE THE OPT IN? HAVE YOU AUTOMATICALLY ROLL OVER WHEN YOU STOP HAVING KIDS IN THE DISTRICT? WE CAN I THINK WE HAVE TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR LEGAL TEAM ABOUT THAT, BUT I DON'T IT'S NOT A COMMON PRACTICE. I THINK WE COULD DO IT, THOUGH, TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. I THINK YOU NEED, LIKE A CHECKBOX, BASICALLY LIKE A HAVE PEOPLE APPROVE BEING ROLLED OVER. RIGHT. AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT WE'VE TRIED TO DO WITH GIVING THEM THE LINK WHERE THEY JUST KIND OF NEED TO ENTER THEIR EMAIL ADDRESS AND MOVE ON. I DON'T KNOW, WE COULD LOOK AT DOING IT LIKE IN A MORE FORM STRUCTURE. BUT YEAH, WE COULD LOOK AT THAT. RIGHT. NICK, FEEL FREE TO GO. YEAH. KUDOS FOR HOLDING OUT TILL 9:00 ON YOUR FIRST NIGHT. [LAUGHTER] THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. CONGRATULATIONS. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. [01:25:03] CONGRATULATIONS. OKAY. ANY MORE QUESTIONS? NO. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. [APPLAUSE] OKAY. COMMITTEE REPORTS. YES. WE CAN MOVE TO BOARD OF EDUCATION COMMITTEE REPORTS. [4.5 Board of Education Committee Reports] SHE'S TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT COMMITTEE WE DID HAVE. FOND OF FACILITIES, BUT I THOUGHT WE ALREADY. YEAH, WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THAT. WE HAD A SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING AFTER THE BOARD MEETING. RIGHT. THE DAY. YEAH, BUT IT WAS. IT WAS. YEAH, IT WAS BASICALLY AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW MEMBERS WHO JOINED THE COMMITTEE AND TOM DRAKE. HE WENT THROUGH JUST SORT OF THE BASICS. HE ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH A LOT OF IT WHEN HE TALKED ABOUT THE SAFETY PLAN. RIGHT. JUST HOW WE DO HOW THE DISTRICT DOES DRILLS AND TRAINING, THE FREQUENCY OF THAT AND THE REQUIREMENTS. YEP. THAT WAS SAFETY COMMITTEE. POLICY WILL COVER. OH YES, WE HAD POLICY. YES. WE HAVE ANOTHER HEFTY POLICY AGENDA. WE HAD WELLNESS. I DON'T KNOW IF TRACY'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT WELLNESS COMMITTEE DURING. SO WE HAD A WELLNESS COMMITTEE MEETING, OUR FIRST ONE, IT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL. MISS HOLTZ, MR. TOOMBS, AND MR. HRICAY MET OVER THE SUMMER. AND THE APPROACH THIS YEAR IS ONE IN WHICH THEY MET TO DECIDE ON WHAT THE FOCUS WILL BE FOR THE COMING YEAR AND THEN COME TO OUR MEETINGS WITH THE COMMITTEE THAT IS A BIT SMALLER THAN WHAT WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST TO SHARE WHAT'S BEING WORKED ON. WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT SEL, SO SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING AS RELATED TO MTSS. WE HAD A GREAT ICEBREAKER ACTIVITY WHICH KIND OF LIGHTENED THE MOOD. SO THAT WAS REALLY NICE. AND TALKED A BIT ABOUT THE FREE BREAKFAST AND LUNCH THAT STUDENTS ARE RECEIVING THIS YEAR THANKS TO THE GOVERNOR. AND THERE WAS ONE MORE THING, TRACY. NOW, WHAT AM I FORGETTING? YOU TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN, THE THANK YOU. AND THE PORTRAIT OF A GRADUATE. EXACTLY. AND HOW ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE ACTUALLY TIED IN TOGETHER WITH THE STRATEGIC PLAN PORTRAIT OF A GRADUATE. THE MTSS WORK. I MEAN, THERE'S SO MUCH OVERLAP THERE THERE'S AND A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE. AND WITH EACH MEETING, THE GOAL WOULD BE FOR THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON WHAT'S BEING DONE, TO THEN INFORM THE CONTINUED WORK THAT THE ADMINISTRATORS ARE DOING. SO IT WAS A GREAT MEETING. THANK YOU. OKAY, OKAY. ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT. OKAY. WE CAN MOVE TO THE ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS UPDATE ON PERSONAL GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENT. [4.6 Assistant Superintendent's Update on Personal Growth and Achievement] THANK YOU SO MUCH. WORK ACROSS THE DISTRICT IS CONTINUING TO STRENGTHEN CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION AND STUDENT SUPPORTS THROUGH DISCIPLINARY INQUIRY BASED LEARNING IN ALL SUBJECT AREAS. THE EDUCATORS ARE CONTINUING TO DEEPEN STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND ALIGN INSTRUCTION WITH STATE STANDARDS. JUST SOME EXAMPLES. TEACHERS ARE DEVELOPING INTERDISCIPLINARY, INQUIRY BASED LEARNING EXPERIENCES THAT CONNECT READING, WRITING, SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES ACROSS GRADE LEVELS. ELEMENTARY SCIENCE, FOR THE FIRST TIME IS ENGAGING IN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING WITH AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT FROM BOCES WHO'S WORKING WITH ELEMENTARY TEACHERS ON IMPLEMENTING THE NEW ELEMENT WELL IN NEW YORK STATE SCIENCE. NEW YORK STATE SCIENCE LEARNING STANDARDS. IT'S A SIGN THAT IT'S GETTING LATE. SPELL THAT OR SAY THE ACRONYM OUT LOUD IN MY HEAD. THROUGHOUT THE GRADE LEVELS AND THROUGHOUT THE ELEMENTARY EIGHTH GRADERS VISITED THE 911 MEMORIAL MUSEUM AS A MEANINGFUL EXTENSION OF THEIR SOCIAL STUDIES LESSONS. AND THAT WAS SUPPORTED BY INSIGHTS FROM PELHAM MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL ALUM KATE LEVY. AND SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHERS ARE COLLABORATING ACROSS LEVELS ON AN INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECT FOR THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. THIS CONNECTS SCIENCE, ART AN ELA, AND THEN OUR AI ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USER GROUP MET THIS WEEK TO FINALIZE BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS. FOR ETHICAL AND RESPONSIBLE. ETHICAL AND RESPONSIBLE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN PELHAM SCHOOLS. [01:30:02] THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I THINK IT SEEMS LATER, BECAUSE IT WAS DAYLIGHT SAVINGS. YOU'RE RIGHT. YEAH. I'M STILL ADJUSTING. YEAH. THANK YOU. NEXT IS ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS UPDATE ON BELONGING AND WELLNESS. [4.7 Assistant Superintendent's Update on Belonging and Wellness] THANK YOU. SO LAST YEAR, WE BEGAN OUR WORK WITH OUR SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER BOCES PARTNERS IN THE RECOV'S GRANT. AND THIS IS A GRANT THAT PROVIDES VALUABLE SUPPORT TO DISTRICTS IN ADVANCING WORK AROUND MTSS MULTI-TIERED SYSTEMS OF SUPPORT AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING. THROUGH THE FUNDING AND THE GRANT WE CAN STRENGTHEN OUR SYSTEMS THAT ADDRESS ACADEMIC, BEHAVIORAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS OF ALL STUDENTS. AND SPECIFICALLY THE GRANT AND OUR PARTNERS WITHIN THE GRANT HELP US BUILD COMPREHENSIVE FRAMEWORKS THAT INTEGRATE EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICES IN TERMS OF MTSS AND SEL. AS WE ENTERED YEAR TWO IN THIS WORK WITH THE GRANT WE DID HAVE OUR BOCES PARTNER PRESENT AT OUR SUPERINTENDENT CONFERENCE DAY ON THE CASEL FRAMEWORK. CASEL STANDS FOR THE COLLABORATIVE FOR ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING. THEY ARE THE LEADING ORGANIZATION IN TERMS OF IN TERMS OF SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING. AND THEY'RE ONE OF THE NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT'S LEADING CONSULTANTS IN THIS AREA. AND THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION MODELED ITS OWN BENCHMARKS AFTER CASEL'S FIVE CORE COMPETENCIES. SO IT WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO PRESENT THAT FRAMEWORK TO ALL OF THE STAFFS. WE'VE GOT COMMON LANGUAGE AROUND THAT. AND IN ADDITION THIS YEAR WE LAUNCHED OUR DISTRICT WIDE SEL MTSS COMMITTEE. THIS IS A DISTRICT WIDE COMMITTEE. IT'S A K-12 COLLABORATIVE TEAM, AND THE GOAL IS TO FOCUS ON STRENGTHENING OUR DISTRICT'S SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING FRAMEWORK BY EXPLORING A TIER ONE SEL CURRICULUM, EXPLORING A BENCHMARK ASSESSMENT, AS WELL AS BUILDING OUT THE SEL PORTION OF OUR MTSS PLAN. SO THAT WE HAD OUR FIRST MEETING LAST MONTH. WE WILL BE MEETING MONTHLY BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK WE NEED TO GET THROUGH THIS YEAR IN TERMS OF SEL, MTSS WORK AND THE PLAN. I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION THAT OUR ICT COACHING CONTINUES THIS YEAR. WE'VE ALREADY HAD VISITS BOTH AT THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY LEVEL. EMERSON MENTIONED AS WELL THAT LAST WEDNESDAY WAS THE COLLEGE FAIR THAT IS CO-SPONSORED BY PELHAM AND EASTCHESTER. IT WAS HELD AT EASTCHESTER LAST YEAR IT WILL BE AT PELHAM. THIS I'M SORRY WAS HELD AT EASTCHESTER THIS YEAR. WILL BE AT PELHAM NEXT YEAR. AND THEN I WANTED TO MENTION AS WELL THAT NEXT WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH IN COLLABORATION WITH SCARSDALE SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE WILL ALSO BE HAVING A TRANSITION FAIR. THIS AGAIN WILL BE HOSTED BY SCARSDALE IN THEIR GYM AT 6:30. AND THAT IS FOR PARENTS FOR OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE OPWDD ELIGIBLE. IT WAS VERY WELL ATTENDED LAST YEAR, AND WE LOOK FORWARD AGAIN TO MEETING WITH OUR VENDORS AND AGENCIES THAT SUPPORT THE STUDENTS AND THE FAMILIES IN THAT REALM. SO NEXT WEDNESDAY, COME ON OUT. REMIND ME WHAT THAT ACRONYM IS. OPWDD STANDS FOR OFFICE OF PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES. THANK YOU. SO THEY USUALLY HAVE SOMEONE THERE THAT COMES. OTHER AGENCIES THAT ARE THERE, RECREATION AGENCIES AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT WORK WITH OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES ARE THEY'RE REPRESENTED AS WELL. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU. NEXT WE HAVE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S UPDATE ON HUMAN RESOURCES AND LEADERSHIP. [4.8 Executive Director's Update on Human Resources and Leadership] GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY. SO AS YOU PROBABLY HAVE NOTED, PER EDUCATIONAL LAW, EACH DISTRICT IS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT THEIR APPR PLAN, THEIR ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW PLAN. OUR PLAN HAS THAT ALL OF OUR NON TENURED ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS ARE OBSERVED TWICE IN AN ANNOUNCED CYCLE, ONCE IN AN UNANNOUNCED CYCLE. AND ALL, OF OUR TENURED TEACHERS ARE OBSERVED ONCE IN AN ANNOUNCE AND ONCE IN AN UNANNOUNCED. THE REASON I'M SAYING THAT IS PART OF OUR PLAN REQUIRES THAT OUR EVALUATORS ARE TRAINED EVERY YEAR. SO IN OCTOBER, ON OCTOBER 21ST, I CONDUCTED THE LEAD EVALUATOR TRAINING. SO YOU WILL SEE IN THE AGENDA FOR TONIGHT TWO RESOLUTIONS. ONE IS TO CERTIFY OUR ADMINISTRATORS TO BE LEAD EVALUATORS FOR OUR TEACHERS. AND THEN THE OTHER IS TO CERTIFY DOCTOR CHAMP AND MYSELF TO BE LEAD EVALUATORS FOR EVALUATING OUR PRINCIPALS. [01:35:03] SO YOU WILL SEE BOTH OF THOSE IN THERE. IN ADDITION TO THAT AND I KNOW DOCTOR CHAMP MENTIONED THIS BRIEFLY, IS THAT WE HAVE STARTED OUR APPR TASK FORCE FOR THIS YEAR. SO GOVERNOR HOCHUL IN 2024 SIGNED ED LAW 3012E. ANYWAY, REGARDLESS OF THAT, BASICALLY DISTRICTS CAN RETHINK HOW THEY'RE DOING THEIR APPR PLANS. SO OUR TASK FORCE IS GOING TO BE MADE UP OF ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS WHO ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT OUR CURRENT APPR PLAN AND THINKING ABOUT OUR FUTURE IN WHAT WE WANT IT TO LOOK LIKE. THE PURPOSE OF REIMAGINING THE PLAN IS TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE DEVELOP AND GROW OUR TEACHERS AND OUR ADMINISTRATORS FOR THEIR WHOLE CAREER, NOT JUST WHEN THEY FIRST START, BUT HOW DO WE DO THAT MOVING FORWARD? AND THE STATE HAS SOME GUIDELINES. ONE OF THEM IS TIMELY FEEDBACK, PROFESSIONAL LEARNING, BUT IT REALLY IS NOT. IT'S NOT A PURPOSE OF DINGING PEOPLE OR POINTING OUT WHAT'S NOT GOING WELL, BUT IT'S REALLY TO HELP GROW AND FOSTER THIS LOVE OF LEARNING FOR ADMINISTRATORS AND FOR PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS. SO MORE TO COME ON THAT IT'S GOING TO BE EXCITING. I WAS JUST AT MY HUMAN RESOURCES STATE CONFERENCE. NO ONE HAS DONE THE PLAN YET. THERE ARE A FEW PEOPLE DIPPING THEIR TOE IN THE WATER, BUT THERE IS A LOT OF PEOPLE WAITING ON THE SIDELINES LOOKING TO SEE WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. WILL THE STATE GIVE FURTHER GUIDANCE? WE HAVE SOME GUIDANCE. BUT WILL MORE COME? I DON'T KNOW. THE STATE DID RUN SEVERAL WEBINARS OVER THE SUMMER. AND THANK YOU, DOCTOR COMERFORD, FOR JOINING ME IN THOSE WEBINARS TO LEARN ABOUT THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE PROCESS. SO WE'RE EXCITED TO GET STARTED. I DON'T KNOW HOW FAR WE WILL GET, BUT I THINK IT'LL IT'LL BE A GREAT CONVERSATION TO HAVE WITH OUR FOLKS HERE IN PELHAM ABOUT WHAT WE SEE AS OUR FUTURE. THAT'S ALL FOR ME. THANK YOU. IT SOUNDS LIKE A, YOU KNOW, AN IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT THING TO LOOK AT. SO. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. OKAY. THANK YOU. NEXT WE HAVE ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENTS UPDATE ON FACILITIES AND [4.9 Assistant Superintendent's Update on Facilities and Sustainable Learning Environments] SUSTAINABLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS. HI PARDON ME. HI. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU. JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS TO REVIEW JUST VERY QUICKLY ON THIS EVENING'S AGENDA. THERE'S A COUPLE OF ITEMS RELATED. ONE OF THE ITEMS IS RELATED TO A 6, 11, 6, 19 GRANT, WHICH IS IDEA THAT STANDS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES ACT. THAT'S REALLY WHAT YOU SEE IS IT'S A PASS THROUGH OF MONIES THAT COME THROUGH THIS FEDERAL GRANT THAT GETS PASSED THROUGH TO SCHOOLS THAT EDUCATE PELHAM STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS. SO WE DO THIS EVERY YEAR, AND IT'S JUST PART OF THAT NORMAL PROCESS. WE ALSO HAVE THE NOTIFICATION OF TUITION STUDENTS, WHICH WE WHICH WE DO EVERY YEAR. WE BREAK IT DOWN BASED ON THEIR, STATUS. THIS EVENING WE'RE ALSO ASKING THE BOARD TO APPROVE THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER CONTRACT. I THINK I PROVIDED SOME CONTEXT TO THE BOARD AS FAR AS THE PERCENTAGE OF COST OF THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER'S FEE, BASED UPON THE TOTAL COST OF CONSTRUCTION AND A SMALL BENCHMARKING OF WHAT WE'VE SEEN WITH SURROUNDING DISTRICTS. BASICALLY, THE DISTRICT'S COST IS ABOUT 2.18% OF THE TOTAL COST OF THE PROJECT. LOOKING AT OTHER DISTRICTS, WE'VE SEEN 2.2. SO REALLY WE'RE AT 2.2 NUMBER UP TO 4.35%. SO WE'RE IN THAT LOWER RANGE OF WHAT WE SEE FROM OTHER DISTRICTS, OF WHAT THEIR FEE IS IN RELATION TO THE TOTAL COST OF CONSTRUCTION. THANK YOU. IT IS THIS IS WITH TRITON CONSTRUCTION. THEY DID WAIVE THEIR FEE. IF THEY SAID IF THEY, IF THEY WERE ENGAGED POST PROJECT THAT, THAT PART OF THE FEE WOULD BE WAIVED. AND AS WE KNOW, WE DID THE PUBLIC RFP THERE WHERE THE RESPONDENT AND THAT'S HOW WE CAME TO BRING THEM TO THE BOARD. THIS EVENING WE HAVE OUR TREASURER'S REPORT. JUST IMPORTANT TO NOTE. WE HAVE SEEN ANOTHER INTEREST RATE DROP, SO ABOUT 25 BASIS POINTS. SO ON THE LAST ON THIS ON THIS RATE, YOU'LL SEE WE WERE PULLING A LITTLE BIT OVER 4% ON OUR OVERNIGHT DEPOSITS. WE HAD A 25 BASIS POINT DROP. AND WE'RE BASICALLY SEEING THAT CORRESPONDENCE. THE FED DROPPED THEIR RATE 25 BASIS POINTS. AND WE'RE SEEING JUST ABOUT THAT, THAT CORRESPONDING DROP RIGHT NOW ON OUR OVERNIGHT DEPOSITS. SO WE HAD PLANNED FOR THIS. WE KNEW THIS WAS HAPPENING. THEY'RE COMING A LITTLE DECREASE. THEY'RE COMING A LITTLE BIT SHALLOWER AND A LITTLE BIT SLOWER THAN WE HAD ORIGINALLY ANTICIPATED. BUT THEY'RE STILL THEY'RE STILL COMING. SO THIS YEAR I DON'T THINK IT WILL IMPACT OUR PLAN, BUT CERTAINLY NEXT YEAR WE'LL HAVE TO TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT AS WE PROJECT AND FORECAST OUR REVENUES FOR WHAT WE EXPECT TO BRING IN AS PART OF NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET. HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO TO A CONFERENCE AT THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. DISTRICT ATTORNEY, A CASE HELD A LARGE LARGE MEETING WITH MANY SCHOOL DISTRICTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY JUST TO SHARE ALL THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE THROUGH [01:40:07] THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IN COOPERATION WITH OUR LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS, OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS. THERE WAS A ROUNDTABLE, REALLY GOOD SHARING OF INFORMATION. AND AGAIN, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE THAT WE HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. TOM DRAKE, WHO WAS LEFT? PROBABLY BE EMBARRASSED IF I MENTIONED THIS. HE'S RETIRED INVESTIGATOR FROM THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. IT WAS LIKE A HOMECOMING. I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYBODY HE DOESN'T KNOW IN THAT BUILDING. SO BUT THAT'S REALLY GREAT. AND IT BENEFITS. IT BENEFITS PELHAM SO MUCH. YES. SO IT'S REALLY GREAT TO SEE THAT, TOO. AND AS DOCTOR CHAMP MENTIONED, WE SENT OUT OUR BUDGET INSTRUCTIONS. WE'RE A LITTLE A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF THE BALL RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS GREAT, BUT I DON'T THINK THE PEOPLE GOT THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE REALLY HAPPY ABOUT GETTING THEM. WE HAVEN'T PUSHED UP THE DEADLINE. WE ADDED A LAYER OF STRESS. YEAH. SO WE'RE A FEW DAYS EARLY, BUT WE'RE MOVING ALONG THROUGH THAT PROCESS. SO THAT'S WHAT I'VE GOT. THANK YOU. OKAY. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. OKAY. WE DON'T HAVE COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC. DO I HAVE. WE CAN MOVE TO 6.1. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE AND ADOPT THE UPDATED BOARD OF EDUCATION MEETING DATES? [6.1 Motion to Approve and Adopt the Updated 2025-2026 Board of Education Meeting Dates] SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY, ANY. AND THE REASON WE'RE BRINGING THAT BACK IS BECAUSE WE'VE ASKED THE BOARD TO MOVE OUR NEXT MEETING, WHICH IS A WORK SESSION TO START AT 5:30. OKAY. SO I WANT TO JUST FORMALLY GET THAT APPROVED. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? THANKS, DARRA. THANK YOU. OKAY. STILL HERE? THANK YOU. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE [6.2 Motion to Accept Treasurer's Report for the Period Ended September 30, 2025] TREASURER'S REPORT FOR THE PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30TH. SO MOVED. SECOND. ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? JIM SPOKE ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT. NO. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OPPOSED? SO THE REPORT IS ACCEPTED. 6.3. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE 2025 2026 FLOW THROUGH OF FUNDS? [6.3 Motion to Approve the 2025-2026 Flow Through of Funds (Idea Grants 611 and 619) Agreements for Pelham Union Free School District Special Education Preschool and School Aged Students] THESE ARE THE IDEA GRANTS AGREEMENTS FOR THAT JIM JUST SPOKE ABOUT FOR PELHAM SCHOOL DISTRICT SPECIAL EDUCATION, PRESCHOOL AND SCHOOL AGE STUDENTS. SO MOVED. SECOND. ANY? JIM SPOKE ABOUT IT. ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? NO. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. THOSE. THAT'S APPROVED. OKAY. I'M DOING THIS ONE BY ONE. LET'S SEE. SO LET'S SEE. [6.4 Motion to Accept Report of Non-Resident Tuition Students] DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE REPORT OF NONRESIDENT TUITION STUDENTS? SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. AND THIS IS THE CONSTRUCTION AGREEMENT. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE PELHAM UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES. [6.5 Motion Authorizing the Pelham Union Free School District to enter into an Agreement for Construction Management Service - Post-Referendum] SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OKAY, SO I'M GOING TO TAKE. I'LL TAKE. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE SIX AND 6.7 AS A CONSENT AGENDA. [6.6 Motion to Approve PMHS Model UN Club's trip to Montreal, QC, Canada, November 13 to November 16, 2025] [6.7 Motion to Approve Pelham Memorial High School Travel Study Trip to England, France and Belgium, March 17 to March 26, 2027] SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY, THESE ARE BOTH TRIPS. I LIKE TO MENTION THEM. THE MODEL UN IS GOING TO MONTREAL ON NOVEMBER 13TH THROUGH 16TH. THAT SOUNDS LIKE FUN. AND THEN THERE'S A HIGH SCHOOL TRAVEL STUDY TRIP TO ENGLAND, FRANCE AND BELGIUM MARCH 17TH THROUGH THE 26TH. THAT'S AMAZING. WORLD HISTORY CLASS. YEAH. AWESOME. THAT'S NOT THAT'S NEXT. NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. YEAH. FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL LIKE THAT. 27. APPROVE A YEAR IN ADVANCE. SOUNDS GREAT. ALL IN FAVOR? THOSE TRIPS ARE APPROVED. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT A DONATION? [6.8 Motion to Accept a Donation] SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY, SO I'LL READ THESE. WE WANT TO THANK THE PELHAM CIVIC ASSOCIATION. BE IT RESOLVED THAT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE PELHAM UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT DOES HEREBY ACCEPT THE MONETARY DONATION OF $24,480 FOR THE PELHAM MIDDLE SCHOOL EXTENDED ACADEMY AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM, AND THAT GRATITUDE BE BESTOWED UPON ITS DONOR, THE PELHAM CIVIC ASSOCIATION. THE SECOND ONE IS BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, THAT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE PELHAM UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT DOES HEREBY ACCEPT THE MONETARY DONATION OF $22,032 FOR THE HUTCHINSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AFTER SCHOOL HOMEWORK HELP PROGRAM, AND THAT GRATITUDE BE BESTOWED UPON ITS OWNER, THE PELHAM CIVIC ASSOCIATION. [01:45:04] SO THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE PELHAM CIVIC ASSOCIATION. THIS NEXT ONE IS FROM THE PELHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION. OF COURSE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO THE PELHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT UPON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE PELHAM UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT DOES HEREBY ACCEPT THE MONETARY DONATION OF $44,852.37 FOR GRANT 2601 NEW SOUND AT HUTCHINSON AND PROSPECT HILL, AND THAT GRATITUDE BE BESTOWED UPON ITS DONOR, THE PELHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION. SO THANK YOU TO THE PELHAM CIVICS AND THE PELHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY JUST, YOU KNOW, WE ARE SO JUST IN AWE AND SO THANKFUL TO THE COMMUNITIES THE PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY AND ESPECIALLY THESE NONPROFITS THAT CONTINUE TO GIVE TO THE EDUCATION OF OUR STUDENTS. SO I'M ALWAYS SO, LIKE, OVERWHELMED EVERY TIME I HEAR DONATION, ESPECIALLY OF THIS MAGNITUDE. SO I WOULD LIKE TO REALLY THANK FROM THE BOARD IF I'M ALLOWED TO THE PELHAM CIVICS AND ALSO TO PEF PELHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION AND TO ANY OF THE PTA'S THAT ARE CONTINUALLY GIVING TO THIS TO OUR SCHOOLS, BECAUSE I DO KNOW IT TAKES A LOT TO FUNDRAISE AND A LOT OF WORK GOES INTO IT. AND I'M JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, SO GRATEFUL THAT WE LIVE IN SUCH A COMMUNITY THAT REALLY APPRECIATES THE SCHOOL IN THIS MANNER. SO THANK YOU AGAIN TO CIVICS. THANK YOU AGAIN TO PELHAM EDUCATION FOUNDATION. AND OF COURSE, THANK YOU AGAIN TO THE PTA. EVEN THOUGH THEY PROBABLY CAN'T CONTRIBUTE TO THIS AMOUNT OF MONETARY DONATION, THEY STILL CONTRIBUTE EVERY DAY. YEAH. AND THE NEW SOUND IS NEW SOUND SYSTEMS AT HUTCHINSON AND PROSPECT. YES. SIWANOY HAS A SYSTEM IN GOOD SHAPE, AND COLONIAL DOESN'T HAVE A STAGE. RIGHT. SO THAT'S WHY IT'S JUST THE TWO BUILDINGS. OKAY? I MEAN, I KNOW THAT AS A USER OF PROSPECT HILL'S SOUND SYSTEM, WHERE WE HAD TO DESIGNATE SOMEBODY TO HOLD THE CORD IN PLACE SO THAT IT DIDN'T POP OUT DURING THE TALENT SHOW OR ANY KIND OF PERFORMANCE OR SPEECH OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER. THIS IS GOING TO CHANGE THEIR EXPERIENCE IN A MAJOR AND POSITIVE WAY FOR THE KIDS, FOR THE STAFF. SO YEAH, AND WE'RE CERTAINLY GOING TO HAVE TO COORDINATE WITH FACILITIES TOO, BECAUSE I ALSO KNOW THAT THERE ARE WATER DAMAGE AREAS IN THE BACK OF THE STAGE THAT WILL BE REMEDIATED AS PART OF OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. SO WE'RE GOING TO BE SURE TO COORDINATE AROUND THAT. SO I SAY THAT BECAUSE IF THERE'S ANY DELAY IN PUTTING THAT IN, PLEASE UNDERSTAND WE DON'T WANT TO PUT A NEW SYSTEM IN A WET AREA AND THEN WIND UP RUINING THAT BRAND NEW SYSTEM. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, JIM'S OFFICE WILL WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE BUILDING. AND MAKE SURE IT'S COORDINATED. THANKS FOR MENTIONING THAT, BECAUSE THAT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE TOO. YEAH IT IS. I DON'T WANT FOLKS TO THINK THAT THERE'S ANY DELAY, BUT WE WANT TO DO IT AND DO IT RIGHT. YEAH. YES. $44,000 DOESN'T COME EASY. SO. YEAH, EXACTLY. WE DO NOT WANT TO DO ANYTHING TO DAMAGE THAT. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. THANK YOU AGAIN. NOW I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO SID FOR THE POLICIES THE POLICY SECTION, WE HAVE SEVERAL THAT ARE SECOND READING. SO I THINK IF WE'RE ALIGNED, IF THE BOARD'S ALIGNED ON THESE, WE CAN WAIVE THE THIRD AND APPROVE THESE POLICIES. AND THEN WE HAVE SOME THAT ARE FIRST READINGS. YEP. YEAH. I DON'T THINK THERE WERE ANY COMMENTS ON THE ONES THAT WERE. WE RECEIVED NO FEEDBACK. LAST MEETING. SO THE SECOND READING POLICIES ALL SEEM NOT CONTROVERSIAL. I THINK THAT'S ALSO THE CASE FOR THE ONES THAT ARE UP FOR FIRST READING. THEY'RE REALLY MOSTLY CLEAN UP CHANGES OR YEAH UPDATES FOR LEGAL CHANGES OR SORT OF BEST PRACTICES FROM RECOMMENDATIONS FROM LEGAL COUNSEL. SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, SORT OF BIG POLICY CHANGES AMONG ANY OF THEM. NO, I WOULD AGREE, VERY PROCEDURAL AND REGULATORY. YEAH. BUT I WILL SAY TOO AND I APPRECIATE THE TEAM DOING THIS, MANY OF THESE HAVEN'T BEEN TOUCHED SINCE 2012. AT THE. A LOT OF THEM. YEAH. YEAH. [LAUGHTER] MY THEORY IS THAT'S WHEN WE SWITCHED TO BOARD DOCS IS WHY THE DATES ARE ALL THE SAME. BUT THAT SHOWS YOU THAT WE'RE, WE'RE TOUCHING, YOU KNOW, POLICIES THAT ARE CLOSE TO 15 YEARS OLD. AND IT'S ABOUT TIME, SO. RIGHT. WE'RE MOVING A LOT OF SHALL'S. BUT YOU SAY MOVING A LOT OF SHALL'S OUTDATED. [01:50:04] THE NYSBA CONFERENCE LAST WEEK OR TWO WEEKS AGO I ATTENDED THERE WAS A POLICY GOVERNANCE AND SHALL WAS A DISCUSSION TOPIC. OH YEAH, AMONGST THE SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS IN THE QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION, WE DID DISCUSS AND DEBATE SHALL THE USE OF SHALL VERSUS LIKE. WILL. WILL OR MUST? OH VERY DIFFERENT. YEAH, SURE. THAT WAS RIVETING. IT WAS. YEAH IT WAS. IT WAS. WE HAD A VERY ENTERTAINING PRESENTER. SO SHE DID MAKE IT INTERESTING. BUT YEAH. I'M SURE IT WAS OKAY. SO CAN I ALWAYS FORGET. CAN I DO THIS ALL IN ONE. ALL IN ONE. LIKE WHERE I SAY WE WAIVE AND THEN APPROVE. OKAY. YES. OKAY. ADOPT. OKAY. SO WE'LL DO IT FOR [7.1 Policy 1310 - Powers and Duties of the Board (Second Reading)] [7.2 Policy 1330 - Appointments and Designations by the Board of Education (Second Reading)] [7.3 Policy 3420 - Non Discrimination and Anti-Harassment in the District (Second Reading)] [7.4 Policy 5220 - District Investments (Second Reading)] [7.5 Policy 5410 - Purchasing (Second Reading)] [7.6 Policy 6110 - Code of Ethics for Board Members and All District Personnel (Second Reading)] 7.1 THROUGH 7.6. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO WAIVE THE THIRD READING FOR THESE POLICIES AND THEN ADOPT THE POLICIES. SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. OKAY. NONE OPPOSED. SO THERE'S 2. 1234. SEVEN MORE ON THE. ON OUR THERMOMETER. YES, ON THE THERMOMETER. WHAT'S YOUR TOTAL NOW? WE DON'T EVEN KNOW. WE LOST TRACK THIS YEAR. I THINK IF I GET TO 100 I GET A NEW SET OF STEAK KNIVES. [LAUGHTER] WE LOST TRACK. VERY GOOD. OKAY. CAN I TAKE. DO I HAVE A MOTION TO TAKE 8.1. I GUESS I COULD DO IT THROUGH 9.1 AS A [8.1 Motion to Approve Schedule A - Instructional] [8.2 Motion to Approve Schedule B -Extra Duty Appointments] [8.3 Motion to Approve Schedule C -Instructional] [8.4 Motion to Approve Schedule C - Non-Instructional] [9.1 Motion to Approve Schedule D - Committee on Special Education (Confidential)] CONSENT AGENDA. SO MOVED. SECOND. OKAY. ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? THIS IS KIND OF YOUR TYPICAL PERSONNEL FMLA LEAVES APPOINTMENTS OF THE REPLACEMENTS. CERTIFICATION THAT DOCTOR FITZGERALD SPOKE OF EARLIER FOR LEAD EVALUATORS. UNDER EXTRA DUTY, YOU SEE LOTS OF COACHING ASSIGNMENTS AND APPOINTMENTS FOR THE WINTER SEASON AND THE INSTRUCTIONAL AGENDA. AND YOU'VE GOT A COUPLE RESIGNATIONS, SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS, WHICH WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING TO GARNER MORE AND MORE INTERNS AND OBSERVERS, AS WE'VE HAD ON A REGULAR BASIS. AND THEN OUR NON-INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF, COMBINATIONS OF RESIGNATIONS, CLERICAL ADJUSTMENTS REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE JOYCE TORTORELLO. I WILL HIGHLIGHT THAT JOYCE COMING TO THE CURRICULUM OFFICE. AND ALSO THAT'S THE OFFICE THAT DEALS WITH REGISTRATION. SO WE'RE REALLY HAPPY TO GET THAT PERSON ON BOARD. AND ONCE WE GET JOYCE TRAINED UP WE'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH SOME OF THE INITIATIVES THAT WE TALKED ABOUT FOR THIS YEAR. STARTING TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN PREPARE TO HAVE OUR SEVERAL COUPLE GRADE LEVELS START TO UPDATE THE REGISTRATION INFORMATION ELECTRONICALLY. ELECTRONICALLY. YEP. THAT TRANSITION TO ELECTRONIC AT THE UPPER GRADES. GREAT. YEAH, THAT'S MAINLY WHAT WE HAVE THERE. OKAY. ALL IN FAVOR. AYE. AND OPPOSED. SO THOSE ARE ALL APPROVED. 10.1. DOES ANYONE HAVE NEW BUSINESS? I'M STARING OUT. [10.1 New Business] NO. OKAY. DID WE DO 9.1? YEAH, I PUT IT. I PUT IT IN THE CONSENT. YEAH. I MEAN, I GUESS NEW BUSINESS. I MEAN, WE WENT TO THE NYSBA CONFERENCE. I'M NOT GOING TO MENTION IT A FEW TIMES, SO I WON'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT IT, BUT IT WAS REALLY INFORMATIVE. IT WAS A GREAT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY AND A CHANCE TO JUST TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH OTHER BOARD MEMBERS AND TALK ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THEIR DISTRICTS AND WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND THE STATE. IT WAS FROM PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE STATE. AND THE THE SEMINARS WERE WERE QUITE INFORMATIVE. I KNOW I UPLOADED A LOT OF THOSE PRESENTATIONS. I TRIED TO DOWNLOAD AS MANY AS WERE AVAILABLE. THEY DIDN'T MAKE ALL OF THE SLIDES AVAILABLE, BUT I DOWNLOADED ALL OF THEM THAT I COULD AND THEY CURRENTLY MADE THE ONLINE VERSIONS OF SOME OF THOSE AVAILABLE TO NOW WATCH. SO ANY SEMINAR THAT I MISSED, I CAN TRY TO CATCH UP ON. I'M NOT SURE IF I CAN DOWNLOAD THEM OR SHARE THEM, BUT IF I CAN, I WILL TRY TO SHARE THEM OUT. BUT I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO GO. AND I DID LEARN. I THINK I LEARNED A LOT THERE, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR SHARE ANY OF THAT KNOWLEDGE. IF YOU'RE FLIPPING THROUGH SOME OF THOSE SLIDES AND WANT, YOU KNOW, OR CURIOUS TO HAVE ANY TOPIC EXPANDED ON, [01:55:04] I CAN TRY MY BEST FOR YOU GUYS. OKAY. AND WE'RE ACTUALLY ATTENDING A WEBINAR FOR LUNCH ON THE 21ST. THE IS CALLED LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND SCHOOL BOARDS WITH THE EVER CHANGING GOVERNMENT. YEAH, WE ARE TAKING A WEBINAR ON THE 21ST, SO. EXCELLENT. IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE WILL REPORT BACK. BUT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO AT LEAST FOR AN HOUR LEARNING SOMETHING DIFFERENT. PERFECT. WONDERFUL. GREAT. WE DON'T HAVE MORE COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC, SO 12.1, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING? SO MOVED. SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. THANK YOU. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.