Transcript of March 25, 2021, Board Meeting

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. All right. So I welcome everybody, as I said, to this meeting, March 25, 2021. Thanking all of you who have joined us. Hoping you are all safe and well. And with that, I will ask for a motion to approve the minutes.

Michael Weinick:

All moved.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you. Okay, Mr. Weinick's second?

Joyce Nolan:

Okay.

Fran Langsner:

Second.

Susan Bergtraum:

Yeah, Mrs. Langsner. Any discussion about the minutes? If not, all in favor?

Board:

Aye.

Susan Bergtraum:

Opposed? Abstained? Motion carries. Okay, we're up to presentations. Dr. Dillon?

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Yes. We'd like to reverse the order and go first with Item B, which is RSIP, and Dr. Theodorou and her colleagues. So Carla, I'll turn it over to you.

Dr. Carla Theodorou:

Thank you. Thank you, everyone. Thank you to the board. Good evening. The Department of Regional Schools Instructional Programs is proud to focus on our wonderful career and technical education programs at the Gerald R. Claps Technical Education Center, otherwise known as GC Tech, located in Levittown. I'd like to introduce our principal, Pete Dalton.

Peter Dalton:

Good evening, everyone. It's good to see everyone.

Deborah Coates:

[inaudible 00:01:54].

Peter Dalton:

... time, I would like to turn it over to really a great admin team at GC. Dr. Dunphy has done a tremendous job of creating and building a culture of excellence, and in a safe learning environment, along with Ms. Caitriona O'Neill. Together they have really done a fantastic job in moving GC Tech in the direction that we would like to see them move. And with that, I will turn it over to Dr. Dunphy.

Patrick Dunphy:

Thank you, Pete. And thanks everyone for giving us a few minutes tonight to speak to you about a place that we love, called Nassau BOCES GC Tech.

Eric Schultz:

Who told you it was limited to two minutes?

Patrick Dunphy:

Listen, as much time as you can give us, we'll take it.

Eric Schultz:

Go ahead.

Patrick Dunphy:

And I mean it. Let me share my screen here. If you'll indulge me for a minute, I'll share my sounds. I know Caitriona was probably on the edge of her seat to make sure I did that right, but I think I did it right.

Patrick Dunphy:

So first, again, just thank you so much for giving us a few minutes to talk to you tonight. We want to speak on specifically four different items that mean so much to our students, our teachers, and the community at large, around and part of Nassau BOCES GC Tech.

Patrick Dunphy:

So those four items are our social/emotional skills, that are such a big part of what we do each day for our students at GC, professional development for our teachers, expanding programs in our building, and building relationships within our community. Specifically, we'd like to talk about our sending districts, which you can see here. We really have to ... We'd be remiss if we didn't take a second just to acknowledge the partnership with Levittown and their support and how gracious of hosts that they've been for us. The custodial staff there, and really everything in between, it's really been a great partnership.

Patrick Dunphy:

We have 11 sending districts in total. Two of them are noted here, Bellmore-Merrick and Great Neck are new to us this year in our second year at GC. We attribute that specifically to initial pitch we made last year to really have a Renaissance around EMT, Emergency Medical Technician, and that program. Specifically, new students from those districts are actually enrolled in our Police Science EMT program. So we've correlated that strongly, and it's only given us that much more determination to see a robust program in EMT, see that through into the future.

Patrick Dunphy:

So all of our programs are right here. Automotive Technology, Computer Animation, Construction Electricity, Cosmetology is noted, Police Science and EMT, Medical Assisting. And we expect anticipated growth for next year in Plumbing and HVAC, and a new home for that program at GC after the work done at Barry Tech has been so successful and made that program as popular as it is.

Patrick Dunphy:

We also want to note that, as I noted before, when it comes to EMT, we are looking to certify that program as a New York State approved CTE course. And as a course, what that will provide for our students is important career requisites in that industry, a tech endorsement, and of course, a pathway to graduation.

Patrick Dunphy:

So this year we've hosted six virtual open houses. As recently as this week, students have had an opportunity to meet with staff, interact with teachers about their programs. They've asked some great questions. We've come to understand a lot about potential new districts, and of course our current sending districts, through that, and the needs that they have and what we can do to meet those needs.

Patrick Dunphy:

Seven district high schools are showing new interest. Uniondale, Hempstead, Rockville Center, East Meadow, Glen Cove, Syosset, Roosevelt, Oyster Bay, in either completely new enrollment or over what the current enrollment is, which is very exciting. We look forward to continuing to build those relationships and the existing ones that we have.

Patrick Dunphy:

So one of the things that we celebrated our virtual open houses is our commitment to social/emotional learning. It's something that's very important. It's one of our principle values at GC, and you can feel it from end to end in that building. So one of our mantras here, if you'll indulge me again, is we believe in the importance of understanding ourselves and each other as a precursor to successful learning outcomes and student achievement.

Patrick Dunphy:

We've seen this make a tremendous difference, particularly at a time when there's a lot of challenges from the outside that can potentially [inaudible 00:07:02] some of the experiences that might exist there. We devote time and space to this on a regular basis. Our staff and students embrace being self-aware, having that balance and understanding its importance as a part of the success. And of course, this is encouraged by all 28 staff members and all students in the building.

Patrick Dunphy:

With that, I would like to pass it over to GC Tech's Program Coordinator, Ms. Caitriona O'Neill.

Caitriona O'Neill:

Thank you, Dr. Dunphy. So at Nassau BOCES GC Tech we really strive to understand both ourselves and each other. We've implemented initiatives like Mindful Monday, Regular Wednesday SEL activities, and a SEL monthly check-in. These have become installments that are important ways for our students to reflect, self-regulate and self-advocate. This has become very central to our values and culture at GC Tech because it's translated into building school harmony.

Caitriona O'Neill:

One such organization and club that we brought to our school this year, and we're striving to be a no place for hate school, is No Place for Hate. This is an anti-defamation league education program where all stakeholders, from students, teachers, staff members, and administration really take the lead on improving and maintaining school climate. We have our students, they pledge against hate in our school and they continue to ask others to join them.

Caitriona O'Neill:

So what I'd like to do is invite everyone to listen to the pledge that our students took to promote harmony in our school.

Dillon Weinman:

My name's Dillon Weinman. I'm a member of No Place for Hate. I take Medical Assisting here at GC Tech.

Isabella Trama:

Hi, my name is Isabella Trama. I am a Computer Animation student here at GC Tech and a member of No Place for Hate.

Michael Gonzalez:

I'm Michael Gonzalez, and I'm a student here at GC Tech. I currently take Automotive, pursuing my career, and I'm also a part of No Place for Hate.

Ashley Keane:

Hi, my name is Ashley Keane. I'm part of the Cosmetology Program here at GC Tech, and I'm also a member of No Place for Hate.

Anthony Battaglia:

I'm Anthony Battaglia. I'm part of the Automotive Program at GC Tech, and I'm a part of No Place for Hate.

Brian DeRoia:

My name is Brian DeRoia. I'm part of the Police Science Program, and I'm also part of No Place for Hate.

Dillon Weinman:

Join us in pledging against hate at GC Tech.

Isabella Trama:

I will seek out to gain understanding of those who are different from myself.

Michael Gonzalez:

I will speak out against prejudice and discrimination.

Ashley Keane:

I will reach out to support those who are targets of hate.

Anthony Battaglia:

I will promote respect for people and help foster a prejudice-free school.

Brian DeRoia:

I believe that one person can make a difference. No one is an innocent bystander when it comes to a opposing hate.

Dillon Weinman:

I recognize that respecting individual dignity and promoting inter-group harmony are the responsibilities of all students.

Isabella Trama:

Join us.

Michael Gonzalez:

Join us.

Ashley Keane:

Join us.

Anthony Battaglia:

Join us.

Brian DeRoia:

Join us.

Dillon Weinman:

Join us.

Students:

Join us.

Caitriona O'Neill:

So our students not only took this pledge, but they promote this promise by planning and participating in No Place for Hate learning activities. Two activities we ran this year was when our students partnered with Long Island Cares and they brought awareness to food insecurity on Long Island. A second activity was a focus on using inclusive language and highlighting the importance of referring to each other the way we all personally want to. Students had some really deep conversations, specific to the LGBTQ community and some of the challenges they face in this area.

Caitriona O'Neill:

So next, I just want to focus on looking back at September, as we transitioned back into the classroom. There was a lot of nervousness, uneasiness, that many of our students were feeling this past September. So when we came back into the building, we really wanted to ensure that we had an accurate pulse of the building, especially in these uncertain times. We decided that each month we would provide students with a formal opportunity to put self-reflection into practice in the form of what we call a check-in.

Caitriona O'Neill:

So the goal of this check-in was to help us identify any barriers to student success and to let us know where they, where students, might need additional support, and where we can make adjustments in providing that. So if you notice back in October, there was quite a bit of nervousness amongst our students, but as time went on we noticed fewer calls for support. These monthly check-ins really allowed us to make those adjustments and to pull students in to have conversations, and to give them that additional support.

Caitriona O'Neill:

So we say that we devote time, but we also devote space. So this slide here is just showing you what our Zen Den looks like. This slide, it really showcases this beautiful space that students seek out whenever they need a time for self-reflection or a place to self-regulate. Sometimes students, they may not be ready to talk or to take the first steps in confronting something that they're battling with, so we welcome our students to turn to this space for self-reflection until they're ready to turn to a staff member. The Zen Den has been a vital tool as we work to always deescalate situations to ensure successful learning outcomes for our students.

Caitriona O'Neill:

These themes, the themes of our SEL goals, they're not meant to regulate, but rather to empower students to seek support and have personal ownership over their success. Looking back on last year, by the end of February 2020, there were 12 incidences at GC Tech that resulted in a suspension. As of March 2021 this year, there are two similar instances. So this student empowerment, it's allowed us not only to succeed in the classroom, but even in the times where we've had to shift to remote.

Caitriona O'Neill:

So on that note, I'm going to pass it back to Dr. Dunphy, where he can highlight some of our experiences as we've had, in time we'd had to shift to remote learning. Thank you.

Patrick Dunphy:

Thank you, Ms. O'Neill. So yes, on the very rare occasions, thankfully when we have had to pivot to remote learning, when students have been quarantined, which has happened more frequently we know for everyone, GC Tech teachers across our building have risen to the occasion. The whole team. And students, absolutely.

Patrick Dunphy:

Teachers have live streamed their instruction synchronously, and whether we've been remote or not, we've had incredible return on some of the platforms that we've been using on a regular basis. So 94% of our students are using Microsoft Teams each day, whether remote or in person. So this has become a part of what we do, regardless. Close to 90% of our students are using Remind as a way to connect with us, even when they're not there, or for other items that might happen as a result of instruction and things like that.

Patrick Dunphy:

So all teachers recently also were set up with Nearpod accounts. Nearpod can do a lot of different things, but really two things come to mind at GC Tech that really sort of caught our eye and caught our attention as a team at GC, which is the use of it for formative assessment. Again, it's a powerful tool remotely in that way, when we're not right there and are able to look at where a student is, the extent of a student's understanding is with a certain assignment or activity. It allows us to do that, but also to build community and feel like you're there, feel like you're a part of the team, when we desperately want to make that happen when it's not available to us because of something out in the world that might be happening.

Patrick Dunphy:

So Tech Tuesday is a professional development series that we've put into practice this year. Each week teachers meet, we go over certain items that might've come up. Call it Tech Tuesday because generally the theme of these meetings is around technology and some new platforms, such as Nearpod or whatever it might be. The shift right now, the focus, has really been around Nearpod. And of course, in response to any type of new platform, software, whatever it might be, some new tool, we want to respond, and we know we need to with support for our teachers.

Patrick Dunphy:

So when adding any new platform, any new item, we've always ensured alignment with our instructional focus. And over the past year and a half or so, more than that I suppose now, we've been working to establish such an instructional focus. So at a recent faculty meeting, we challenged ourselves to look at and describe what learning looks like in our classrooms. I want to highlight, among a lot of good responses that we got, Lauralee Kelly, our fantastic special education teacher at GC said, "Sometimes the student will not grasp a concept right away, but there is value in the pursuit."

Patrick Dunphy:

The idea is, well, what's the pursuit? So we've recognized that there's a genuine challenge to learning and that this is not only okay, but perhaps should be encouraged, and of course, supported. So once this became common language, we started to see it be increasingly visible in our building, and we started to do a lot of work around authentic audience, which is a part of authentic learning, and is so, so visible and so important in a career in tech ed environment.

Patrick Dunphy:

So to put it simply, authentic audience is when a student shares their learning with someone new. And specifically, when a student shares the choices they make, the decisions they made around the work they're doing, a project, an assignment, and they're proud of that. Maybe they're going to be questioned to a degree they weren't ready for, and that's okay too. We're going to support them in doing that and coach them to a point where they can handle the next thing and they're excited about it. That's what we're trying to get them to do. GC Tech, as a team, has made that visible, and we'll continue to visualize that as we work towards the next leg of that journey.

Patrick Dunphy:

So we love showcasing that work. One way we've done that is through social media. We make very good use of our Facebook, our Instagram accounts, our website. Of course, these are always a work in progress, as they should be. We love to highlight the fact that, our Instagram in particular, since we've been Nassau BOCES GC Tech, is up around 600% in terms of the amount of followers that we had since we, again, became Nassau BOCES GC Tech.

Patrick Dunphy:

One of the things we noticed is in looking at, after we had posted things, and likes and comments and things like that, was that most of, or that our alumni seemed to be the first to routinely like and comment. So we started scratching our heads and we're thinking about all this type of stuff. And then our SITE-based team, we had been looking at the creation of an alumni association anyway, and we said, "Well, we have a really powerful group here. Let's find out just how many alumni there are here in the community already."

Patrick Dunphy:

One specific anecdote that I'll share, is that Caitriona and I were out at dismissal at one point, and we saw parents there to pick up their child, and we engage them in a little conversation, and we learned that both parents actually went to GC Tech in different years. They didn't meet there, but they were ... It was very exciting to speak to both of them about their experiences and the history of GC Tech and how proud they were of the community and the building, and how happy they were with their son's experience in auto technology.

Patrick Dunphy:

So we started to do some cultivation of data around that, and we learned that 37 current GT Tech students have a family member who graduated from GT Tech. Bottom line is we know how important it is to build relationships with the alumni, in this case, with our industry partners, with districts, and what it means to really, as a way to provide insight and opportunity to our current students, and how powerful that can be to our programs and what it does for them. So we're in the process, through our SITE-based team, of gathering testimonials from our alumni, find out what they're doing now and how GC Tech might've been a part of that.

Patrick Dunphy:

So bottom line is this. Whether it's our alumni, whether it's the 28 staff members that we ... I know I speak for Caitriona too when I say we are so proud to be part of the team at GC Tech, and all of our students being part of that extended family, and all of you, of course. We work with full confidence in each other each day. We're proud of each other. We believe in each other's success. And that's really what makes our students and our team successful each day. That's what we wanted to share with you tonight, so again, we really appreciate the opportunity to have a few minutes to speak on this.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you. Are there any questions, comments from the board? Mrs. Coates.

Deborah Coates:

So Dr. Dunphy, it's wonderful to see how much the program at GC Tech has expanded. You guys have done a wonderful job just promoting the program and the enrollment of students. Do you feel ... Maybe Caitriona would be better at answering this. Do you feel that this, what we've lived through over the last year, this pandemic, has affected the children because they're at a tough age, those teenage years, have affected them with the mental issues? And have they used the Zen Den more? Do you feel that maybe the drop in suspensions is because there either is more tolerance for each other or are they just not really participating in the program other than remotely? But I just was curious about that.

Patrick Dunphy:

Yeah, well I'll start, and Caitriona, feel free to jump in. But I think I can't say enough about the resilience of our students. We've seen ... I think it might make a difference to speak to a specific ... We had a planned week remote, right after Thanksgiving, and we went around, Caitriona and I, we went around to each class and we wanted to prepare them for that week. There's so much that you can prepare for. We come to work and there's a COVID case, and we weren't expecting it, but unfortunately, we've gotten used to it a little bit. But I think the feeling that I got, and Caitriona can share as well, that when we went around to each classroom, more and more students were getting used to it, but I think that they felt a certain calmness. I think there was a certain blood pressure that went down a little bit in us preparing for it, then when it is abrupt that way.

Patrick Dunphy:

We've noticed that the engagement and just the attendance is better remotely, when there was a planned event like that. Now, that's a challenge in and of itself, and it's not easy to plan for any of this right now. But I can speak to that as a great example. I also point to our school social worker and our school psychologist, of tremendous value, of a tremendous assets to this particular part of what you're asking about. Because I don't know that if not for them and the outreach they do on a regular basis, and being proactive about students, and with specifically students with special needs who might be more prone to the anxiety around being remote, I think that's made all the difference. But it's certainly there has been those challenges.

Caitriona O'Neill:

Also to add to that is, the students learning at home, especially with the CTE setting, it's not meant to be ... What we do in the classroom is hands-on. I think in the rare cases, when they've had to shift to remote, or a positive case here, or you've been identified as a close contact here, the students want to be back in the classroom. I think that these situations in this past year has really opened-

PART 1 OF 4 ENDS [00:24:04]

Caitriona O'Neill:

Actions in this past year has really opened their eyes, their hearts, their minds, up to what it means to really value being in school and learning with the teacher. And it's incredible how they strive to just get right back into the classroom. And there's a lot that's gone into making sure that once they're there, they're comfortable, they're safe, and that they know that they have the support staff that they need.

Deborah Coates:

That's great to know. Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

Mrs. Langsner and then Mr. Greenstein.

Fran Langsner:

So, I love the idea of the alumni association. One thing that I always thought would be a valuable resource for the world, but it certainly for Nassau County residents, is to know where our students have landed and where are they practicing their trades? Where do they work? So that we could know that if we need that particular work done for us, whatever it might be, that we could reach out with confidence, knowing that someone has been trained by Nassau BOCES. So, if in that directory, there was any way of identifying if people were willing to share where they're working now, I would love to see that because I would love to hire those people individually, if I could.

Patrick Dunphy:

Yeah, we're after the same goal. And we're excited about sharing what we find this year. It's almost ready to go live with a survey that will capture that information, and that's only a part of the mission. What you're describing is the more valuable part, right? What we're doing now with that information, and we're excited about it. We shouldn't just be stumbling upon these parents who went there in the parking lot. We want to know that they're there and go say, "Hi, what are you doing right now?" So, I know we both agree that.

Susan Bergtraum:

Mr. Greenstein.

Larry Greenstein:

This is really fascinating. It's great to know that there are at least some students who get out of school knowing how to do something. Two questions; a quick one is how many students do you have at GC Tech?

Patrick Dunphy:

It's 228 students as of today.

Larry Greenstein:

Well, that's great. The other thing is when you're talking about the suspensions, I have a little different question than Mrs. Coates had. As you as adults are doing the work to move this along, is some of this the result of the way you interact with the students, not letting things escalate as much? Is it sort of coming from both sides? The students are behaving better, but also their interactions with the staff as the staff becomes better attuned to them that there's a little less of that also?

Patrick Dunphy:

Well, listen, are there different variables? Absolutely. I think that's absolutely the case. I think that we have a team that is already very tolerance and proactive and have a knowledge of each of our students. The main office at GC Tech is such that you can really feel the heartbeat of that building. So, if there's something that just doesn't... Caitriona and I greet every student each morning and then for our PM session as well. You can get a sense with that volume of students, especially what kind of day some of these kids are having. And we're able to follow up immediately with that. So, I wouldn't discount that part of it. I think you're absolutely right. I think we have a certain attention to these things. We try to be as proactive as possible. And we also know each other's strengths very well. We know if a certain student comes in, they may have a certain rapport or relationship with a certain staff member, and that's how we're approaching that.

Patrick Dunphy:

We try to take each student under our wing in a different way. It's not necessarily going to be a traditional path to the social worker necessarily. If we happen to know that this student has a better relationship with the guidance counselor and vice versa, of course, all of those things appropriately will find its way to its rightful place. But ultimately, every case is a team effort. We all know what's happening at every moment. It's really a pretty special thing. But, of course, there's other variables, but we feel the most notable and the most important is the work we've done around SEL and being proactive.

Patrick Dunphy:

Also, Mindful Mondays is a school-wide and Wednesday Check-ins are a school-wide initiatives. I've worked in four different schools in my almost 16 years. I've never been part of something like that where every staff member buys in, students buy in. And over the PA, we are starting our day on Monday, starting our week with the student's ability to clear their space and clear their mind and get ready for their learning. That means something. And in deed, I'm trying to paint that picture of that environment, because that, I think, is what translates the most into those numbers.

Larry Greenstein:

Right. No, I appreciate that. Yeah. I mean, basically, what you're doing is you're building relationships and relationships are two way. It does work at each other and whatever you're doing, it's great. I mean, it's working. I was just curious as to the interaction, but you've pretty much explained the other way very well, so thank you.

Patrick Dunphy:

You're always welcome. Just wear a mask. That's all.

Susan Bergtraum:

Mr. Schultz, and then Mr. Kaye.

Eric Schultz:

No, I'm fine. Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. Mr. Kaye.

Martin Kaye:

Yes. Just as a general observation, the Long Island workforce has always looked upon the Barry Tech programs at Nassau BOCES as being very, very good in terms of preparation. And getting GC Tech online as we have, I think is a real feather in the cap to our agency, as well as our superintendent who initiated at least the contact that started the ball rolling. In the automotive program, which is a very fine program, I know we've enhanced the diesel component now that's being studied at GC Tech, is that correct?

Patrick Dunphy:

Well, I think that there's some work that's been done at Barry Tech, but will say [crosstalk 00:31:07]. I will say that we just brought on a new teacher at GC Tech who has a background in diesel. And that is something that we are looking to explore because he has that skill set that's... And you're right, that is very important.

Martin Kaye:

But just as an observation, Patrick, diesel is important as a second component, but also a crying need on Long Island is knowledge of the diverse fuels and the biotechnology involved in alternate sources of energy for cars. Stations and dealerships are really crying out for people, young people, who come into their station and they have a knowledge of that particular component, it is so important. So, if you have a unit or some kind of approach to perhaps even exploring that as a little bit of a side study, I think it would be important as part of the automotive training that we give our students.

Patrick Dunphy:

Yeah. No, you're absolutely right. Absolutely, I think the world is calling for it. I think you're absolutely right. Our community is calling for it, and it's worth more frequent looks at what we can do to enhance it, of course.

Martin Kaye:

Thank you.

Patrick Dunphy:

Thank you

Susan Bergtraum:

Any other comments? If not, other than from my perspective, you have done a monumental job in a very short period of time. So we are so appreciative and your enthusiasm is catching. It's oozing out of your pores. So, we do thank you bringing this program along. It really is quite amazing [crosstalk 00:32:59] and appreciated. So, with that, Dr. Dillon.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Well, I just want to echo, great job. As you said, Susan, in such a short period of time, they developed a cohesive team that is really, really moving forward. Unfortunately, we had the pandemic, and they still have been able to rise above it during the pandemic. And we look for some great things in the future and continued success. Thank both of you and thank your staffs for all their dedication and hard work.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Okay. Now, we have... You may want to get a beverage, a cup of coffee or something because the next one is an outstanding group effort by many, many of our agency's employees in the strategic planning. And they've all done outstanding work through several committees and you'll have a chance to hear from them. They too are very passionate. You're doing some very important work. And I will say, part of this work came out of the crisis that we've been in. And as they said, never waste a crisis. We've looked at it not as a crisis but as a challenge. And having said that, I'd like to turn it over to Angela to talk about the strategic planning. Angela.

Angela Marshall:

Thank you. And he's right. Settling, we've been busy. Earlier this year, we shared this year's sixth major initiatives with the board. Since that time, we've created a subcommittee for each of those major initiatives. We felt they were so important that we had to put a group together to really just focus on them. So the subcommittees are made up from staff throughout the agency. There are different levels of staff involved. Some of the groups are much larger than others based on the complexity of the initiative that they're working on. And a representative from each of the six original subcommittees are going to briefly share their progress and where they're putting their focus going forward this evening.

Angela Marshall:

Based on the research, our Exploring the Future of Remote Work subcommittee, we've determined the need for another committee to focus specifically on building capacity through digital training. And that committee will be led by Matt DiMenna, who has joined us on the screen. His work will start in April and we've already recruited the members for his committee. So Matt won't be presenting tonight, but he did join us in solidarity for the other six presenters. The subcommittee leading through a time of crisis is going to go first. That committee is chaired by Dr. France, but tonight's presentation will be made by Tony Fierro. Tony, take it away.

Anthony Fierro:

Thank you, and good evening. Our committee is titled Leading Through a Time of Crisis. And I'd like to first recognize our committee members. Our Committee Chair is Dr. RG France. Along with myself, our committee members include James Widmer, Joanna Melament, Meador Pratt, Dawn Bauman, Vincent LaRusso, Tom Roccanova. Also, we have Judy Hynes, Ken Krueger, and Cliff Steinberg.

Anthony Fierro:

So one of the initial objectives for our committee was to create a mission statement. So I'll start by sharing our mission. The Leading Through a Time of Crisis Committee mission is to support the Nassau BOCES strategic plan's goal of investing in our employees with a focus on our leaders. We strive to create leadership opportunities to strengthen our interdependent culture, which comprises collective beliefs, practices, patterns, and behaviors through and beyond times of crisis. So our committee strongly believes that it's important not only to develop leadership strategies addressing the current pandemic, but to also be prepared to effectively lead should another crisis present itself.

Anthony Fierro:

So I'd like to be briefly focus on several specific objectives that the committee has been working on. First, we've been examining three types of organizational leadership cultures. And they are: a dependent culture, an independent culture, and interdependent culture. So dependent culture operates with the belief that people in authority are responsible for leadership. This is more of a top down approach and a compliance type of a culture. An independent culture operates with the belief that leadership emerges out of individual expertise. And this culture speaks more to a point person who could be working within a group setting. An interdependent culture operates with the belief that leadership is a collective activity to benefit the organization as a whole. And this is a culture that we're looking to for our agency leaders. The next, I'll review four strategies that we've developed to move the work of the committee forward within the agency. The first three strategies are already in place.

Anthony Fierro:

So strategy one is to meet on a monthly basis to develop and monitor annual measurable strategies, focusing on strengthening Nassau BOCES leaders and leadership practices. In our meetings, we've been discussing our core values, which are integrity, respect, and excellence. And we're also incorporating five key leadership traits and best practices. And they are collaboration, which includes building relationships, creating a vision to solve problems and handling conflict. Communication, which involves presenting two target audiences, listening, conversing, and providing and feedback. Compassion, which includes encouraging employees to talk about their problems, being sensitive and supportive. Customer service, which includes providing professional support, learning resources and workshops for our customers, our educators, and our staff. And finally, core business, which incorporates developing specific department services and systems that enable the agency to conduct our business through the crisis.

Anthony Fierro:

The strategy two is to disseminate weekly Leading Through a Time of Crisis tips through our office of information that offer practical, research-based advice to strengthen our Nassau BOCES leaders and our leadership practices.

Anthony Fierro:

Our strategy three is to facilitate several thought exchange forums. And these forms are designed to identify the agency's current leadership culture, identify elements of the leadership culture that are working, identify ways to foster more interdependent culture of leadership, and finally, identify obstacles preventing Nassau BOCES from achieving an interdependent culture.

Anthony Fierro:

Our strategy four is currently in the planning stages. And that is to conduct monthly networking forums where agency leaders with different positions, skills, and perspectives can gather to develop collective leadership practices that we can use to nurture an interdependent culture.

Anthony Fierro:

So that's a summary of our committee's efforts to date. We believe that in many respects, the work of this committee directly impacts and is interrelated to the work of all of the committees presenting tonight. And we're looking forward to working to further developing and expanding these leadership opportunities and strategies throughout the agency. So, I thank you for the opportunity to present the work of our committee. Thank you very much.

Bob Dillon:

[crosstalk 00:40:20] I'm sorry. So ahead, Susan.

Susan Bergtraum:

And I was going to say the same thing. Any questions from the board? Seeing none. Dr. Dillon.

Bob Dillon:

Okay. Angela, you had something to add to that?

Angela Marshall:

So, just to let you know that after we're... We will have a print version of what they're telling you tonight available at some point soon. The next presenter is Pam Christensen with the Future of Remote Work Subcommittee.

Pam Christensen:

Hello, everyone. And thank you for the time to speak about the committee exploring the future of remote work here at Nassau BOCES. The objective of this committee is to explore the feasibility parameters and implications of having some or all of our employees work remotely. We've met regularly since the inception of the committee with two subcommittees established for the first few months. One of those subcommittees was to address matters we identified that are specific to instructional remote work success. The other was to address matters specific to administrative remote work success.

Pam Christensen:

Meetings were held weekly with full meetings alternating weeks with subcommittee meetings. We've since come back together to work weekly as a full committee. In addition to productive and healthy discussion, the committee has reviewed subject related materials from multiple sources outside of our agency. The committee members have a strong commitment to this work and I'm very grateful for their enthusiastic participation.

Pam Christensen:

To date, we've arrived at a set of conclusions, some of which I will share with you tonight. First, the balance of committee time for the current year will be devoted to developing recommendations for remote work for the instructional and administrative groups to be used for emergency scenarios. For this purpose, emergency is defined as an agency-wide or building-wide event, which prompts the need for employees to work remotely. These recommendations will include such topics as communication approaches, meeting platforms, instructional platforms, necessary equipment and connectivity, training elements, et cetera, et cetera.

Pam Christensen:

Secondly, we've concluded that except in an emergency scenario, a full-time remote work model for all employees isn't a viable solution for either our instructional or administrative departments.

Pam Christensen:

And finally, we've determined that in a non-emergency environment, there are two remaining potential remote work models where they have future detailed exploration. The first is a flexible as needed remote work model, which may be advantageous for some employees of both administrative and instructional programs. Under this flexible structure, an employee would spend most of the time in the office, but be permitted to apply to work remotely on a specific approved day or set of days.

Pam Christensen:

The other is a fixed hybrid or split session remote work model that may be advantageous for some employees of the administrative programs. In this scenario, one group of employees would spend a specific set of two to three days in the office, alternating with another group in the office on the other two to three days. Seat space would be shared by two to three employees on alternating days, thus reducing the total amount of physical space required in the agency. The committee is thoughtfully considering the requirements for success, as well as the pros and cons for each of these approaches. In the interest of time, I won't go through those items tonight. But certainly, that information will be included in conjunction with any future recommendations on this topic.

Pam Christensen:

There are some key items of particular concern to the committee members, which I'd like to mention in closing. This is certainly not a complete list of considerations, but an indication of the current primary ones. First, what are the benefits to the agency, districts, and students of any approach we're evaluating? Secondly, how will our customers perceive a move toward remote work? Our taxpayers, our internal departments, and of course our component districts. We need to make a differentiation between what can be done remotely and what should be done remotely. Just because it can be done remotely, doesn't necessarily mean it should be. And if we do go forward with some version of remote work, there's a need for highly effective communication methodologies and expectations. A clear, well-defined decision-making structure for determining what employees qualify for remote work must be established. It's a complicated task to decide who may work remotely and who may not. And all parties must understand the elements of that decision-making. This is a dense and complex undertaking for which we will continue our exploration and look forward to preparing structured recommendations.

Pam Christensen:

In closing, I'd like to thank the committee members once again, including Dr. Dillon, Chris Reinertsen, Susan McNulty, Marsha Barnett, Cliff Steinberg, Selma Stoddard, [Matt Wichebi 00:45:25], Jean Gribbins, MaryAnn Sidoti, Kelly Piazza, Sandeep Dhillon, Angela Marshall, Lori Gross, TJ Michon, Monica Savino, Marion Fine, and Sue Cohen. And contrary to what that list might suggest, there are some other very fine people on the other committees. But in any case, thank you very much for your time.

Bob Dillon:

Thank you, Pam.

Susan Bergtraum:

And Mrs. Coates, question or a comment? Mrs. Coates.

Deborah Coates:

Yeah, probably. So, Pam, when you said complicated task, I can't imagine how that must be for you to try to figure out how you would see the come up with a hybrid model of remote working or... I just commend your committee, thinking that you guys probably have a really tough task ahead of you, trying to figure out what this is going to entail. Because I know from family and friends who are now working remotely, how that feels, and yet we all know that having a cup of coffee in the coffee room with your fellow coworkers is always a great way of exchanging ideas and things like that. But I appreciate that Nassau BOCES is taking this on and is working on this topic as a [inaudible 00:46:58] and along with all of the others, of course.

Pam Christensen:

Thank you. You're quite right. The number of elements that have to be considered as we're looking at how to approach this is quite remarkable. But it's fascinating work. It really is.

Deborah Coates:

Sure. Okay.

Speaker 1:

[inaudible 00:47:20] Seeing no one else. Angela.

Angela Marshall:

Thank you. Next is Dr. Theodorou with our leveling the playing field for all students' subgroup.

Dr. Carla Theodorou:

Good evening. I would like to thank the board for the opportunity to share our committee's work on leveling the playing field, and to thank our committee members: Kathleen Bulfin-Rella, Peter Dalton, Dr. Patrick Dunphy, Thomas Roccanova, Dr. Christine Rogutsky, Theresa Schaefer-Bell, and Don Brosnan. Our committee members met several times over the fall and winter since we began this process and we discussed a wide range of topics. We were all over the place with many idea.

PART 2 OF 4 ENDS [00:48:04]

Dr. Carla Theodorou:

... Ex, we were all over the place with many ideas about how to level the playing field for our students. We were able to identify three key challenges to leveling the playing field that we felt were the most important and warranted further research. The first key challenge we discussed is supporting digital equity and making sure that both Nassau BOCES students have all equitable access to technology, bandwidth, and access to quality remote instruction, and especially now in the time of COVID-19. Many families do not have adequate bandwidth, not all families have the technical skills to support their students at home, some of our most vulnerable students are non-verbal or unable to use technology. How do we support their needs? How do we help the kids catch up if they suffer from digital inequity and fall behind. Many big questions for us to further study.

Dr. Carla Theodorou:

Our second challenge that we focused on was breaking down language barriers for our students and improving access to translators and program materials for parents and teachers in Spanish and other prevalent languages in our community. Many of these challenges are more prevalent in our full day special education programs, but they also impact CTE and adult education to some degree. While BOCES has good translation services, great, available, funding for that is not unlimited for all the schools and all the districts. We do not have enough interpreters for family communication and many times students serve as interpreters for their own families.

Dr. Carla Theodorou:

Many special education children cannot translate for their parents in cases where parents need an interpreter. Many children with language barriers sit through classes taught in English which they don't fully understand, and then listen to an interpreter. It's almost like taking a second translate class. We also believe that the barriers to access are not limited to the classroom. We frequently have callers to our central offices who don't speak English as a first language and need a translator and our agency doesn't have a large number of bilingual staff. Again, lots of big challenges to focus on.

Dr. Carla Theodorou:

Our third challenge was making sure that our programs and teachers are prepared to serve students of different cultural backgrounds, different learning styles and abilities. It's important that our teachers and staff receive training to support students' social-emotional learning and academic needs. As we heard from many committees and from earlier presentation for GC Tech, mental health support is more important than ever and we need to focus on our students as well as our staff. Not all staff think they need to know more about cultural diversity and that's something that we should focus on. Nassau BOCES has also has many professional learning opportunities through CIT and My Learning Plan, but a big challenge for our program leaders is finding the time in the busy day and week and year to have that professional learning opportunity available to their staff.

Dr. Carla Theodorou:

We believe that the need for cultural literacy extends to all of our staff and not just our teachers. These were all big ideas and we realize we need to do a lot more research and consider this year almost a needs assessment year. But in conclusion, as we listened to our other committees, we saw that there were many parallels to the work of our committee to those committees. And we want to continue to explore the topics, hopefully to develop very specific and concrete goals for the agency to address these key areas that we've discussed. Thank you for the opportunity and have a good evening.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Thank you Carla.

Susan Bergtraum:

Any comments?

Martin Kaye:

I guess my question was a little bit, Carla you just sort of touched on it at the end, that what happens, who's watching out and when do you start to determine when these responsibilities to committee start to bleed into one another? And at some point, is it going to be an interim kind of report to the board and the superintendent or final report at some point? Do you have a schedule at this point?

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Eric, I'm thinking you have to be able to schedule. Again, these are works in progress and as a result of what happened during the pandemic, they were bleeding to each other, I don't think there's anything. Personally, I'm not a fan of silos and I think there's interconnectivity with these particular challenges. And I see us, again, I don't see if there's any finality to it, I think they will grow and expand but I think we have to adjust according to what the environment is. So I think we're probably keeping periodic updates of where we are on certain situations, I think that's probably, my opinion, the best way to go. We have a lot of human capital investment. Excuse me, thank you.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

We have a tremendous amount of capital from the agency invested in these discussions. It has a wide sweep of the entire agency, including our labor leaders who have joined us in again, taking a look at the agency and doing some reflection on where we are and what we're doing. And so again, I think these should be, in my opinion, ongoing.

Martin Kaye:

Well, I understand that. But what you just said there's a need to come back to at least myself, and I'm sure all the members of the board would like to see something tangible in where you are, what kind of issues you've, I don't want to use the word uncover, what kind of issues presented themselves, what kind of solutions you're dealing with? [crosstalk 00:54:11] I'm not happy with just periodic updates. I want to sell uptake [crosstalk 00:54:16].

Dr. Robert Dillon:

I think what we're looking for measured-

Martin Kaye:

[crosstalk 00:54:19] capital we have.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

What you're looking for, in my opinion, is our measurable objectives. And I think Carla said it, in my opinion, the best. This is first like a needs assessment of where we are. And I said, as a result of that, we're going to have to come up with some objectives. Each of the committees will come up with some measurable objectives. And then over time we come back and say, "Have we met these objectives? Were they easily met or can we challenge ourselves?" This whole exercise here has been a challenge. No, I can't think of ever before, I know in the five years I've been here, that we've stretched ourselves in this capacity.

Dr. Carla Theodorou:

[inaudible 00:54:57].

Martin Kaye:

Let me just say, one second Carla, I understand that. And I think as you go along, the board would appreciate sort of putting myself out there on behalf of my colleagues, at least written kind of updates. When you see needs, what are the needs assessments? Then what are your goals? We need to be involved.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Measurable objectives, I agree with you.

Angela Marshall:

[crosstalk 00:55:19].

Dr. Robert Dillon:

I'm sorry Angela.

Angela Marshall:

It's okay. There'll be a report very soon with what we're sharing with you tonight, a written document that we'll share with you very soon. For me, I had to get to this point where all the groups were sort of past this point where they've done a lot of needs assessment already. So now they know better where they're going. So we'll get that to you very soon and we'll update you as we go along. One thing that I didn't mention during the intro is, so these individual groups are meeting by themselves, but then once a month, we all come together to meet as one big group. And two of the groups at each of those meetings present their findings and get feedback from the larger group.

Angela Marshall:

And so that's how as we present and we get this additional information from each other, that's where we're seeing these ties, that all the groups are tied together in some way, shape or form. So there is a lot of synergy happening with these groups that I think we'll be able to eliminate any overlap as we go along. So, Carla, did you have anything you wanted to add?

Dr. Carla Theodorou:

I didn't want people to think that when we talk about this year being a needs assessment year, that a lot of work didn't happen. What happened in our communities was that we had a range of people from different departments working together, having conversations about many issues. And as we talked, we actually had built several action items. So we shared information between CIT and special education. We've had principals' meetings in both special education and RSIP to spread information for our principals about language translation services. Don Bosnian wasn't an original member of our committee.

Dr. Carla Theodorou:

As we spoke about the different issues we realized, let's tap into some of the resources we have here at Nassau BOCES. We invited him to be part of the committee and started coming up with smaller action items that all of us as program leaders, executive directors and principals could do. So the work has begun. It's not that we're just talking in theory about things and we're not doing anything. What we're thinking is that these are bigger picture items. We can only down level some small parts of it, but as an agency I think it's important for us to do the bigger needs assessment, to think about ways that the entire agency can address the problem. So I agree with you, Mr. Shultz, that we have to come up with something tangible and concrete. But I'm also saying that some of that work is already starting at the ground level through BOCES.

Martin Kaye:

I appreciate that, and I know that it's been started we just heard, but we have no idea what it is, what you're finding. It's the old saying that people have solutions to problems and then they try to find out whether there's a problem. That's endemic in just about every organization I've seen. So I think, at least I want to see something that says, "Here's where we're going, here's what we're doing." I think that's the least that we're entitled to as board.

Dr. Carla Theodorou:

Absolutely [inaudible 00:58:29].

Susan Bergtraum:

Any other.

Angela Marshall:

Thank you Shultz.

Susan Bergtraum:

You can take it away, Angela, since it doesn't look like there's anybody else. So, continue please.

Angela Marshall:

Great. Now I have to introduce Dr. D'Aguanno to speak about the subcommittee, improving hiring outcomes. Dr. D'Aguanno.

Dr. Valerie D'Aguanno:

Good evening, thank you very much for the opportunity to discuss our committee's work. We could be like the odd duck committee. Our committee consisted of Dr. Roxanne France, Yvette Allen-Campbell, Barbara Longo, Charlie Corello, Kyle [Uman 00:59:08], Kelly Piazza and Liz Calabrese. The hiring process committee had a dual objective. First, we spent a lot of time carefully evaluating the hiring processes of both certified and classified staff.

Dr. Valerie D'Aguanno:

The human resource department is caught between two very major bureaucracies; that of civil service and the state education department. However, we determined that we can make progress and move forward by working closely with civil service to affect change where possible, and working with all departments to make sure we're hiring the right talent and titles.

Dr. Valerie D'Aguanno:

Moving forward, we're looking at four hiring outcomes. These include jobs, and within the jobs we're looking at job analysis criteria and groups that we will be looking at. The selection tools we're going to look at assessment, fit and interviews. Outcomes, we want to take a look at turnover, diversity, which may overlap on the other committee slightly and performance, and then data, and take a look at ratings. We look forward to bringing you information about our future progress in the hiring outcome area. Thank you very much.

Susan Bergtraum:

Fran.

Fran Langsner:

I was just wondering, do you think that the possibility of embracing a hybrid model of work would expand the catchment area from which we can hire? My there be people out there who live further out than would typically want to come to work in person every day at a location in Nassau County, but the option of not having to be there every day might make it possible to hire people who live geographically further away.

Dr. Valerie D'Aguanno:

That's a possibility, but when we're looking at classified staff, we are still restricted because of civil service they still have to live in Nassau County. So unless they're on the outskirts, unless they're in Valley Stream and they're in Saiosi, and they're like in the corners of Nassau County, we still have to hire within Nassau County. So we're still restricted in that area. And as for certified staff, those would be either our administrators or our teachers. So if our students are in-person, we want our teachers to be in-person. And we can not hire somebody who's certified. So that's where I said, we're stuck between the state education department, where we have the office of teaching initiatives which says you have to have somebody certified in the classroom. Right.

Fran Langsner:

Okay.

Pam Christensen:

If I may, I think Dr. D'Aguanno's points are very well taken, but I also think Mrs. Langsner you're on to something because there's an element of not only proximity, but a very good likelihood that in order for us to remain competitive for certain kinds of talent, if the work world goes the way it looks like it's going to, with a significant percentage working remotely even after this is over, please let that be soon. Then in order to be competitive, it is likely that we will have to at least give strong consideration to the risk benefit of a remote work arrangement.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Yeah, and Fran I'd also like to add, we're hoping that civil service enters the 21st pretty soon with an understanding that there should be the capacity to have no borders anymore. With technology, and right now we have restrictions, but I know state aid we've discussed it at district superintendents meetings that you can have a much richer curriculum by bringing in the brightest thing best from anywhere in the world to provide instruction. But we're limited right now by some education law, by some restrictions, and New York is a very litigious state and we're very unionized. But somewhere along the line, that has to be a meeting of the minds. I think it will come, hopefully sooner rather than later

Fran Langsner:

We shall see.

Susan Bergtraum:

Any other comments? Okay, Angela.

Angela Marshall:

Great, next I'd like to introduce Dr. Nicolino, who is going to speak about the work of our subcommittee on leading with a social conscience.

Dr. Peter Nicolino:

Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to share with you the great work of the social conscious group. We are a small but mighty group consisting of Mrs. Judy Heinz, Ms. Shaundrika Langley-Grey and myself. Our goal is to establish an open and welcoming culture that can identify and eliminate a systemic bias that may exist within Nassau BOCES and to operationalize our learning, to provide leadership and learning on culturally and socially relevant professional development courses, policies, and practices. It is our objective to have Nassau BOCES staff participate in thought exchanges and webinars that focus on working well with diverse individuals and to encourage a greater understanding and acceptance of the views and perspectives of all stakeholders within the agency. The committee has taken steps to educate themselves through available webinars and courses, such as the Adelphi University certificate program on diversity, equity and inclusion. We've also conducted two thought exchanges and have begun working on a four-year plan on diversity equity inclusion or the agency.

Dr. Peter Nicolino:

Our latest thought exchange yielded some great information. We asked our employees, what are some of the topics around diversity, equity and inclusion that you would like to see in group webinar sessions and why? 231 employees participated, 128 thoughts were shared, close to 3000 ratings were given on those thoughts. We asked how our employees would rate their own knowledge and comfort with diversity equity and inclusion. 42% feel very competent and comfortable, while 31% have a good understanding. That's a majority of our staff. 15% have gaps in their knowledge and 12% of the respondents believe this is all new to them as an employee. We then asked, "Do you have any stories you would be willing to share?" 16% said yes, 43% said no and 41% are unsure.

Dr. Peter Nicolino:

What emerged from the thought exchange were three themes that our employees want to know more about. Socio economic issues for poverty stricken students and families was number one, benefits of diversity was second, understanding different cultures was third. We look forward to sharing more of these results with you in the future, and thank you again for the opportunity to present our work to you. Any questions?

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you. Questions? Thoughts? Okay, Angela.

Dr. Peter Nicolino:

Great, we have one final subcommittee to report. It's the subcommittee committed to keeping mental health at the forefront. The chair of that committee is Laverne Mitchell. Tonight, you will be hearing from Audre Midura. Audra.

Deborah Coates:

Good evening. The mental health and wellness sub committee was charged with keeping mental health in the forefront. Committee members include; Laverne Mitchell our chair, Ken Krug, Beverly Forgash, Kelly Fendley, Christine Fleming, Jeffrey Debold, Lyndon Mans before she retired and myself Audre Midura. Our key objectives were to provide tools and resources for Nassau BOCES' staff to provide professional development and other resources to districts, connect students and parents with resources to promote wellness, and raise awareness and reduce stigma around mental health. Our action plan was to find ways to communicate as many mental health and wellness resources to staff, parents, and students as possible and stress how important mental health and wellbeing is to all of us.

Deborah Coates:

Our committee has been meeting weekly. At first, our work was centered around planning for the reopening of school and we created a presentation for superintendent's conference day in September that mostly focused on stress management, grief and loss, the need for self care and the importance of socialization and ideas of how to be social while still being distant. We also asked the agency staff to participate in a thought exchange. We asked, "What are some types of activities that you would like to see in order to support self care over the 2021 school year?"

Deborah Coates:

Some of the responses were increased use of outside spaces, taking fresh air breaks, availability of applications like Calm or Headspace, the desire for relaxation spaces, Zen dens or chill out chambers, time in the day designated for mindfulness and relaxation practices. Then in order to set the foundation for the importance of mental health and how to cope with the stress of leading through a crisis, we engaged two of our PD partners, David Hymowitz and Eric Cousin from #SameHere, to present to the administrative cabinet. Their presentation covered the importance of executive leadership to keep mental health at the forefront and offered strategies to support staff, stressing that everyone has experienced some level of stress and trauma over the past year.

Deborah Coates:

Through individual conversations with agency executive leadership, we found that the facility staff may not have had the opportunity to participate in the initial thought exchange, and that their mental health and wellness needs were not collected. We created another thought exchange and organized a self care and wellness workshop presented by the educator assistance program. These opportunities to meet with departments have provided us with different perspectives, needs, strengths, and challenges that each department may have. It has also made clear the importance of having periodic check-ins, and to have very departmental representation on our committee to ensure that the mental health and wellness supports we offer are being communicated to the entire agency.

Deborah Coates:

We have offered many programs and supports to districts and Nassau BOCES staff through partnerships with organizations and community resources. One such newly formed partnership with Calm, allowed staff to receive a holiday gift of a self care and mental fitness resource packet. We also formed collegial circles for student support staff. Like social worker, counselor, and psychologist circles that meet regularly and are well attended by both district and Nassau BOCES staff members. Numerous presentations on a variety of mental health issues such as trauma and stress management have been offered and attended by district staff and Nassau BOCES as well. These programs have been offered to parents in our special education program with great attendance. It seems the virtual environment is a great way to reach more families.

Deborah Coates:

We have connected districts and Nassau BOCES departments to resources for their needs, including social-emotional learning plans and instructional materials, recorded workshops and other resources. The Nassau BOCES programs have started the integration of restorative practice and restorative justice setting the foundation for more effective and positive adult student interactions and relationships. And finally, we're excited to be working with Dr. Steven Dewey, who is moderating a group of outstanding teachers, administrators, and support personnel from across Long Island to create an introduction...

PART 3 OF 4 ENDS [01:12:04]

Deborah Coates:

And support personnel from across Long Island to create an introduction to neuroscience course for high school students. The goal of this course is to create an interest in high school aged kids to learn about brain and behavioral sciences, perhaps creating a new generation of neuroscientists, psychiatrists and behaviorists. With funding, budgeting and spending projected to increase in the areas of mental and behavioral health and realizing that the COVID crisis has exponentially increased the need for a variety of mental health and substance abuse supports, our committee understands that our work will continue. The need is a parent, as well as the interest in brain and behavioral health. It seems that the pandemic has removed some of the stigma around mental health. There is an increased desire for self care and overall health and mental fitness, as well as an acknowledgement that social-emotional learning is just as important as academic skill mastery. And so our work continues. Thank you for the opportunity to share our committee's work with you tonight.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you. Any questions? Ms. Coates.

Deborah Coates:

It's not really a question. It's more a comment. I know that mental health and behavioral health has been so difficult. And again, you guys, all of the committees, you have monumental tests front of you. You know, one of the things that we have personally seen is the increase in, unfortunately in suicides and overdose. You know, my husband recently went to three in one week, a few wakes of young people who have overdosed or whatever. So I just, I'm glad to see that this is a part of what you guys have decided to take on because like you said, it is, I read it there. The need is apparent. And, and I believe that the pandemic has removed the stigma and hopefully we'll be heading towards a better place. Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

Any other comments, if not, we thank you all for your work. And we look forward to...

Susan Bergtraum:

Ms. Langsner. You're on mute, Fran.

Fran Langsner:

You know, when Dr. Dillion said, "You never let a good crisis go to waste," he was absolutely correct. I mean, this is the kind of work that we had been moving towards, all of it. You know, over time, but certainly living in COVID world has shown us the need to accelerate this process for all of these different committees, so that not only for our own agency, but as a model for all of our districts, because we don't know when the next crisis is going to arrive. I heard the other day that another pandemic is not something that is going to be in our imaginations. It could be very real because of the way we interact in the world today. So having moving forward with this kind of work and having these models in place to meet any challenges that come our way, it's amazing. So I thank all of you.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Thank you. You're most welcome.

Susan Bergtraum:

And just before I think I'm going to follow up maybe in a different way, then Mr. Schultz expressed it, but that we do want to continue to hear about this so that we feel like we're in the loop. And that we don't question that we are assured. There are no quick... That we are assured that as an agency we are doing and you are doing what we would hope would be done. And it's just that kind of making sure that we know where we are as an agency. So I do thank everybody who's working on this and Angela for being Angela and bravo to you all. So with that, Angela, do you have anything else that you would like to contribute? You're you're good?

Dr. Robert Dillon:

I'd like to thank Angela and the entire staff. I mean, this has been quite an undertaking during the pandemic, so we've been moving right along with any. This is the point in time where we had an opportunity and some information to share our work in progress with the board.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you, Dr. Dillion.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay, moving on. May I have a motion for the consent agenda? Thank you, Ms. Coates. Second, Ms. Langsner. Is there any discussion? I think somebody wanted a separate-

Susan Bergtraum:

Mr. Weinick.

Michael Weinick:

I would like page 9 of the PAR report pulled for a separate vote.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. Okay, so may I have-

Fran Langsner:

I just have a question, not that specific... It's specific, but not... I don't need an urgent answer, but on the consent agenda, other the Touro agreement, it's a clinic that has to do with a student teaching when we have cooperating teachers who accept student teachers, and I'm not clear because we've had others. What benefit accrues to BOCES? It doesn't seem to have in the contracts. Do some of our teachers get stipends depending on the university that's sending students? I don't know if any of our teachers get credits at the universities that send teachers. I'd like to just have, in general, a clarification of what the relationship is between the sending institution and the BOCES when it comes to student teaching.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Can you respond to that, Ken?

Ken Kroog:

I sure can. Yeah, the Touro agreement. Touro is one of the colleges that doesn't offer those fantastic perks to the cooperating teacher or the cooperating administrator, which we really appreciate when they do such as the college course for no credit or in some rare cases, a stipend for the teacher. That's not something they do, but we found that our department engaging in these partnerships, so to speak, does provide benefits for our department overall in the area of recruiting. We get to see some new teachers in the field, especially in high need areas, bilingual idols, math and science teachers. It also affords us the opportunity to bring new educators into the field with the training, the best practices that we can impart on them.

Ken Kroog:

For Touro, this was actually brought about by an ENL teacher who I reached out to our principal at CCA and the one other point that I want to make is that it is a voluntary and optional arrangement. So no teacher would be compelled to be a cooperating teacher. We found that a lot of teachers will step up because they want the opportunity to mentor or they're interested in leadership in some way. So they benefit in that, in that type of realm.

Fran Langsner:

Because sometimes the motivation is to get that course credit, but obviously there are benefits beyond that kind of arrangement.

Ken Kroog:

Yeah, of course credit is fantastic when that's part of the policy and a lot of colleges do that. We engage in some agreements with them quickly.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. So with that, I now need a motion to accept the consented gender, except for page nine on the PAR. So I'm going to go back and ask for that motion.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you. Second? Mr. Schoen, thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

Any other discussion? If not, all in favor? Opposed? Abstained? Okay. Motion carries.

Susan Bergtraum:

All right, so now I need a motion for page nine on the PAR. Thank you, Ms. Coates. Second, Mr. Schoen, thank you. Any discussion?

Michael Weinick:

Yes.

Susan Bergtraum:

Mr. Weiner?

Michael Weinick:

I think the world of our policy staff, they are wonderful individuals, dedicated workers doing a fantastic job, but, and there's a very big but. We have to understand the economic times of the day. Until the dust settles, we see what the state budget is and understand the economic situation of our component districts. I can't endorse any salary increases at this time. Nassau BOCES does not operate in a vacuum. We have to be cognizant of the world real world around us. So therefore we'd be staying on this [inaudible 01:22:16].

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. Any other comments?

Susan Bergtraum:

Would that all in favor of PAR page nine. Opposed? Abstained? Mr. Weinick. Okay.

Susan Bergtraum:

So Joyce, you have the A zero one. Okay. All right.

Susan Bergtraum:

Next, can I have a motion on additional agenda items? May I have a motion? Thank you, Mrs. Coates. Second? Thank you, Mr. Schoen. Okay.

Susan Bergtraum:

Any discussion?

Susan Bergtraum:

All in favor?

Michael Weinick:

Wait one second. I have to double check something on the minutes.

Michael Weinick:

Okay, go ahead.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

All in favor. Opposed? Abstained? Okay. Item passes.

Susan Bergtraum:

Moving on to information. Does anybody have any comments, questions on information items? And there is no virtual clipboard tonight, just in case anybody was looking for it.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay....

Larry Greenstein:

At some point when we're back in person, I'd like to actually sit down with some people and go over the report card just to understand what every item means. I sort of got the gist of it, but I'd like a little more specificity when we can do it easily.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. So noted. Dr. Dillion, are you going to say yes...

Dr. Robert Dillon:

You know, Larry, we can, if your schedule permits, we can have so many executive directors sit down and it's basically a promotional type of situation where, as I understand it, the BOCES got together and had one collective data gathering thing that can be used. For example, when we are in BOCES lobby day. But if you just call the office, call Jessica up and we'll schedule something, so we can do a Zoom meeting and answer any questions you have with it or anybody else for that matter.

Larry Greenstein:

It'll be after April 15th. But yeah, I'll do that. Thanks.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. Dr. Dillion's superintendents report.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Okay, yeah. Just very briefly. Angela is going to present. We did a survey of vaccinations for any agency for our employees. And I'd like to give you guys an update where we are with vaccinations of our employees. Angela.

Angela Marshall:

Sure. So we sent out a survey to roughly 4,000 email addresses. So some of those email addresses are not people, but just for purposes of understanding of the survey, I assume around 4,000 employees and we heard back from 819 of them. So that's roughly a 20% response rate, which is pretty good to give us a grounding of where we are with our vaccinations. Of those...

Angela Marshall:

Sorry, a piece of paper is on the computer, so I had to find it again. About 512 are either fully or partially vaccinated with plans to be vaccinated. So 62% of the people who responded are partially or fully vaccinated and another 87 at that time had an appointment scheduled and another 115 had planned to be vaccinated. Now this data is as of March 18th, several people told me that their vaccination status changed between the time they first answered the survey and when we closed it, because people were getting appointments and they were going and getting vaccinated the next day or that weekend. So the numbers have only improved since then.

Angela Marshall:

Of note, we have of the 819 who participated 89 are not planning to be vaccinated, so that's about 11% of those who responded. So we will need to do a bit of a campaign highlighting the benefits of the vaccination. We do not att this point, there are no legal requirements for anyone to be vaccinated, but we will be making sure that everyone knows the benefits. Any questions?

Deborah Coates:

What about the board, Mrs. Angela? I know you did. I did hear back from six of our nine board members. Five are fully vaccinated and one will be fully vaccinated as of April 2nd. So majority of the board is vaccinated. I see Mr. Kaye.

Martin Kaye:

Angela, I will have my second shot on Monday and then Barbara wants me to take a distemper shot as well.

Susan Bergtraum:

And you do have me in that list, right? Angela?

Angela Marshall:

I do.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. I just want to make sure that.

Ronald Ellerbe:

Angela?

Angela Marshall:

Yeah.

Ronald Ellerbe:

As of the 31st, I'll have my second vaccine.

Angela Marshall:

Perfect. Thank you.

Eric Schultz:

Angela, I don't know if you have me. I'm done.

Angela Marshall:

You're done? Great.

Angela Marshall:

Oh, so we're as of... I don't know what the... I think the second, it might be our last shot and then the whole board is fully vaccinated two weeks after that.

Angela Marshall:

[crosstalk 01:28:25]

Deborah Coates:

Michael.

Michael Weinick:

I'm the last one, April 2nd.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

No comment.

Michael Weinick:

Angela, thank you very much.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

And that concludes the report, Susan.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay.

Susan Bergtraum:

Joyce, was there any citizen who wanted to be heard?

Joyce Nolan:

Not at all.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. Then moving right along.

Susan Bergtraum:

Old business. Is there any old business that anybody wants to comment on?

Susan Bergtraum:

Seeing nobody. Any new business before we go to, if there was a foundation. Mr. Weinick.

Michael Weinick:

At some point before the organizational meeting in July, I'd like a discussion or the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association. Reevaluating and assessing our membership and what the organization does at this point, other than being a fraternal order of camaraderie, I would like to know what we get for our dues and whether we should continue being a member of that organization.

Susan Bergtraum:

All right. We'll put that on as an agenda and I'll go on. I'll just...

Michael Weinick:

Just put it on between now and July.

Susan Bergtraum:

Right.

Susan Bergtraum:

Mrs. Coates.

Deborah Coates:

And it's really not a board business, but it's about work on board colleagues. I'd like to congratulate Mr. Ellerbe on his reelection.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. Right.

Ronald Ellerbe:

Well, thank you. Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

I think he has now breathed a sigh of relief. This is... You know... And Freeport has shown what a bright community they are.

B.A. Schoen:

Congratulations or condolences.

Susan Bergtraum:

Whichever, but at least the community is bright. We don't know about you, Ron, if we're sending you our condolences, but the community at least is bright enough.

Susan Bergtraum:

Mr. Schultz.

Eric Schultz:

Can we get an update on candidates for the board?

Susan Bergtraum:

There are no other candidates other than the three seated board members running.

Eric Schultz:

And is the last day past?

Susan Bergtraum:

Yes. March 22nd was the last day.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay.

Susan Bergtraum:

All right. That being said, Joyce, from now on, just put that next year's list of making sure the whole board is updated. My apologies for not realizing that you had all not been informed, why you should have been. I did it, but we'll, we'll make sure that in the coming years that just on the daily update of just saying whether or not anybody else has applied for, or been nominated for a seat on the board.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay, is there a foundation report? Has there been a meeting?

B.A. Schoen:

No.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. So there is no foundation report. All right, then with that, I'm going to ask for a motion to go into executive session to discuss with council acquisition sale, at least a real property, or the proposed acquisition of securities, the sale or exchange of securities held by such public body, but only when publicity would substantially affect the value thereof.

Susan Bergtraum:

And with that, before I say, there is no intended vote when we come out of executive session. So there would be no reason for anybody who's viewing us through Zoom to stay because they will be no other... [crosstalk 01:32:34] before us.

Susan Bergtraum:

Yes. So would that... Larry, did you have anything or were you moving?

Larry Greenstein:

No, I was just moving.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

So motion to go into executive session by Mr. Greenstein. Second? Thank you, Mrs. Langsner. Any other discussion? If not all in favor. Opposed. Abstained.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. We will be moving into executive session and I totally forgot to congratulate Mea Culpa, Joanna [inaudible 01:33:11] on her promotion. So I'm doing it now. On her promotion to a cabinet position of assistant director of special ed, on the promotions of Steve Jacobs, Vincent LaRusso and Lee Thomas [inaudible 01:33:25]. They have been promoted. And our thanks to Anne Marie Watrous on her retirement. She was in the business office and was... You know, when you say not irreplaceable, but irreplaceable, and she's working with her replacement. So many thanks to her for her years of service to us. And with that, we will now go into executive session. And for the rest of you have a wonderful evening.

PART 4 OF 4 ENDS [01:33:55]

 

Transcript of March 11, 2021, Board meeting

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you, Mrs. Nolan. I welcome everybody to the March 11, 2021 meeting for all of you who are watching us on Zoom. Welcome, and thank you for your service and just know, everybody who is attached to this agency that this board does keep up with what is affecting you and Dr. Dillon reports to us on how we're trying to help with vaccinations or staff and how you're feeling and what the climate is. So with that, we thank you again. And may I have a motion to approve the minutes of February 11th?

Deborah Coates:

Don't move.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you, Mrs. Coates. Second, Mrs. Langsner. Any discussion? Seeing none, all in favor?

Audience:

Aye.

Susan Bergtraum:

Opposed? Abstain? Thank you minutes are approved or accepted. Dr. Dillon, presentations.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

We have two presentations this evening, but before I introduce the first presentation for those who haven't met Jessica Santos, Jessica is with us this evening. Jessica is the replacement-

Susan Bergtraum:

Wave Jessica.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

... with Theresa, otherwise known-

Jessica Santos:

Hi, everyone.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

... as Lydia's twin sister. You know what I'm saying? For those who remember. Having said that we welcome Jessica.

Eric Schultz:

Those who remember?

Susan Bergtraum:

How quickly we forget.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

And you are? That's right. The immediate pass, I've forgot for a moment, immediate pass.

Eric Schultz:

[Baabu 00:02:06].

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Baabu, right. First presentation is from special ed. Susan McNulty has some of her colleagues with us. Now let Susan take over. Susan.

Susan McNulty:

Thank you. Good evening, everyone. I'm going to ask Ken to start. He's going to share our presentation. Fantastic. All right, everyone can see our presentation. Great. So this evening, our team is very excited to share with you, how our programs have been meeting our students' social and emotional needs, teaching SEL skills through a multi-disciplinary approach.

Susan McNulty:

In the fall, we shared a focus presentation on the social emotional strategies our programs had been and were planning to use with our students. Tonight, Ms. Shaundrika Langley-Grey and Mr. Matthews Zegers, the principles of the Jerusalem Avenue School and the Rosemary Kennedy School, will show how their staff have been teaching SEL skills to their students.

Ken Kroog:

Social emotional learning is a component of our learning plan and one that we take pride in. Social emotional learning has the power to improve outcomes for our students in a number of areas, including academic achievement, positive social relationships, the reduction of stress and anxiety. The skills that students gain from social emotional learning in the areas of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. These support the students whether in school also when they eventually leave us through graduation or go back to district for their future lives.

Ken Kroog:

So in our department we have been expanding our social emotional learning curriculum to ensure that we're meeting the needs of our students, especially in this very complex and difficult time with the current pandemic. Over this past summer, we convened a multidisciplinary curriculum team with teachers and psychologists, administrators from across our departments.

Ken Kroog:

And the objective of the team was to review a pilot [crosstalk 00:04:25] eventually adopt social emotional curriculum and programming for our programs to enhance our programs and to refine our practices already in place in this particular area. Some of the criteria that we utilize in this committee were the ability to deliver the content remotely.

Ken Kroog:

So using technology, the integration of technology to serve students who were on a remote accommodation and in person in our schools. Also the alignment to standards, New York State standards and the CASEL standards for social emotional learning were critical elements in the decision-making process.

Ken Kroog:

Quaver SEL is a social emotional learning curriculum that our committee eventually selected and adopted for a number of our programs on the elementary and then our upper elementary, and middle school classes. So this particular product really met our criteria for social emotional learning products, because it's interactive, it's highly motivating and very engaging to the students. It includes music, movement activities, videos. It's also sequenced so that teachers can follow along in the sequence of steps, content units, or it's flexible that they could pick and choose what's needed for their class.

Ken Kroog:

Another important element is this remote element, this technology integration piece, where it could be utilized in the classroom but also at home for the remote students and for parents to incorporate it into their families. Either while students are on remote, or for homework. Just a regular daily kind of cycle. So these are some of the reasons that we went with this program and we included it in our repertoire of social emotional learning curriculum.

Susan McNulty:

Now Ms. Langley-Grey will share how her program has been implementing SEL into the classrooms at Jerusalem Avenue.

Shaundrika Langley-Grey:

Thank you, Susan. Good evening, everyone. I am delighted to represent our school at tonight's board meeting. At our very first Jerusalem Avenue reopening team meeting over the summer that consisted of parents, teachers, related service providers and administrators. We opened with reading Daniel Santat's book, after the fall. Everyone knows story of Humpty Dumpty and how he had a great fall, but this tale follows what happens afterwards. Essentially, it brings light to how Humpty Dumpty could no longer do many of the things he loved to do most. So the biggest question that we had for that book is, how would Humpty Dumpty summon the courage to face his fears?

Shaundrika Langley-Grey:

It was a massive [inaudible 00:07:21] book that reminded us that life begins when you get back up again. This nursery rhyme began our team's journey. What would we grip there and trauma of returning to school and what we needed to support our students, families and staff? Well, I keep disappearing. Families and staff as they return to our building, to help build a sense of belonging.

Shaundrika Langley-Grey:

Quaver is the tool we use to leverage our SEL work. We know the benefits of connection, relationship, and routines that aid us in our work with students. These daily morning meetings, for both our in-person and our remote students reinforce each student's connection to themselves, fellow students and the classroom team. It also helps us to set a tone for the day, the lessons from Quaver embed opportunities to promote social emotional lessons into the fabric of our school day. It also helps our teams support students in building skills seamlessly across the content area, from the classroom to the therapist's office, within the context of a positive learning environment.

Shaundrika Langley-Grey:

Each Quaver lesson, as Ken said, has a varying degree of activities for each lesson. The time can range from 10 minutes to 30 minutes, depending on the skill that's being covered. And this flexible lesson pacing allows for activities to be sequenced or divided into shorter activities.

Shaundrika Langley-Grey:

Establishing and maintaining these connections are critical. As our school attempts to reach every student, particularly those who may be our most vulnerable due to trauma or disengagement. Quaver is our multidisciplinary approach at Jerusalem Avenue. You are about to witness a video. And in the video, you will see a snapshot of the collective and collaborative work done during our morning SEL periods.

Shaundrika Langley-Grey:

Our classroom and out of classroom teachers, guidance counselors, school psychologists, our school social worker and building administrative team collectively work together to build and support these skills. We want our students to become the next generation of leaders. So today we develop these skills to help their self in social awareness, relationship building and thoughtful decision-making that supports their growth in today's increasingly global and digital society. Please enjoy the video.

Camilla:

It says I believe in you.

Speaker 30:

[inaudible 00:10:07].

Camilla:

Awesome. Good guess Camilla. [crosstalk 00:10:11].

Speaker 31:

Just to think about it one more time. Before we reflect, let's take a moment to get a body still and our voices quiet. Sometimes I might...

Speaker 32:

[inaudible 00:10:22] What do you need to do? Three things we're working on, following.

Speaker 33:

Following direction.

Speaker 32:

Safe.

Speaker 33:

Safe and-

Speaker 32:

Is he kind?

Speaker 33:

Use the kind words.

Speaker 32:

Good job.

Speaker 34:

[inaudible 00:10:38]. Awesome. Good, is the phrase correct now?

Speaker 35:

Yes.

Speaker 34:

Then what's it say?

Speaker 35:

Could we do it better?

Speaker 34:

Awesome.

Speaker 32:

So we are working on having a growth and a fixed mindset so I told the students whenever they use a growth mindset statement that they're brain is growing, their brain is getting stronger and stronger and they're going to earn 20...

Speaker 34:

Awesome. The phrase of the day is?

Speaker 35:

[inaudible 00:11:03].

Speaker 36:

All right so today we're talking about solving conflict, who knows what conflict is? What is another word for conflict?

Dina:

A fight.

Speaker 36:

A fight. Yes Dina, argument, fight, that's excellent. So a conflict is not seeing eye to eye, having an issue...

Susan McNulty:

Thank you, Shaundrika and Jerusalem Avenue Students' parents and staff. Now Mr. Zegers will show us how SEL has been implemented across the Rosemary Kennedy school program.

Matt Zegers:

Good evening, It is a privilege to share our program with you. The social emotional needs of the Rosemary Kennedy's School students are extensive. In order to get our students accessible to instruction, we must first teach them how to regulate their emotional state. The goals of our social emotional curriculum address self-advocacy, self-determination and facilitate the construction of a positive mindset. All of these terms encompass the goal of self-improvement. This is in alignment with the Rosemary Kennedy school's mission statement, developing and promoting lifelong learners.

Matt Zegers:

Now as lifelong learners in education, take a moment and reflect on how developing our social emotional needs would impact our own lives. How much better our own lives would be if we made considered efforts to be kind and practice greater confidence?

Matt Zegers:

To address our students needs, we've structured opportunities for exposure to content and experiences for enrichment. Classrooms have embedded Quaver into their daily classroom schedules. Now this is regardless of whether they're in-person or remote. Teachers are dedicating 20 to 30-minute periods, a minimum of three times per week. The topics are broken down into units. Each unit is about two weeks long.

Matt Zegers:

Since all of our students have social emotional needs, this is a program wide initiative. It is transdisciplinary. Most of members of our PPS department collaborating with all of the staff from each discipline, modify each two-week lesson unit to meet our students' needs.

Matt Zegers:

The Quaver curriculum offers interactive lessons. However, to further than meet the needs of our students, the out of classroom teachers with PPS members work to make the content meaningful and accessible. The objectives of each Quaver lesson are aided by supplemental materials such as social stories, crafts, worksheets, cooking activities, and other hands-on activities. There are many great examples of Quaver in practice. For instance, during the unit I am confident, bracelets such as these, which we will gladly distribute to all of our board members, made by the students have positive affirmations that are proudly worn on our RKS confidence day.

Matt Zegers:

In music class, songs such as Brave by Sara Bareilles. That song that always get stuck in your head are played and sung as an expression of confidence. Currently, the phys ed department is setting fitness step goals in each class, charting their progress on a bulletin board. So this way everybody can highlight the growth they are making towards their physical fitness goals.

Matt Zegers:

Common language is used throughout the building by all adults to support the lesson concepts. This is in coordination with the core vocabulary school-wide practices already in place. One third of our students use augmentative communication systems or picture systems to communicate. We all pair our verbal statements with the students picture system to improve communication. To do this, the words of the month and Quaver statements are posted all in our classrooms, offices and everywhere in the building.

Matt Zegers:

So for example, I have a core board right here. I am confident and this is proud in all my students. It makes me happy that they are working together. We would do this to help facilitate our students and this way they can promote their own expression. Now most importantly, we need to promote parent involvement. Rosemary Kennedy enjoy showcasing our students on our Facebook page. So at school website and our parent portal on Microsoft teams, thanks to the office of information for that help.

Matt Zegers:

As the students develop an understanding of how to be kind, we presented a motivating challenge, the I care to be kind challenge. Every class within the program was presented with the opportunity to submit their best examples of how to exemplify kindness in the building. The results were great. They were submitted to the RKS studios.

Matt Zegers:

Now during our daily morning show these video productions highlighting these examples were put on display. I am proud to be able to show you one of these examples coming up. Now our mantra is, working together although we are apart. And please take this opportunity to see these students hard at work in this next video clip.

Matt Zegers:

(singing)

Speaker 38:

Have a great day everyone.

Speaker 39:

Have a good day.

Susan McNulty:

We would like to say thank you to Matt and the Rosemary Kennedy students, parents, and staff. We are so proud of the work our staff have been doing to prepare our students with the social and emotional skills they need to face the future. We thank you all for this opportunity to share our students and staff in action. Thank you so much.

Susan Bergtraum:

Bob you're muted. Bob you're muted.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

I know I'm killing myself [crosstalk 00:18:10].

Susan Bergtraum:

I'm sorry.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

I said such nice things about Susan, Matt and Shaundrika and I'll say them again, you guys did a great job, we're very proud of you, thank you. Are there any questions Susan, from the board?

Susan Bergtraum:

Deb.

Deborah Coates:

I don't have a question, but I just wanted to also commend everyone. It just seems like such an uplifting and a wonderful program especially during this time. So great to see how everyone is working together and do they do this for adults too?

Dr. Robert Dillon:

We will later, there's going to be a conflict one later.

Deborah Coates:

Thank you. It was very excellent to see.

Susan Bergtraum:

Mrs. Langsner.

Fran Langsner:

So I certainly agree with Debbie and you know that prior to the pandemic, these kinds of activities might been among the ones that we actually got to witness in person.

Deborah Coates:

Me too.

Fran Langsner:

Miss that. I do have a question that I don't know if there's an answer to. Again prior to the pandemic, one of the things that we used to hear that affects children's mental wellness is being over programmed after school. And it may not have been our kids, but maybe siblings in their families who really never had any time to catch their breath because they had so many things that were part of their lives. Now they've been certainly under programmed. And I wonder if you've noticed if that has had any kind of positive effect on our students and their ability to take these lessons and internalize them.

Susan McNulty:

I'll put that to Shaundrika and Matt, do you have any examples of that?

Matt Zegers:

Sure. Within my students lives, I see that parent involvement is very much different especially since a lot of people are working from home and getting a lot more time together. It's been positive in that sense and we've been getting that parent involvement. And as I was stating before, we're providing as many opportunities for our parents to work on these exercises, through the websites, seeing them on Facebook and through our parent portal. So at this way, they can help promote these things and it has been positive and we're getting a lot more participation in that sense.

Fran Langsner:

What a glimmer out of all this, that we've suffered through.

Matt Zegers:

A little more showing.

Shaundrika Langley-Grey:

Interesting is I can echo watching or coming into some of the remote classrooms and seeing parents right there along, working alongside their kids, helping them do work, passing them worksheets, participating. So I definitely have seen that positivity come in into play, especially in our remote classrooms.

Fran Langsner:

That's great, thank you.

Shaundrika Langley-Grey:

You're welcome, Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

Mr. Kaye and then Mr Schultz.

Martin Kaye:

You've answered half of my questions and I thank you for it. It seems like there's a great program in this Quaver. And it works for multiple grade levels in different ways. And it effectively engages the student. You talked about trying to make a connection, what have we done to make a connection between the families, the parents at home and the students who may be missing as a result of this irregular school schedule we've had for over a year? Are we bringing them up to date? Are they in on the strategies and achievements that their kids are doing in school? And if they're home for a week or two, how do we manage this interruption through a program like this, with the connection of the family and the home?

Susan McNulty:

So I would say that a lot of that is happening through the communication and Matt and Shaundrika can talk to that as well, as I know that they communicate with the parents through newsletters, through emails, they're sending projects home and following up with parents on how to engage and interact with the students. So the parents are able to do that at home, follow up on what we're doing in the schools and in the classrooms.

Matt Zegers:

Absolutely. And first thing is empathy, knowing that they're going through a lot in this complete transition and change. So to offer as much support as we can, we offer parent training sessions. Again, please like us on Facebook and come check it out on our parent portal. Anybody can join it and see all of the activities we have to promote. It's growing every day, we're getting more and more participation. Again, always being responsive to the parents and promoting questions and having them work directly with the staff. And so this way they feel supported. And again, that mantra of working together, even though we're apart as best we can.

Martin Kaye:

We can't have a back to school night or day, the way that... And traditionally we used to. How are we letting parents know how their students are doing on a one-to-one basis through counseling or whatever we need to do?

Shaundrika Langley-Grey:

So Mr. Kaye [inaudible 00:23:45] we've had our virtual back to school nights. So in this past February, we actually had parent-teacher conferences virtually as well. And so parents were given opportunities to make appointments. We reached out as well, and I would say that it was enriching for both parents and for staff. And we all met together as a team around the computer to talk about how well their students were doing, if there were challenges, how we could support their students. So those are things that we are still trying to do, but we're doing it in this virtual environment.

Shaundrika Langley-Grey:

And to Ms. Langsner, we're going to be doing our... You came to our school shows. You and a couple of the board members and we are still doing those things, but we're doing it virtually. And we're also including our virtual students in our school shows. Our music teacher and the rest of the team are working really hard to make sure that we incorporate all of this and that they don't lose anything by not being in the building as well.

Fran Langsner:

So is it possible for us to get those links?

Shaundrika Langley-Grey:

Absolutely.

Fran Langsner:

That would be great.

Shaundrika Langley-Grey:

Absolutely.

Martin Kaye:

Thank you team, great.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

And also, I'm sorry.

Eric Schultz:

Go ahead Bob.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

No, I was just saying we're also in the process, given what we know today are doing graduations and moving up ceremony the same way we did last year. So be ready, get your lunch here ready. I'll get the horns ready and we're ready to go.

Eric Schultz:

Just give Susan the horn, the rest of us don't need horns. Once again, I'd like to see if we can get a copy of the presentation, the hard copy of the presentation. Matt, forgive me, I haven't seen you a long time. What's with the beard? I don't know. It looks great.

Matt Zegers:

Thanks.

Eric Schultz:

You referenced the Facebook page, what was it?

Matt Zegers:

The Facebook page is originally designed because we had-

Eric Schultz:

No, I know what a Facebook page is. What's the group to join.

Matt Zegers:

It's just the Rosemary Kennedy school. Look that up and that's where we are.

Eric Schultz:

And I don't know whether there's a follow-up on Fran's question, but a lot of these programs since we're funding them, we never really get a chance to see in action. Is there a way that we can be able to log into that program so that we can play around on our own and promise not to break the system?

Susan McNulty:

Sure we can do that for you.

Eric Schultz:

Great. Thank you. Great presentation. It's obviously been a worry for all of us on the board, since we're sort of removed from the process at this point to be able to understand how the services are being delivered. We are inundated at the conventions and online with advertisements and propositions from all the different vendors. Obviously relying upon our professionals to figure out which is the most appropriate. I've heard of it, but it's nice to have seen it in action. Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

Anybody else? Okay then I'll end by saying, first of all I think this is probably... Even if we weren't in a pandemic, one of the most important things we can do for human beings, whether they're children or adults. So I thank you for including it or integrating it into the program. And when I watch us watch those things on the smile meter, you got a 10 plus. So with that, thank you for the presentation. This one is so uplifting, so thank you, thank you, thank you.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

So before we have our next presentation, I just want to put a little bit in context. It was a year ago, last night, that a few of us were at Farber and at Farber were [inaudible 00:27:51] in Dr. Eisenstein. And we were there because it was a gym teacher [inaudible 00:27:58] playing golf as Paige who had this thing called COVID. And he'd been at several schools. On the third floor, It was Lorna Lewis and Greg Garcia. And Angela had set up a press conference because at that time we believed that we were going to announce that schools were going to be closed and that's what happened.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

But then we got a call from the governor's office that no one moves until the governor makes the move the next day. But it was a year ago yesterday that it all started to change. It changed to the point of where we're meeting with our kids now virtually. And you don't have the opportunity to visit. None of us have the opportunity to visit. We're not to have visitors anywhere. So it was a year ago, last night that it all started for me and for a lot of people. And with that, I'd like to turn over to Angela.

Eric Schultz:

I just point out that your friend Lorna Lewis closed the Plainview schools before the governor did.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Well, the only way she could is with an executive order, because she wouldn't get state aid. And that Greg Garcia was all over that one.

Larry Greenstein:

You could do it if you had snow days left. In my local district, we took two snow days before the government shut us down.

Eric Schultz:

You really think Lorna was going to listen and wait for Greg.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

For the first time, maybe who knows?

Susan Bergtraum:

All right. Angela.

Angela Marshall:

So thank you for the opportunity to share a brief video with you. It was a labor of love and really gives you a look into what this agency, all the people, the staff, the parents, the families went through over the last year and endured. [inaudible 00:29:45]

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Great job. Thank you, Angela. Very well done. And it certainly shows the dedication resiliency of everyone associated with Nassau BOCES. And we thank them and thank you for putting it together, Susan, that concludes.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thanks, Bob. And that is another piece that when we thank our staff, that's a concrete example of what everybody in the agency has done. And so when we thank you, we have also documented, what you've done and we hope that you are very proud of your contributions and how you've comported yourselves through this entire year. So with that I will ask for a motion on the consent agenda. Thank you, Mr. Schoen, moved, second?

Fran Langsner:

Second.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you, Mrs. Langsner. Is there anybody who wants to have a discussion on an item, remove an item, any? Seeing none, all in favor.

Audience:

Aye.

Susan Bergtraum:

Opposed? Abstained? Motion carries.

Eric Schultz:

Susan could I just-

Susan Bergtraum:

Sure.

Eric Schultz:

This is for Tony, we had a lot of the change orders and questions were raised with regard to extensions of time due to COVID for certain projects. Do you have an idea if there are any more coming down the line in that regard that we should be looking out for?

Anthony Fierro:

I would just say that, our construction projects are starting to move along. We have some projects that are out to bid right now. And we're doing actually virtual bid openings now. So we're hoping that we'll see some of these projects getting started. As far as extensions of time goes, there's one issue that I've noticed is that sometimes just getting materials, that having materials shipped that come from other states or possibly even other countries, have slowed projects down. And I think that, it'll be on a project by project basis, but that's something I think we'll need to look at moving forward, just to try to keep on top of those timeframes and see if there are other maybe substitutions or other things we can do to kind of to avoid that happening. But that's one thing I could see happening, Eric.

Eric Schultz:

Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

Mrs. Coates.

Deborah Coates:

That was actually highlighted on the news today about the container ships. There were 30 of them out in the Pacific gap by Los Angeles. So it is a big problem for everyone.

Anthony Fierro:

And it's very hard to anticipate how it will affect each individual project. You might think that something that we took for granted before may turn out to be something that could hold up a project. So we really have to keep on top of it and that's going to be an additional... A closer look by our construction managers to kind of monitor that and look at that even in the design phase to see if there's any anticipated materials that could possibly pose a problem with delivery.

Susan Bergtraum:

Then moving along, may I have a motion on the additional agenda items, contracts over 2000 a day. Mrs. Coates, thank you. Second.

Larry Greenstein:

Second.

Susan Bergtraum:

Mr. Greenstein, thank you. Is there any discussion? All in favor?

Audience:

Aye.

Susan Bergtraum:

Opposed?

Michael Weinick:

Oppose.

Susan Bergtraum:

Abstentions? Thank you. [inaudible 00:39:57].

Eric Schultz:

Michael are you talking for yourself or for the board?

Susan Bergtraum:

Moving right along.

Michael Weinick:

Don't get me started sir.

Susan Bergtraum:

Moving right along. The information items if you can just look at the virtual clipboard and let Joyce know if you have not already, about the items that are on it, is there any-

Michael Weinick:

Did we get a link for tomorrow for the refit?

Deborah Coates:

I didn't get one.

Susan Bergtraum:

Yeah we did, didn't we? What?

Michael Weinick:

I didn't.

Fran Langsner:

I didn't.

Deborah Coates:

I didn't.

Susan Bergtraum:

Joyce you're on mute.

Joyce Nolan:

I can forward it all to you if I have one, I have to check on the calendar. I may not have one yet, but I'll get one.

Susan Bergtraum:

I swear, I got one.

Joyce Nolan:

Okay. [crosstalk 00:40:51] directly to you, but I'll check, I will check. And I can send it tonight if I have it.

Fran Langsner:

Thanks, because it's at 8:30 tomorrow morning.

Joyce Nolan:

I know. I know [inaudible 00:41:05].

Susan Bergtraum:

When we go into exec session and take that five-minute break, maybe I'm wrong, but I'll go to

Joyce Nolan:

Ill take a [crosstalk 00:41:11].

Susan Bergtraum:

... my phone and see who I got it from or what.

Joyce Nolan:

[inaudible 00:41:16].

Susan Bergtraum:

So we'll take care of that. Dr. Dillon.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Eric, can you explain to Mrs. Coates, the woes of being an immediate past president.

Susan Bergtraum:

Moving right along again, is there any other information items that anybody needs to discuss? Seeing none. Moving on, Dr. Dillon the superintendent's report.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Just a couple of words about the Biden bailout that was just signed. And I understand there's $9 billion coming to New York state for education. Part of that is allocated for the digital divide and there's another part specific percentage allocated for the pandemic slide, the learning loss of children. BOCES is not in line for any of the month because we're not a school district. The school district will follow the children to their school district.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

However, there is, I believe a great opportunity emerging because in the area of digital divide, that's something that we can step up and work with the district. I think that's something we talked a little bit about at cabinet today. In addition, the professional development and curriculum areas, we can also be a major player in. Although there's no direct funding coming to BOCES, we can look to provide services that our component districts will need to close the digital divide and shore up that learning slide that has happened over the last year.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

So I just want to inform people that it's no direct money, but other opportunities coming. So having said that I'd like to now to turn it over to our CIT people and I don't know who's leading. Is Laverne the lead person or Pam?

Susan Bergtraum:

Pam is going to begin.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

All right, Pam, it's all yours.

Pam Christensen:

I am. Good evening, everyone. First of all, before I even begin, I want to offer kudos to our colleagues in special education and also to Angela for those presentations, makes it a hard act to follow, but I think they were wonderful. So thank you very much. And I thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this evening as well, and share our departmental report with you. I'll speak for a few minutes, and then I'll give the floor over to my fellow CIT associate directors for them to share some information with you as well.

Pam Christensen:

Nearly a year ago, Chris Reinertsen, Laverne Mitchell and I were given the opportunity to lead CIT collaboratively. I think I speak for all of us when I thank you for that opportunity. Two overarching challenges have infused and influenced our leadership of the department in the past year. One was the departure of our executive director, Tony Flora and the other of course was the pandemic.

Pam Christensen:

Tony was a force of nature and his retirement was certainly felt throughout the department. In addition to that, the decision to replace a single executive director with three associate directors, each responsible for discreet areas, but committed to the department as a whole was a radical change albeit one that the three of us welcomed.

Pam Christensen:

I'm happy to report tonight that CIT is thriving in this three-legged stool approach. Chris, Laverne and I meet regularly to encourage one another, challenge one another and collaborate with one another as we work to assure the continued health and growth of the department. Our personalities are as varied as our skills and talents, but this reality lends itself well to the support of the diversity and breadth of the department itself. The arrangement has also had a positive financial effect at a time when we see fiscal challenges all around us, the pandemic brought its own vast and significant trials of which we are all acutely aware in which we continue to live through together.

Pam Christensen:

The bifurcated workforce created by having some employees remote and some in-person has compelled us all to develop expanded management and communication approaches with an eye to cohesiveness and productivity. But these are opportunities too. The circumstances propel us toward growth, expanded views and new ways of thinking. This is new and exciting work. And with the help of able managers, supervisors and dedicated employees, we're doing it. I will give you some brief updates on the groups that I have responsibility for. And then as I promised, I will turn this over to Laverne and Chris.

Pam Christensen:

In customer care, there's been a chart change in the nature and the volume of the calls that come in this new environment that includes both remote work and instruction. We continue to assess and adjust the way we handle the workflow to best meet the changing requirements. And we're also considering what training of our personnel we need to do to properly support the customers in this new world.

Pam Christensen:

In project management, the flow of project business and revenue from the districts is steady, consistent. We're entering one of our busy seasons as districts set up new projects. The customer projects continue to have an emphasis on laptops or other mobile devices as you can imagine, security projects, cabling, copy machines and repairs of existing equipment. There are unique challenges and are not being able to meet face to face with our customers to do the planning we typically do with our districts. And we continue to develop new methods of promoting relationships and addressing the needs that we identify.

Pam Christensen:

In telecommunications, we see to the flow of business and revenue to be steady and consistent. There's been a predictable focus on increased internet bandwidth demands, and we've seen an uptick in requests for support to districts and Nassau BOCES in providing internet connectivity for remote learning, hotspots, the enrollment in WiFi, licensing of mobile devices, et cetera.

Pam Christensen:

This is the irate season, applications for next year must be submitted soon. As the service complexity has increased so is the complexity of the applications. And several school districts are embarking on the installation of new telephone systems as well. In graphics and printing with Kelly Maze retirement, we reassessed our approach to the oversight in that area. We've incorporated the three-legged stool approach as I referenced to it, which has proven successful in the management of CIT overall.

Pam Christensen:

Three employees there lead their respective areas and I provide of course management support as needed. Printing business has definitely been negatively impacted by the pandemic, but we're actively soliciting new business. And we've already had positive responses to some marketing materials that our own personnel designed and sent out to our school districts.

Pam Christensen:

The school public relations business continues to grow as you see from the amendments that we bring before you for approval. And finally, the mail room personnel continue to move the mail in packages throughout the agency. In fact, this year we returned the mail room to its prior home at Farber. As I hand this off to Laverne, I just want to note something that you all have graciously said over and over again, the work of our employees has been truly commendable in what have been extraordinarily trying circumstances. So I thank you for your time this evening, and I yield the floor to Laverne.

Laverne Mitchell:

Thank you so much, Pam. Good evening, everyone. As I watched the video that Angela presented tonight, I recall vividly that it was March 12th of last year that we presented our CIT report in the district superintendent's office in the conference room. And that was our last in-person board meeting. So what a year this has been. Let me echo Pam by saying thank you to our staff. I am so very proud to work with a group of individuals that have demonstrated and continue to demonstrate courage, creativity, and sheer resilience. It has taken so much, but they continue to exercise professionalism and work so extremely hard throughout this difficult year.

Laverne Mitchell:

Albert Einstein said, "In the middle of every difficulty, lies opportunity." And we certainly found some amazing opportunities to provide new services to our districts this year. Let me just name a few. So curriculum and instruction created the parent EDU to provide professional development and resources to parents. We now have 15 districts subscribed, and we are now offering our spring catalog of courses.

Laverne Mitchell:

The data warehouse team developed third party assessment reports to assist districts with evaluating instruction in the absence of New York state assessment data. Health and allied services provided PPE and continue to support schools and interpret constantly updated guidance. Outdoor education created videos to encourage outdoor explorations and the center for online learning developed a virtual academy that we hope will be a solution for districts in the coming year.

Laverne Mitchell:

Tonight though, I want to take a moment to talk about an opportunity that we've had to support two major initiatives that I think will be in focus for districts post pandemic. And ironically, special ed Susan and her team talked about mental health and wellness. And I cannot give an update without talking about mental health and wellness. As you've heard me say so many times before, and I'll reiterate tonight, we do not yet know the level of impact that this pandemic will have on our children. Current data shows that one in five children suffer from mental health issues and suicide is the second leading cause of death in children and young people ages 10 to 24.

Laverne Mitchell:

This year we have the opportunity to expand our support to districts in this area of mental health. Our mental health consortium became a service instead of just a series of professional development opportunities. We had the opportunity to work with districts, to assist them in developing their own mental health teams. We offered guidance to them on setting long-term goals. We disseminated a variety of resources including mental health and SEL curriculum. We even participated in district meetings to help assess the needs and make suggestions about partnerships with community organizations.

Laverne Mitchell:

The number of districts subscribing to our mental health curriculum increased from 28 last year to 43 this year. Apart from the consortium, we've offered over 120 workshops that all districts can participate in. We provide a forum where districts mental health liaisons could share resources and best practices. Incredibly, we have a liaison from all 56 districts attend each meeting every month, and that's an incredible feat.

Laverne Mitchell:

Our partnership with Northwell has opened the door for over 73,000 children to have access to mental health services. Currently in Southeast Nassau, there are 10 school districts that have a partnership with Northwell's South Oaks hospital. Additionally, eight Southwestern Nassau County school districts participate in a community behavioral health clinic located in Rockville Center. In response to an overwhelming need, Northwell Health is expanding their mental health services and their supports to schools. And we'll be opening a North shore behavioral health clinic in Mineola very soon.

Laverne Mitchell:

We've also expanded our partnership with central Nassau guidance and counseling. So we think this is a big initiative that will continue. The second major initiative that we had an opportunity to support this year is culturally responsive education. Culturally responsive education is one of the priorities of the board of regents. The framework was adopted in the 2018, 2019 school year. But I think the challenge for districts and for schools have been how to embed this framework in all of their curricula. This is very difficult work, but it's very necessary work.

Laverne Mitchell:

Year to year we see the changing demographics on Long Island, it is therefore imperative that all school personnel, not just teachers, not just administrators, but all school personnel have the cultural proficiency that's required to ensure that equitable opportunities are provided for all students. So this year we offered an array of professional developments on this topic.

Laverne Mitchell:

Recently, we were awarded the Rethink Grants of over $120,000 to provide professional development to public and non-public school teachers on teaching in a remote learning environment. One of the strands of that TRLE grant was to provide professional development on culturally responsive education. We also received an advanced course access grant, which was the award of $500,000 annually for two years, to assist districts with providing online advanced placement coursework to students who would normally not have access to those courses.

Laverne Mitchell:

So we're working with the college board to provide not only the coursework, but also professional development for teachers. We've partnered with Adelphi to offer a certificate program on diversity and inclusivity. I am certainly encouraged and I'm excited about the work that we're doing and the services that we're providing to our districts. We will continue to move forward and the lessons that we've learned we'll take with us, but we will continue to keep our eyes open for new opportunities. So I thank you for this opportunity and for your continued support. Thank you, Now I turn it over to Chris Reinertsen.

Chris Reinertsen:

Can you hear me?

Martin Kaye:

Yes.

Chris Reinertsen:

Thank you Laverne, I appreciate that. If I may too taking a page from both Pam and Laverne thank everybody who I'll say participated in this experiment that we've undertaken over the last year. We go back now approximately 13 months and it was a very quick conversation that I had with James Widmer in Sandeep, as we watched this develop, the whole I'll say pandemic approach. And the question was should we rapidly accelerate our ability to put people in places other than the building to effectively try to get this remote exercise, if you will established very rapidly with massive amounts of acceleration.

Chris Reinertsen:

Try to get workloads that have been done in buildings for 20 and 25 years into people's houses, literally overnight. So as I watched the demos and the presentations from special ed and listen to these things, it's fascinating how quickly I'll say the behaviors have become somewhat embedded. People work routinely now from home. They do instruction in ways that 13 months ago you would never have imagined that we could do that. And the question is how do we kind of pull it off?

Chris Reinertsen:

And we were fortunate, we've been having a conversation internally for the last week or so about what this conversation would look like publicly. And you have to be very careful I guess because the extent to which we've enjoyed a measure of technical success is balanced against all these other awful things that have been going on. We're resisting the temptation to have any kind of joy over this, if you will. But at the same time, there's been a massive movement of work that has been done historically and only in buildings and overnight literally as Bob suggested earlier. We were told that we were all going home and we had to figure out how to do that.

Chris Reinertsen:

And much of that goes back to support from the board and central office that goes all the way back to Sandy. What we realized pretty rapidly after that, was that there were these huge gaps if you will and the inability of this work to be portable. You couldn't teach kids unless they were in a classroom. And I don't know how many people remember the SARS scare if you will. That goes back to 2003, when the CDC had advised schools that they should start to develop these remote instruction, I'll say guidelines and guidance, all of which at the time were complete fantasy. We had no way to pull any of that off.

Chris Reinertsen:

So if you look right now at the typical workday of our employees and the really great work that's going on in the instructional programs, these things happened in the sort of massively accelerated way. And none of it would've happened unless we had really, really strong support from central and the board. And some really, and I mean this sincerely, talented techs who sit back at the ranch and try to figure out how to do this.

Chris Reinertsen:

Strategically, we've been looking at this now hard, as I said since Sandy, and in the last 36 months or so have really tried to push to make sure that if for whatever reason we didn't have access to a building that the work could continue. And some of those choices were, I'll say things that we did very quietly. We've had quiet conversations about what might work, how we could do these things? And I think by and large, at least the technical merits have paid off pretty nicely.

Chris Reinertsen:

So while this was going on, we were trying to do the same thing in 28 other districts that we support directly. So the amount of work... We sort of chuckle a lot because when people say, "How's it going?" everybody goes, "It's going great. Everything's going fine." But the work has been round the clock, seven days a week now for a year. And I have to give a lot of credit to Sandeep and all the guys back there, Cliff, people who have made workflow possible, things that we could not have imagined 15 months ago.

Chris Reinertsen:

And none of it happens unless there are dozens of people all rowing in the same direction. So as Pam had suggested earlier, I think that this exercise such as it is in taking over the department, how we want to say that has been an unqualified success based on the amount of stress we put this thing under and how well it's performed. I think that's a testament to a lot of people doing a lot of hard work and making some good decisions.

Chris Reinertsen:

So again, I'd like to thank all the techs out there in all the districts that we support. There are almost 200 of them, the guys who man the ranch back there and everybody else who's participated in this. It's been a remarkable transformation in both habits and workflow. And I would suggest that, from a technical perspective, at least it's all gone pretty well. So thanks to the board, as usual yo guys when we come to you and we have these sort of Harebrained Schemes, you guys pretty much say, "Okay, we trust you. So go forward." And to the extent that, that at least has been a success under these circumstances. I think we're grateful. And thank you, Pam and Laverne for tolerating my general insanity on a daily basis. Thank you.

Pam Christensen:

It's our pleasure, Chris.

Chris Reinertsen:

Sure, it is. You say that now, that's something you say privately. [crosstalk 01:00:47]. Thank you very much.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Thank you very much Chris. Thank you Laverne. Thank you Pam. Are there questions for Chris?

Susan Bergtraum:

Mrs. Coates and then Mr. Schultz.

Deborah Coates:

Thank you again.

Chris Reinertsen:

You're welcome. It's my pleasure.

Deborah Coates:

Great. So in this world of technology, which we know that, that's what it's coming to. We have in the past always discussed security and you didn't mention it tonight, but I'm going to hope that you didn't mention it because we've been doing well in that area. They've had problems and so I just was curious.

Chris Reinertsen:

So a really good question. So if you recall, and I'm sure you guys did, we spent a lot of money on an external consultant trying to understand how we were going to prepare ourselves properly for what has become this horribly predatory environment that we live in on a daily basis. The recommendations that we got from Garnet River and that exercise, we pretty rapidly put policies in play through software that allowed us to hit most of those marks. So James had inquired a few weeks ago about how we were treating certain data and certain information on the network.

Chris Reinertsen:

And it turns out that the guys, once again, in the back who have leveraged a lot of Microsoft features and policies can see this data in real time and we can put a stop to things, we can shut things down before they can become large events. And the other thing that's unfortunate is that we have a lot of experience now on remediation. And I'll say correcting these things after the fact, it turns out that the first day that schools were reopened, we had a full blown ransomware attack in one of our districts, but we recovered in two days, because the guys are really quite good at that at this point.

Chris Reinertsen:

So security has been a number one focus, but what we've tried to do is not try to hire people to watch the data, you can't do that. These things happen so rapidly that they must be done in software. So we've been creating all these policies in the background, and again try to mitigate these things before they become substantial events and fairly successfully right now, a work in progress.

Deborah Coates:

Thank you Chris.

Chris Reinertsen:

You're welcome.

Susan Bergtraum:

Eric? You're on mute.

Eric Schultz:

A lot of people appreciate that I was muted. First of all, congratulations, I think I speak for my colleagues when I say that it amazes us, well it doesn't amaze us. We're very proud of the people that we've helped put into place who have the ability to do this quickly. I think we understood what needed to be done, but the quickness of the turnaround was just incredible. I remember I told the story once in a while about when Superstorm Sandy hit and I happened to pass by Lupinskie and there were cars there and I walked in downstairs and it was everybody sitting around, trying to get each Rockaway's payroll going. I don't know if Chris or anybody-

Chris Reinertsen:

I remember.

Pam Christensen:

I remember too.

Eric Schultz:

When the first check came out, it was like somebody gave birth. It was celebration all around. And that's when I learned that techies will devour pizza, because I brought six pies in and they were gone within 15 minutes. You could always feed them, right? My question among others, but are limited to, in terms of bandwidth, you talked about the districts wanting more bandwidth. How do we deal with that? Do we have more bandwidth? It's a technical kind of question that sort of fades into the background, when I think about it.

Pam Christensen:

Well, to answer your question Eric, we do have a finite amount of bandwidth available to the school districts for Bow Tie. However, we monitor it on a regular basis and increase it as it is necessary to increase it. When we saw the pandemic developing, as Chris said coming at us like a tidal wave a year ago now it was very clear that we were going to have to increase the bandwidth. And in fact, in the last year the available bandwidth to our school districts has doubled and we watched it be then consumed by their subscription to it little by little by little to a point where we're now looking at it yet again.

Pam Christensen:

But that's a constant process of evaluation in terms of what their needs are because our commitments are in years, not in weeks or months. And so then, so are the commitments of the school districts to Nassau BOCES for those services for obvious reasons. So we're very careful about how we coach them, how we... And Chris's tech's are always a part of those conversations with the school districts about how to more efficiently use their bandwidth also. So that those things are happening in tandem, a proper understanding of how to cut back the need, but then our availability to give them what they do in fact need.

Eric Schultz:

When you say there's a finite amount of bandwidth for people like me it means... I don't know if you can see me?

Pam Christensen:

I can.

Eric Schultz:

But if this is even a bandwidth, and we need this amount, where do we get it? Or can we provide the service to them within the boundaries of the bandwidth we have now? And is there going to come a time now as remote learning will probably be with us for a while where we may have to look or they may have to look to other sources?

Pam Christensen:

Well, I hope they won't look to other sources. We may have to be more creative in the solutions that we offer. But I hope they won't look to other sources. And to answer your question, yes, it's truly finite. So if you think about pipe, it can only hold so much, but we can add a pipe or we can swap out the size of the pipe and that's actually what happens. We always have more bandwidth than the total amount to which the districts are subscribing. So that there's always room for growth. That tight rope is not to overdo that. And therefore be incurring costs that are justifiable. That's the challenge, but we always have more than they currently need. Then as they get closer and closer to the total width of the pipe, if you will, then we begin to assess whether or not we need to add additional.

Eric Schultz:

Thank you.

Pam Christensen:

That addressed your question?

Eric Schultz:

Yeah, one day we'll have to have remote lunch and you could explain it all to me.

Chris Reinertsen:

You have to bring pizza.

Pam Christensen:

I'll be delighted.

Eric Schultz:

What's that?

Chris Reinertsen:

You have to bring pizza. Come on.

Laverne Mitchell:

Bring pizza.

Pam Christensen:

Just bring pizza by the office. That'll do nicely.

Susan Bergtraum:

Mrs. Langsner.

Fran Langsner:

Thank you. So I just want to echo what everybody else has said about how much we appreciate the tremendous effort that you and your whole departments have undertaken to make this work. So here's my question. I think that people will never again... Everybody says that they want to return to the way things were, but I don't think that this is really ever going away. The fear of something like this pandemic will always be with us, because it's a virus that will mutate and we'll be able to manage it, but we probably won't be able to escape it totally. So with that in the back of my mind, when it comes to all that it takes to do remote learning and all the hardware and software that's involved. Do you think that when this becomes manageable, that there will be regression that people will say, that districts will say, "We don't have to do this anymore. Let's not move forward with this kind of process."

Chris Reinertsen:

It's interesting we have this conversation continuously about things that seem to work well under the circumstances and may not go away. This notion of traditional office work and the extent to which it's become resident in the cloud that means accessible from anywhere. But I won't speak for... I was watching the stuff that Susan's folks were putting up earlier. And a lot, at least the anecdotal stuff that we hear about the instructional side is totally different. They do not understand that they need to unravel this to get kids back in classrooms and I'm not even qualified anymore. So if I were to guess, I'd suggest that, the remote administrative stuff is here to stay in some way, shape or form, because it should be.

Chris Reinertsen:

The problem that we've introduced into this. And there's a couple of people who are on this call who are guilty of this. They now work 16 hours a day, seven days a week because their stuff is always there. And that's something we have to address, there are people here who don't know when to put it down. And I used to be awful with that, I'm a little better now, but there are others who... And so that's the other side of this coin is that we're now at least culturally on these people who have seven-day, 16-hour jobs-

Fran Langsner:

Sorry.

Chris Reinertsen:

That's okay. See, I rest my case as your phone goes off. And I don't know what anybody else thinks, but to me right now, the clear cut answer is that some of it must unravel for the kids benefit. But the rest of it, the administrative stuff is going to be here somehow. But fortunately that's for HR and the lawyers to sort out.

Susan Bergtraum:

You're on mute Fran. Fran, you're on mute.

Fran Langsner:

It was my six-year-old grandson who just learned how to use the phone.

Chris Reinertsen:

See technology, it's intruding already.

Eric Schultz:

There you go.

Pam Christensen:

There you go.

Fran Langsner:

But no, because I'd even heard, when we talk about the remote snow days, which I don't know where that's going to end up next year... Not again. Not again.

Eric Schultz:

Well, I don't know. When my grandchildren were three they knew how to use the phone.

Fran Langsner:

No, But on his own he's been calling me.

Eric Schultz:

[inaudible 01:11:25] happen to be logged in.

Fran Langsner:

So I had a conversation with someone in a district and I said, "Well, this is going to be the way that we're going to have to think about operating snow days may or may not take place in the future." And the response was, "What are you talking about? We're going to go back to regular snow days." And I just was puzzled that, that was something that, that would even be a possibility.

Chris Reinertsen:

I... Go ahead.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

I'm sorry. Right now the districts that are probably averaging 30% of their kids on virtual, expecting if we go back to opening up in September that at least 15% will remain on virtual. And the governor had said that we have to conclude it as an option right now. So you can figure anywhere between 10% and 15% of your eight through 12 population will be on remote.

Fran Langsner:

So it will be in our future. We're not going back to the way things were.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

No, I think the genie's out of the bottle. We put several committees together when this thing started and Pam heads the one on the future of remote work, because we've done well with remote work. I have people saying, "Well, I want to work remotely all the time." I don't think we're there today for that. But I think down the road, we have to have a conversation about that, do we need certain facilities? Do we need a Farber? Do we need a Lupinskie? We may need a smaller version, we may not need any of it. But we have a committee working on that and what it may look like. And hopefully we'll have a report to the board soon in there.

Susan Bergtraum:

Eric.

Eric Schultz:

I was just going to say, in terms of snow days. When you're on a component board, it becomes more evident that a lot of that's going to be driven by parents, when their kids come in, having snow days that's going to be driven by parents. They don't want their kids home anymore. I shouldn't say that, some of them do. But the parents I speak to, and I'm sure the rest of the staff, that's sitting here speak to parents. They don't want to be home with their kids anymore. They want their kids in school.

Eric Schultz:

So remote learning as we start to talk about it, I think is one of the things that Fran may have said, the edges are going to start getting a little shriveled there. But a lot of it's going to be driven by the taxpayers, they're going to vote and say, "Listen, you don't want to do remote learning?" "We don't want to do remote learning." It's people in the classroom, otherwise we'll get a new board.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

But you have government. You have the governor saying it must be an option. As long as we have an executive order, it's going to be tough to fight. We'll get a new governor.

Eric Schultz:

We may not have to worry about that in a while.

Laverne Mitchell:

Can I also add, let me interject. I think there will be a cadre of parents, Eric that will choose to keep their children in a remote environment. If you go back and think about the parents who decided, "I'm going to homeschool my kids." I think they're always that handful of parents that say, "This is the option. If I have the option, I'm going to take that option for my student." And so if the governor says that this has to be an option, I think there will be some parents who move in that direction.

Eric Schultz:

Forgive me, Susan, but I think a lot of the discussions I've had with parents, who've chosen to... I hate air quotes, homeschool their kids, because they didn't believe that remote instruction was going to work. I think a lot of them are now, have to take a look at the way services are being delivered. Susan and her staff were talking about. So like I said, the discussions that I've had with parents in my district and in others especially when it's first hit, they were all going to homeschool their kids, especially when it came to regent courses. They didn't think that this remote system is going to prepare the kids for regents. Now they may not be regents, now they're going to have to rethink the whole thing all over again.

Susan Bergtraum:

Larry.

Larry Greenstein:

I think the genie is out of the bottle and once people have a choice, I think it's almost impossible to take away that choice. So some sort of remote option will always be on the table for the foreseeable future. How to make it as effective as possible and how to make it as... How to meet everybody's needs is always what we're about. We develop programs that meet the needs of every learner. If they're going to be learners who are remote learners, well, we may have to adapt and come up with ways to decide to meet them. But I don't think it's possible to say, "You had this option for a year, now you're back in school or you're truant."

Larry Greenstein:

I'm not sure we're going to get there. But the other thing I wanted to say is I've been thinking about the past year, and I know that the first people to really jump into this were the tech people and were the maintenance people who really had to get their feet on the ground because everything was... Setting it up for everybody else to be able to take over.

Larry Greenstein:

And I'm just wondering if we can just do a little something for them to let them know that they're appreciated like a Starbucks card or maybe have Eric bring in pizzas again or something. Just a little thing that they know that we appreciate them in a more than just telling them sense.

Chris Reinertsen:

I don't know if to feed them it's a mistake. They eat a lot.

Pam Christensen:

It's a very nice thought. And thank you for that.

Larry Greenstein:

Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

All right. So Bob, only because I have such a different feeling, can you just let us know... Right now it's an executive order, I'm wondering whether in three years the remote learning piece will continue. So just to keep us abreast as you hear things coming down the pipe and the line to let us know what the future thinking is. I'm not talking about six months, we know that, that's going to be... It's much more in the next two, three years. And I will also thank Pam and Laverne and Chris and say that this board is very bright for having realized that you were the people to do it. So thank you, thank you, thank you [crosstalk 01:18:18].

Pam Christensen:

Thank you very much.

Chris Reinertsen:

Thank you very much.

Susan Bergtraum:

And consider yourselves fed.

Pam Christensen:

Very good, thank you all.

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Thank you.

Chris Reinertsen:

Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

Joyce, do we have hearing of any citizens?

Joyce Nolan:

None whatsoever, I just-

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you, all right. Then we will move on to old business. Is there any old business that anybody wants to bring up? Seeing none, new business? Before we go into the... If there was a foundation report. Is there any other new business? No, and I see Michael shaking his head, so I am assuming there was no foundation report.

B.A. Schoen:

There's a court foundation.

Susan Bergtraum:

Hmm?

B.A. Schoen:

There was a foundation meeting.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay. Well then.

Eric Schultz:

Somebody give a report.

Michael Weinick:

Give the report. I don't remember. Was that the four-minute meeting, which we had nothing to discuss?

B.A. Schoen:

I'll wait, I'm not going anywhere [inaudible 01:19:27] foundation report.

Susan Bergtraum:

Yes, that's what we're up to because there was no other new business.

B.A. Schoen:

Yes, the foundation board met and discussed the possibility of maybe having a golf outing. They were going to... Obviously this was all based on the situation, the executive orders, the laws, the advice, and the foundation has no interest in writing their own rules. But they were told that the Oyster Bay school district is having a outing late in the summer. That means that some golf clubs are putting them out, to be continued. Also... What do you want to say, Deb?

Deborah Coates:

I just wanted to let you know that my Kiwanis club actually held their golf outing last year, that's August. So many of the courses are allowing outings.

B.A. Schoen:

So that's only half of the equation. The other is would people want to come? And would there be enough people coming to make it worthwhile? But they are discussing it. The other thing that was discussed is the videos for the presentations that are being made to make a video. So we have the virtual gala next month, and I left the meeting early to go to East Rockaway and make one of those presentations. I think we have two left, Susan and I are to do one of them tomorrow. And then a student, I believe in Lindenhurst is the last one.

Susan Bergtraum:

No, I did Cassidy. Is that who you're thinking of? Cassidy Reader?

B.A. Schoen:

I don't know. [crosstalk 01:21:46].

Susan Bergtraum:

She in Lindenhurst so I think-

B.A. Schoen:

No names were mentioned.

Susan Bergtraum:

She was done.

B.A. Schoen:

Including the one that we're going to tomorrow morning.

Susan Bergtraum:

She was done.

B.A. Schoen:

All right, anyway-

Dr. Robert Dillon:

Angela, do you know?

Angela Marshall:

Tomorrow is the last one.

Susan Bergtraum:

Yes.

Angela Marshall:

That's the last one.

B.A. Schoen:

The very good news is that a letter was sent to all the people who purchased tickets for the gala that was supposed to be held at Crest Hollow last May, we're offering to return their money to them. And some people got notified twice, so far a very small amount of money has been returned. So financially last year's gala, which we're going to have next month was very successful. And as I say I left the meeting before they were done. I don't think I missed too much more, but that's the status.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you, B.A, all right. Before we go into executive session, we have birthdays to celebrate. So if we can have a cake. And the birthdays are Larry Greenstein, whose birthday is today. [crosstalk 01:23:17] And James Widmer, Tony Fierro and Jessica Santos. So with that, everybody

Susan Bergtraum:

(singing)

Dr. Robert Dillon:

[inaudible 01:23:42] cake.

Susan Bergtraum:

Pretend to blow out your candles, happy, happy birthday.

Anthony Fierro:

Thank you all.

James Widmer:

Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

And we owe you cake.

Anthony Fierro:

Thank you very much.

Jessica Santos:

Thank you.

Susan Bergtraum:

Okay so with that the board is now going to go into executive session. The live stream will be stopped. The board does not expect to have to come out to take any action. So for those participating, you do not have to wait around unless you would like to see us adjourn. And then for sure, stay on the live stream and we will be coming out of executive session to adjourn the meeting. So with that may I have the motion to adjourn into executive session?

Fran Langsner:

Don't move.

Susan Bergtraum:

Thank you. Second.

Michael Weinick:

Five-minute break.

Susan Bergtraum:

Sure, five-minute break.