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West Chester Area School District Board Meeting 10/25/2022 — Transcript

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2:08thank you
2:10come on
2:17good evening everyone
2:19I hereby call to order the October 25th
2:222022 meeting of the Westchester Area
2:25School Board
2:27tonight it is our honor to welcome three
2:30students from Greystone Elementary
2:32School
2:34some of you have to turn on here
2:37yes
2:40their principal Dr Kevin Fagan and their
2:44families who are behind them or around
2:46them or just standing back taking
2:47pictures
2:48I would like you all to welcome Dr Fagan
2:51and would you stand up when I call your
2:53name so that people can recognize
2:54yourselves Dr Fagan
2:57joy alada and her family Matthew bird
3:01and his family then David tumor and her
3:04family so families
3:13all right you may all sit back down for
3:15a minute
3:16while I tell you something about who
3:18these people are
3:19um they are all from 1195 Aram Avenue
3:23and they are the Grizzlies
3:26that was a name that was adopted by the
3:28parents and the students and the
3:30teachers who all got together and said
3:32yes we want our 400 and we used to be
3:36more but now it's 450 students to be the
3:38Grizzlies now why in heaven today would
3:41you want your small children to be known
3:43as Grizzlies
3:45Grizzlies are family oriented
3:48Grizzlies care deeply about their
3:51families that's why you don't play
3:52around with little baby Grizzlies that
3:54think they're cute because their mother
3:56is not going to appreciate you
3:58Grizzlies are fierce
4:00Grizzlies are tough and Grizzlies love
4:03salmon now some of the students here
4:06said that they really preferred halibut
4:09and cod but
4:10I don't know if they're real Grizzlies
4:12if that's the case
4:15Dr Fagan said he chose these three
4:17students listen to what he said because
4:19of their positive attitudes because they
4:22are example for other students and each
4:26is
4:28I'm sorry I just got my eyes fixed and
4:30now I can't see anything much each is an
4:33unassuming leader of the school so
4:36without saying I'm the president or I'm
4:38the dictator or I'm the queen you just
4:41are recognized by other students who
4:44respect you as Leaders that's a good
4:46thing
4:48so
4:50I would like you three students to come
4:52up now and leave the rest of this room
4:54in saluting our flag
5:05I pledge
5:07of the United States of America is
5:10relationships
5:18over here we're a little slower than you
5:20are but
5:22all right tell us about what's happening
5:25at 1195 Aaron Avenue
5:35my name is
5:39[Music]
5:41Matthew Byrne and I'm in Miss Bushman
5:43thank you for having me here tonight
5:46um happy to share with you some
5:47highlights of our kindergarten
5:49kindergarten and through second grade
5:51classroom kindergarten is excited to
5:53visit Sugartown strawberries at the end
5:55of October they are engaging purposeful
5:57play better to better learn about fall
6:00themed fire safety and farming pumpkin
6:03apples Etc Kindergartens kindergarten is
6:08recently had an awesome visit from Fame
6:11Fire Company
6:13who were good enough to show us their
6:16trucks and talk about safety
6:18kindergarten students are enjoying our
6:20new math centers
6:22and in the time set aside for exploring
6:25with mass manipulatives in the new
6:27curriculum
6:29first grade completes monthly theme
6:31projects the students designed buses to
6:34help mow Williams pigeon get to the to
6:37this is good build skyscrapers in in the
6:41creations and next up will be fences to
6:43stop the creepy Carrots from escaping we
6:46celebrated our first piece of published
6:48writing as authors and illustrators who
6:51followed the
6:53complete writing process our books were
6:56drafted edited and even published with a
6:58cover we just finished off applebeek we
7:01learned about the Apple life cycle read
7:04lots of fun stories did an apple taste
7:06test in the highlight of the week Apple
7:08volcano experiment second grade recently
7:11enjoyed the class field trip to Lynnwood
7:13Gardens where students had the
7:14opportunity to see to see the exhibit
7:18and have some free time they loved it I
7:20know
7:22degrees
7:24second grade has been celebrating voices
7:26in literature for Hispanic Heritage
7:28Month read read and make connections to
7:31books like too many tamales three little
7:33three little javelinas and a rally is a
7:38dreamer we are simply batty about books
7:40during our science time they have been
7:43learning all about the importance of
7:45soil and housing
7:47nutrients help soil growth can you
7:50imagine if we didn't have soil
7:52the trees
7:55here's a soil fact did you know that a
7:58teaspoon of soil drinking came up to 1
8:01billion microscopic bacteria wow thank
8:04you for having me here tonight
8:07[Applause]
8:14my name is Ava tuba from Miss fenway's
8:17class thank you for having me here
8:19tonight I'm happy to share what's been
8:21happening in grades three through five
8:24third grade has recently been studying
8:26whether creating weather instruments
8:28they are very excited for their upcoming
8:30field trip to Cherry press farms and
8:33third grade is also learning cursive for
8:35the first time our fourth grade is
8:37getting ready for their field trip to
8:39strong water Research Center on October
8:4126th recently they zoomed with
8:43environmental scientists to learn more
8:46about how we can keep our water healthy
8:48and this month fourth grade celebrated
8:50the Hispanic Heritage Month with read
8:52aloud and activities like a directive
8:54drawing of Frida Kahlo fifth grade I'm
8:57usually conducted experiment using the
9:00scientific method by designing and
9:02testing paper airplanes Dr Fagan would
9:04like everybody to know that his paper
9:06airplane did excellent in the
9:08competition
9:09and some of us are fighting flatly in an
9:12upcoming field trip to I'm flying King
9:14of Prussia where we will learn about
9:16horses we are very excited for this trip
9:18we highlighted important people who have
9:20made a positive impact in the world
9:22through our Hispanic Heritage Month
9:24presentation to conclude our unit with
9:27fractions we designed a mosaics by
9:29determining area with fractions and
9:31combining them to make it visually again
9:33thank you for having me here tonight
9:38foreign
9:52school year welcoming about 535 grisleys
9:56back to school
9:57our fall has been busy in the classrooms
9:59as Matthew Davis died and we've got a
10:01lot going on outside the bathrooms too
10:04a couple of weeks ago we held our second
10:06annual grade students the fundraiser
10:09organized by the PTO during which the
10:11students Aviation and friendly
10:12competition which we've raised over
10:14twelve thousand dollars that will vote
10:16for cool things for all the students
10:19the Family Fun Run with colors was held
10:21at cni and attempted by over 450
10:24Grizzlies this past Friday we had a
10:26trick or treat event 400 Greystone
10:29students and families attended it was a
10:31great time this Friday we'll hold our
10:33Halloween parade in classic parties we
10:36feel very fortunate to have the love and
10:38support of so many we are looking
10:40forward to a great fifth grade here at
10:41Graystone before I go I wanted to
10:44recognize that veterans fans approaches
10:46when you Grizzlies wanted to extend
10:47their gratitude to all the local server
10:51Nation thank you for having me here
10:53tonight
10:54foreign
11:00you three know an awful lot about what's
11:03going on over there at Greystone don't
11:06you especially K through two you know a
11:10lot of details about what they're doing
11:12can you go over and visit them uh my
11:15sister
11:16isn't it
11:19my cousin is in first grade
11:21um
11:25and you're related to everybody I guess
11:28that's great so I want to thank you and
11:31Ava and Joya for your thorough report
11:33and it's clear that you're very happy of
11:36there being a Grizzly whether you like
11:39salmon or not so big thank you to for
11:42coming and and telling the community and
11:44the school board what you're doing and
11:47what it's like to be a Greystone grizzly
11:51mm-hmm
11:53so I'm going to come Dr sokolowski the
11:56superintendent Urban and I are going to
11:59come and do these just like a high
12:01school diploma we're just practicing
12:14okay I'm gonna walk over here to Matthew
12:17shakes
12:25we should turn around
12:27congratulations Ava so congratulations
12:30now you take it in your broken hand here
12:33and
12:36yeah thank you Miss Joya no no
12:41we did a lot of practice here
12:44that's why we do this so you're ready
12:46for 12th grade so you take that
12:49congratulations
12:52[Music]
12:56we're going to take some quick pictures
12:59[Music]
13:09one more
13:11great job
13:13[Applause]
13:42next on the agenda is rolled off to the
13:45board Mr chair Shore please
13:46as president here
13:49after Chester here director
13:53General here director Plumbing here
13:58director Herman
14:00here
14:01director Shaw here president Tiernan
14:04here
14:09Ruby
14:11here
14:13Sean Joseph here CJ here
14:19and that leads us to public comments on
14:21agenda items and Mr Jennings take it
14:25away
14:26thank you president it's here and this
14:27evening we have no registrants for
14:30public comment on agenda items and a
14:32little later on we'll have eight public
14:34commenters on non-agenda items I was
14:37also asked to announce that there is a
14:39Mercedes SUV in the parking lot that has
14:42its lights on
14:44popular
14:49all right thank you very much this will
14:51move us to approval of the minutes for
14:53the September 22nd uh that's last
14:57month's school board meeting May I have
14:59a motion to approve
15:02all right Mr durnell and um Miss Fleming
15:05is a second
15:06questions or comments about the minutes
15:08from the 22nd of 27th of September
15:13then would you please take rule
15:16director General yes
15:19director Fleming yeah
15:22director wormsley yes vice president yes
15:27director Shaw
15:29yes
15:30director Chester yes director Hermann
15:34yes
15:36yes
15:40next we seek approval for the October
15:4225th that is tonight's 2022 school board
15:46meeting agenda
15:47and Mr chair would you add to the
15:50meeting minutes for this evening that we
15:51met as a board an executive session on
15:54October 17th for personnel and
15:56negotiations and tonight October 25th on
16:00personnel
16:02may I have a first to approve tonight's
16:04agenda Mr billal Aqua is the first
16:13Miss Chester is the second
16:15Miss Kershaw will you please call the
16:18vote
16:20vice president yes director Chester yes
16:25director General yes
16:28director
16:30yeah
16:31director Fleming yes director Williamson
16:34yes
16:36director Shaw again yes
16:42excellent and this leads us to the
16:44superintendent's report and of course
16:46our senior members of the board Dr
16:48sokolowski
16:50senior huh
16:52thank you everybody for being here
16:54tonight
16:55uh I do have a brief update on a number
16:58of happenings and good news across the
17:00school district upcoming in November we
17:03will be celebrating American Education
17:05week the week of November 14th since
17:081921 American Education week has been
17:10celebrated in schools across the country
17:12as a way to generate support for public
17:14education and this year is part of
17:16American Education week I'll be inviting
17:19board members to meet with Henderson
17:21High School students
17:23to have an opportunity to visit
17:25classrooms to also have an opportunity
17:27to experience the new lunch and learn
17:30and just have a better understanding of
17:32what high school life is like for our
17:34students and thank our teachers our
17:37enrollment update as of September 30th
17:39for the 22-23 school year we are at 12
17:43146 students this is yielding an
17:47all-time high of age eligible students
17:50in the Westchester Area School District
17:52of 79.3 percent that's up just a tick
17:55from last year
17:57last week we recognized national school
18:00bus safety week by participating in
18:02Operation Safe stop we teamed up with
18:05our local police departments crafts
18:06school buses the Chester County
18:09Department of Emergency Services to
18:11educate and remind motorists that
18:13passing a stop school bus when children
18:15are loading or loaded unloading is
18:18dangerous and illegal I'd also like to
18:21thank our incredible bus drivers and our
18:22transportation department for all their
18:24hard work and dedication to keeping our
18:26students safe as they make their way to
18:28and from school uh during the month of
18:31October we've celebrated National
18:33principles month and I want to join our
18:35entire community in thanking all of our
18:37principals and assistant principals
18:39across the school district for their
18:41tireless work serving our students our
18:43families and our teachers last week also
18:47in the good news area Niche released
18:50their ratings for school districts
18:51across the country
18:53these comprehensive ratings reviewed
18:55nearly 500 school districts across the
18:57Commonwealth and our rating improved
18:59from 26th to 25th across the state this
19:03place is the Westchester Area School
19:04District once again among the top five
19:07percents of public school districts in
19:09PA
19:11back on October the 11th uh the
19:15Westchester Area School District hosted
19:16the first annual mental health share
19:18fair right here at Spelman the event
19:21provided the opportunity for families
19:23and community members to learn more
19:25about the various social service
19:26agencies within the district and across
19:29the county information about a wide
19:31range of mental health challenges
19:32including addiction anxiety and eating
19:34disorders and Wellness Resources
19:37including successful practices from
19:39employee assistance was shared at the
19:42mental health share fair I would also
19:44like to acknowledge and thank Mrs Kate
19:46Coulter our supervisor of pupil services
19:48for organizing this impactful
19:50opportunity for our staff and for our
19:52families
19:54it's my honor to share that the
19:55Pennsylvania Arts Education Association
19:57recognized the school district as an
20:00outstanding visual arts program we are
20:02just one of 39 districts across the
20:04state to receive this uh
20:08an upcoming we have on Saturday November
20:135th the annual gifted Peck craft fair
20:16program will be held at East High School
20:18that will be held on the 5th from 10 a.m
20:21to 3 P.M and this district-wide event
20:24raises funds that go towards gifted
20:27scholarships for seniors as well as
20:29grant opportunities for teachers to use
20:33their gifted education
20:34program
20:35and finally I would like to recognize a
20:40board member the Pennsylvania School
20:42Board Association honors members who
20:44have made long-term contributions to
20:47the district it is my honor to present
20:49our board vice president Mr Gary
20:51vavalakwa with a certificate of
20:53appreciation for eight years of service
20:55and dedication to the school board
20:59[Applause]
21:15okay
21:21congratulations thank you
21:23and Mrs Tiernan that concludes our
21:27report uh at this time I would like to
21:29move to hearing from our student
21:32Representatives uh and we'll start Emily
21:34with news from East High School
21:37hello everyone thank you for having me
21:39tonight
21:40October is definitely a busy month and
21:42East starting off with our biggest event
21:43being homecoming on the week of October
21:4615th student engagement Spirit Week all
21:48grades showed full school spirit by
21:50participating in Pajama Day decade day
21:52bikers versus Surfers and Country Club
21:54attire it was amazing to see students
21:56from all grades engage in spreading
21:58unity and passion for our school the
22:00week ended with Friday's pep rally and
22:02our homecoming game leading into
22:03Saturday's homecoming dance with 986
22:06students dressed in formal attire to
22:08enjoy a night of dancing and socializing
22:10with friends
22:11we would like to thank all teachers
22:13volunteers and students that made this
22:15week such a success
22:16moving on to our music department East
22:18had over 20 students participate in our
22:20first ever Chester County Corral
22:22Festival last Friday at Immaculata
22:24University
22:25students from Henderson East Unionville
22:28Kennett and abing Grove participated in
22:30a full day rehearsal then performed a
22:32mini concert at 6 PM it was thrilling to
22:35see students from East be able to
22:36Showcase their musical talents alongside
22:38fellow Scholars from neighboring
22:40districts
22:41looking at our art Department students
22:43enrolled in digital classes have now
22:45been upgraded with new computers a photo
22:47printer and new digital drawing tablets
22:49in order to further enhance their
22:51artistic abilities in addition to this
22:53our national art Honors Society has been
22:56keeping busy they had held a senior Gene
22:59decorating session on our pep rally and
23:01renovated our front entrance with
23:03chalkboard to incorporate our students
23:05passion for art within our campus
23:07they are currently planning our annual
23:09holiday card contest thank you to all
23:11National Honors Society members that
23:13admitted our seniors in curating their
23:15dreams in your genes
23:16in regards to our athletic department we
23:18would like to congratulate all players
23:20and coaches of boys soccer volleyball
23:22and field hockey team for qualifying for
23:24the district one playoffs in addition to
23:27all the events occurring at Easter is
23:28always our mission to make this a better
23:30place for both students and staff while
23:32spreading positivity
23:33in response to this Mission East had our
23:35monthly K-9 visit last Friday where
23:37students can enjoy the presence of dogs
23:39in either their lunch and learn or
23:40during any open Period they may have
23:43this allows students to take a break
23:44from their academic responsibilities and
23:46enjoy a stress-free environment
23:49in addition to East prioritizing the
23:51students mental health teachers are also
23:53a huge priority in response to this East
23:55hosted a yoga session for all staff
23:57members on the 7th of October to express
24:00the importance of self-care
24:02looking at our business department East
24:04Deca is holding their mock competition
24:06at Immaculata University this upcoming
24:08Friday to prepare our first year members
24:10for the district competition
24:12in addition to this he's
24:14easily reached over 240 members not only
24:17being the largest Club at East but also
24:19the largest involvement we've had in the
24:21numerous years
24:23lastly youth would like to recognize our
24:25Viking leaders program for their efforts
24:26to Mentor an AP underclassmen in
24:28transitioning County School today all
24:31leaders engaged in a mindfulness
24:32training with officials from the YMCA in
24:35order to learn Stress Management to
24:36reflect this on to our mentees our
24:39Viking leaders will now be meeting with
24:40all of their freshmen on a bi-weekly
24:42basis and are currently planning their
24:44friends getting activity this concludes
24:46these report thank you for your time
24:49[Applause]
24:59started the clubs and trips 16 students
25:01from Henderson myself included attended
25:04inaugural year of County Chorus held at
25:07Michaela University where we learned
25:10sclerances in just one
25:14and then moving on to business and
25:16Foreign Relations
25:17um Deca from Henderson is also going to
25:19the PA about competitions
25:23foreign
25:49Festival Warrior guides and the tour
25:53store to launch this month the 13th
25:55annual Fall Festival will be held on
25:57October 29th with hayrides face painted
25:59a book fair the musical petting zoo
26:01pumpkin patches a truck or a treat
26:04similar to one house operation and more
26:06I myself will be going as a purple man
26:09the foundation has also started wear
26:12knives which will have its second event
26:14on November 12th
26:17and lastly from the foundation toy store
26:19which is a hybrid toy driving charity
26:22event
26:23we start collecting toys in November and
26:26we will come up with December 17th
26:28distribution
26:29over 5 000 toys
26:32um
26:35chasma former left fielder
26:37because we've been playing against
26:38Affiliates in the world series starting
26:40this Friday
26:43foreign
26:47[Applause]
26:59Emily as soon as I walked in looked at
27:02my report just to look at sports
27:03sections
27:06uh sports are fun and it's that time of
27:09the year right now all sports are
27:10probably has the most going on so it's a
27:14big jump but I'm going to start off with
27:16homecoming which was probably our
27:17largest event of October it took place
27:20on October 8th and I would say it was a
27:22very large success
27:24an awesome week leading up to it with
27:27our spirit week themes being red white
27:29and blue day business casual day uh
27:34oh well but and then class shirts on
27:36Friday and then in the cafeteria on
27:39Friday Mr R Scott along with the
27:40photography club put on an awesome photo
27:43booth where kids just during lunches or
27:45study halls could just jump in get their
27:47pictures taken they're like professional
27:49level
27:50photographs they're awesome and then
27:53they could be airdropped right to the
27:54person's cell phone it's awesome getting
27:57home that day seeing them on Instagram
27:58and everything students love it and
28:01probably the biggest
28:03pep rally which was amazing last year a
28:06little iffy outside for the first time
28:08getting back into school
28:11you know they did their
28:13butt we hit the nail on the head this
28:15time
28:16and it was fantastic we started off with
28:18our pie eating hunts that's what
28:21the two Heats of five
28:23and the teachers got in on the action
28:25too so it was two sets from freshmen two
28:28sets from sophomores two sets from
28:29Juniors two sets from Seniors and then
28:31two sets of teachers
28:34and then we always have the tug of war
28:36between sports team That's a classic
28:38that happens every year a lot of fun
28:40students enjoy that and we've had our
28:42homecoming course kids there are 10
28:44people elected to homecoming Court each
28:46of them have an escort and then they
28:47perform a skit at the pep rally
28:50our winners and homecoming king and
28:52queen this year were Nick long and
28:53Hannah betcheck the final part of the
28:55pep rally and what I thought was the
28:57most neat about it was the ALS Ice
28:59Bucket Challenge put on by Best Buddies
29:01starting at the beginning of the week
29:02there were eight teachers that
29:04volunteered and they had a bucket this
29:06would be placed at the entrance during
29:08the morning of the day and then in
29:11lunchrooms during study halls and
29:13lunches basically it was whichever
29:16teacher had the most donations was the
29:19one that ended up getting dumped that
29:21ended up being Mr deal on 12th grade
29:23English and our video videography
29:27teacher
29:28and the money the proceeds that from
29:30that went to Special Olympics and the
29:32bocce ball team which is ran in
29:34comparison or ran jointly with best
29:37buddies and I have to give a shout out
29:39to our student council president Abby
29:41demeribus who really put this all on
29:44herself and she did a fantastic job
29:46now I'm moving into sports
29:48and we have football currently standing
29:51at a record of seven and one and unlike
29:53Henderson we did win our homecoming game
29:59um
30:07and then the boys have their final home
30:10game and regular season game and is also
30:12their senior night this guy
30:13right and that will be playing
30:14Unionville moving on to boys soccer they
30:16had their senior night where they
30:17celebrated 11 seniors they are also the
30:20chest month American Champions and they
30:22are currently playing Council Rock
30:26Sabbath in the district one playoffs
30:28first round and it's a home they were
30:30the fifth seed I believe in district one
30:31so congrats to the boys girls soccer
30:34were also chess on American champions
30:37their final record stood at 10 6 and 2
30:40and the ladies are also playing right
30:42now at Downingtown East
30:44field hockey
30:46um
30:47a little rocky this year I'm not too
30:49much to highlight that other than they
30:50had their pink light to close out the
30:52season
30:54moving on to volleyball they celebrated
30:56their senior night with a win or they
30:58celebrated five seniors and then golf
31:01Sam Feeney finished 10.
31:03PIAA state championship
31:06and other events we had National Honor
31:08Society induction not just National
31:11Honor Society but art Honor Society and
31:13business Honor Society
31:16and then NHS will also pronounce
31:19National Honor Society is launching
31:20their new peer tutoring program and New
31:22Student mentoring so students who feel
31:25like they need tutoring can get that
31:27tutoring for free from fellow students
31:29who start are within NHS they fill out a
31:32survey in which they feel comfortable
31:33with I did this so I know but which
31:35subjects they feel comfortable with
31:38in tutoring and they can do that during
31:40lunch and learn like we talked about
31:41earlier and during the day or after the
31:44day whatever student really needs it
31:46and then we had our best buddies field
31:48day field trip that to a place
31:50that Jake Robert
31:54s dance team had a fundraiser at
31:56Westtown format Elementary School
31:58and then model un went to UVA to
32:01participate in the VA moon event this
32:04past weekend special recognition I have
32:06to give out to Natalie Monahan and Anika
32:08chaudry for outstanding delegation and
32:11then Emma Bowers and Rachel stutter for
32:14best of Delegation
32:15that upcoming one event that I had to
32:17highlight coming up towards the end of
32:19October into November is that we're
32:21going to be booing the elementary
32:23schools within our theater pattern
32:25that's a little one thing that student
32:26council is going to do don't tell the
32:28elementary schools out I told you guys
32:30that but that's coming soon
32:33that's all we got from Ruston roll
32:35nights and we'll see you next month
32:43I don't know if we're going to continue
32:45the seating arrangements the boys from
32:49um
32:50having conversation between reports what
32:54kind of pie
32:55pumpkin
32:56that was all pumpkin No Blueberry no it
33:00got real messy it was a lot of fun okay
33:03it's a lot of fun and a lot the English
33:05teacher got the eyes on the head yes and
33:08in peer tutoring CJ did you provide the
33:10tutoring or did you get it
33:13during I'm a member of NHS so NHS
33:15members sign up for which subjects they
33:17feel comfortable in two different
33:19students can then sign up if they need
33:21the help excellent all right what
33:24subject do you tutor uh history
33:28Civics I guess government all right
33:32so we thank you three again
33:35we're going to have to get you
33:37uh Sean closer to the mic
33:41because you speak eloquently and clearly
33:43but
33:45until I get my hearing aids it's really
33:47hard for me to hear you I just got new
33:48eyes but I'm working on the ears praise
33:50talking a whole person that can function
33:52in this room however I need help until
33:55then so thank you three for coming I
33:58want you to have a thoughtful question
34:00for us I want you to have a thoughtful
34:03question for the Westchester is school
34:05board members when you come back again
34:08you're not just here to entertain us you
34:11know perhaps you can ask us something
34:13that you would like to know about
34:16all right
34:18we thank you for coming and staying for
34:21the whole entire meeting and we are
34:23going to get back to the interesting
34:25business of the school board now
34:28Dr Ulmer your uh approval of personnel
34:31recommendations in your report please
34:34yes ma'am good evening Miss Tiernan Mr
34:37Mr matlocka and members of our school
34:39board our personal report for the month
34:41of October 2022 is as follows with
34:45removals from payroll we have two
34:46teacher resignations
34:48with additions to payroll we are
34:50recommending the hiring of one teacher
34:52one school counselor one long-term
34:55substitute teacher one secretary two
34:58special education paraprofessionals and
35:01a second shift custodian we are also
35:03welcoming to our developing our new
35:05capital program manager at our warehouse
35:09Mr Damon Gonzaga comes to us from the
35:11school district of Philadelphia and
35:13we're thrilled to have him on board Mr
35:15Gonzaga if you are here could you please
35:18give us a standard awake
35:23welcome to Russia
35:27in Personnel events I communicated five
35:30status changes one in our support staff
35:32two in our non-vartheiding staff and
35:34three in our custodial staff
35:36I communicated one involuntary transfer
35:39in our professional staff and one
35:41voluntary transfer interpersonal staff
35:43furthermore we are recommending three
35:45sabbaticals in the professional staff
35:48I'm also recommending one unpaid leave
35:51for a member in our support staff
35:53in additional information we have one
35:56last day update 13 start date updates
36:00two salary adjustments the request for
36:04two approvals for two men memorandums of
36:07understanding
36:08and the list of compliance of drivers
36:10and AIDS provided by crafts buses and On
36:12The Go kids buses
36:14we've also updated the 22
36:162022-23
36:17wcasd game workers fees and added seven
36:22teachers to the tutoring list for
36:23homebound 504 or instruction in the home
36:27in supplemental contracts we have 13
36:29editions to contracts for annual
36:31supplementals and seven additions to the
36:33winter season
36:34furthermore we have two adjustments for
36:36annual contracts and two adjustments for
36:38winter contracts
36:40I am respectfully requesting for
36:41approval for all Personnel matters in
36:44the state above thank you
36:48thank you Dr Ulmer may I have a motion
36:51to approve Mr bevel aqua and the second
36:53from aha Dr Shaw thank you very much
37:03thank you
37:06sorry Stacy all right
37:09so questions or comments on personnel
37:12again we would like to welcome you
37:15Mr oh you can you don't have to stand up
37:19again that's enough thank you thank you
37:22for coming and uh we look forward to
37:24seeing you soon
37:27question no questions or comments would
37:29you take role please
37:31yes
37:39director Fleming yes
37:42director Chester
37:44yes
37:46and
37:48yeah you're right now yes president
37:51Tiernan yes commission repairs
37:54thank you
37:56next is approval of the consent agenda
37:58no one has requested anything be removed
38:01from the consent agenda for tonight may
38:03I have a motion to approve Mrs Wadley
38:05thank you so much second that would be
38:08Mr Fleming thank you very much questions
38:11or comments on the consent agenda
38:14no let's take the vote director Wilson
38:19yes director Plumbing yes director
38:22General
38:24yes director Chester yes director Herman
38:29yeah director Shaw yes vice president
38:33yes
38:35yes
38:36thank you moving now to the school board
38:40committee reports versus education with
38:42Dr Shaw
38:51Miss Chester
38:53so we are combined pupil services and
38:56education committee meeting was held on
38:58October 10th
39:00we data data everywhere we reviewed the
39:04pays data the PA youth survey
39:08many of you
39:10may know some of you may not that this
39:13survey is given every two years to the
39:15same cohort beginning with sixth grade
39:19recommend Tampa
39:21the same students so for this survey 246
39:26081 students participated of the Lost
39:301072 school districts in Pennsylvania
39:34in our district we had 3043 students
39:38that participated and the purpose of the
39:40survey is really to take the Pulse on
39:43students and their their attitudes and
39:46knowledge and behavior dealing with
39:49mental health use and Alcohol Tobacco
39:52and Other Drugs
39:54violent Behavior
39:56and overall we found that in many areas
40:01there was a decrease in negative
40:03behaviors
40:05the mark the majority of the uh
40:08the areas that were increased were still
40:10below the state and National rates
40:14one of the areas of focus we determined
40:17would be working with the younger grade
40:19levels on intensifying the protective
40:22factors
40:24it appears that
40:26um and so the emphasis on reducing risk
40:29factors all the mental health supports
40:31and so on have been working so that's
40:35that was good news our protective
40:37factors of those positive behaviors are
40:40much higher than our risk factors ninety
40:43percent of the students in fact reported
40:45feeling safe at school
40:47the report Highlights Highlights can be
40:50found under the October PS committee
40:53meeting agendas and the full report I
40:55could not find that on the website I
40:57assume that will be there soon if not
40:59there I saw the older report but not the
41:02newest
41:04after which after going through all that
41:07mountain of data we reviewed and might
41:10not say that we will revisit this from
41:12time to time just to kind of get the
41:14pulse of where our students are and what
41:16supports we can provide our students we
41:19reviewed also the 21
41:22um the 2021 satnap scores
41:25the advanced placement scores data is
41:29listed by High School it was
41:32um the app the data was disaggregated by
41:36high schools and by years 2018 19 20 21
41:40and 22. most numbers as we know did
41:43during the pandemic
41:46some have rebounded but most haven't yet
41:49breached the pre-pandemic level
41:52um there also seems to be a radical
41:54difference in the numbers between the
41:56schools and I think that's something
41:58that as a board we need to to look at
42:02s.a.t numbers test taker numbers were
42:05down we discussed uh the fact that
42:08college at many colleges are not using
42:10these scores anymore for acceptance
42:12replacement so that may be playing into
42:14that into the reason those numbers are
42:18are lower than they used to be
42:21um the good news that is that the
42:23Westchester scores for English reading
42:25and writing and math surpassed the state
42:28and National scores so that's something
42:30that we can apply
42:32ourselves in our district floor however
42:35there seems to be still a a great gap
42:40between
42:41um
42:42uh the chilled students of color and and
42:46other students in fact there's the
42:48largest gap is between that of black
42:51children and Asian children uh with the
42:54scores for English reading and writing
42:56being uh 70 17 lower for black children
43:02and 20.5 percent lower in math so that's
43:07definitely an area of improvement that
43:10we are going to look at and work
43:12uh and so after reviewing all the data
43:17um that's a shame that you weren't there
43:18because I know how much you loved Adam
43:20doctor
43:23um we approved the Deborah Advanced
43:25Behavioral Health contract we reviewed
43:27it approved I think it was the second
43:29reading for the 137 committee so that
43:32was the first reading I believe for the
43:34for the home education programs and then
43:38we reviewed policy 913 uh non-school
43:43organizations and policy 913.2
43:46dissemination High School non
43:48organizations they had minor
43:51changes language changes
43:54so our next meeting is on November 14th
43:59and we look forward to seeing we invite
44:01you too we look forward to seeing you
44:03all seeing you out there thank you
44:06that's our report thank you both for
44:10that
44:12data driven report
44:15um Dr Herman did you tell me you were
44:17were or were not having a Personnel
44:19report
44:21I'm just going to congratulate the new
44:25hires and I'd like to thank Dr Almer for
44:29his work
44:31with the personnel
44:33report
44:35and handing over the other items at the
44:39end on the agenda to Dr Mr Beval aqua
44:43very good thank you
44:46thank you
44:48and Mr rival Aqua property and finance
44:51please
44:52yes good evening
44:54property Finance fee was held last week
44:56on October 17th
44:58as we do each property finance committee
45:00meeting Mr Scully reviewed the budget
45:02forecast model and she just recruited
45:04his model from a month prior
45:05the net of all changes in October
45:07resulted in a 22-23 ending fund balance
45:10increase of 1.4 million
45:12Scully review the forecast model millage
45:15and calculations which has a tax
45:17increase for Chester County at 4 percent
45:19in Delaware County of 4.1 percent
45:22the allowable act 1 increases for this
45:25year the administration will continue to
45:27review the projections as we do
45:29standardly for potential savings to
45:31reduce the millage impact between
45:3323-24 budget we were coming in each
45:36month
45:38Mr Scully reviewed the enrollment
45:40projections for the 23-24 and advised
45:43the committee that the projections at a
45:46total of 12 140 students which
45:48represents a decrease of six students Mr
45:51Scully reminded the committee that these
45:53projections would be used to plan for
45:54building budgets as well as staffing
45:56needs so
45:58Mr scholar reviewed the student market
46:00share analysis and noted that the
46:02district's percent of total students
46:0479.3 percent of some Pulaski mentioned
46:07that previously in his report which is
46:09the highest percent since
46:13Mr Scully reviewed the 2324 building
46:16budget allocation also is known as PPA
46:19which is a pupil spending analysis
46:22report the recommended PPA factor for
46:25the 23-24 school year is
46:28146.78 which is at 9.3 increase from the
46:3222-23 factor which was at 134.20
46:36. the committee recommended approval of
46:38the 2324 building budget allocation and
46:41I do have that as a motion tonight
46:42anybody following
46:46eight
46:50uh so the motion that I'd like to make
46:52at this point approval of the 2324
46:54building budget allocation approval is
46:56requested for the per pupil allocation
46:58factor of
47:00146.78 per weighted pupil
47:04for the 23-24 fiscal year the waiting
47:07factors will be one for full-time
47:09kindergarten and Elementary School 1.02
47:12for Middle School 1.35 for high school
47:15students the fixed activity expense
47:17budget totals 612 360 for all six of our
47:22secondary schools which includes
47:25154 350 for high school and 49 770 per
47:30Middle School the total 23 24 building
47:33budget allocation is two million six
47:36hundred and seven thousand six seventeen
47:38I so moved
47:41all right
47:42could we have a second please Mrs
47:44Johnson thank you questions comments
47:49no
47:50we're ready for the vote
47:52yes
48:09yes
48:14you have more yes continuing
48:16Mr burster our director of facilities
48:19have been presented to the property
48:21Finance bid results
48:22for previously approved capital reserve
48:25and capital funding products
48:26pricing for playground replacement for
48:28several wheel entry schools we have the
48:30reserve fund is for equipment only no
48:32installation included the committee
48:34recommended approval of the bids for the
48:36capital fund projects in the amount of
48:38243 412. in the capital reserve fund of
48:4338 737. the installation of the
48:46playground equipment not to exceed 61
48:48000 263.
48:51activity approved that and that was
48:53already in our budget
48:55the next item is diversary then reviewed
48:57the 2324 Capital funding capital reserve
48:59projects also known as the fund 30
49:02capital projects
49:04you do have this there's a motion for
49:07tonight so this is D6 on the agenda
49:10approval of the 23-24 Capitol Point
49:13project approval is requested for the
49:162324 Capital fund projects not to exceed
49:181 million three hundred ninety one
49:20thousand 129. I subtle
49:24thank you and a second
49:26thank you
49:28questions comments about those
49:30expenditures
49:32ready for the vote
49:34vice president yes
49:37director firming yes director Herman
49:41yes
49:42director Chester yes director Wamsley
49:46yes director Shaw yes director General
49:50yes yes
49:55and one more yeah continuing on yes the
49:58Mr burster then reviewed the fund 27
50:01capital reserve project
50:04committee recommended approval of the
50:05capital fund projects not to exceed 1
50:07million three hundred ninety one
50:09thousand and 129.
50:14the committee recommended approval of
50:16the capital reserve projects not to
50:18exceed 4 836 000. and the utilization of
50:21two million four hundred forty three
50:23thousand one Twenty Eight from the fund
50:25balance of the capital reserve funds to
50:27support these projects
50:30for tonight this is D7 in the agenda
50:33approval of the 2324 capital reserve
50:36project approval is requested for the
50:382324 capital reserve projects not to
50:41exceed the amount of four million 836
50:44000 funded by a general fund
50:46contribution
50:57of two million three hundred ninety two
50:59thousand eight seventy two and
51:02a one capital reserve fund balance of 2
51:05443
51:06128. I assume
51:10thank you and a second
51:13Mrs Fleming and comments questions
51:18no we're ready to vote vice president
51:23yes
51:24director Fleming yes
51:27director Wamsley
51:29yes
51:30director Chester yes director General
51:33yes director Herman
51:37yeah
51:38director Charlotte yes
51:40president yes
51:45meeting that everybody's welcome to
51:47attend us on November November 1st and
51:50that concludes my report this evening
51:51thank you
51:52thanks very much coughing that was it
51:55did very well all right
51:59starting with director Darnell let's
52:02hear about the cciu this month
52:05thank you president
52:07the Chester County Intermediate Unit
52:09board of directors held this monthly
52:11meeting on Wednesday October 19 2022. at
52:15the Technical College High School
52:16Pickering campus in Phoenixville the
52:20following items were discussed
52:22Dr Joe Fullerton introduced Mrs Aaron
52:25petters principal of tchs Pickering and
52:28Dr Patricia Binkley assistant principal
52:31at tchs Pickering who gave an update on
52:35the animal science program the
52:37presentation began with a video
52:38highlighting the students and animals in
52:40the program
52:41Mrs petters then highlighted the
52:43increase in student enrollment from 34
52:46students in the
52:482020-2021 school year to 51 students
52:52this year
52:53Mrs petters gives a lot of that credit
52:55to the instructor who started with us
52:57last year and through her experience her
53:00connections and her instruction the
53:02enrollment has increased allowing for
53:04the program to offer more animals more
53:07more certifications and more
53:09affiliations and more experiences
53:12some of the certifications that our
53:15students are offering through the animal
53:17Science Program our first our pet first
53:20aid through the American Red Cross
53:22OSHA through career safe PA beef quality
53:26assurance program daily Leaders of
53:28Tomorrow and youth for the quality of
53:30care and care of animals
53:33according to the results of the 2022 pde
53:36408 survey taken 58 of the students in
53:40the program plan to continue their
53:42education at a two or four-year college
53:44or university
53:46it was also mentioned that Co-op and
53:48internship opportunities in the animal
53:50science field is usually restricted to
53:52age 18 and above however the tchs
53:55Pickering has been very fortunate to
53:58have several local partners
54:00who have provided our students with
54:02these experiences
54:04lastly Mrs peders describes some Target
54:07professions that are identified on the
54:10pde 408 survey veterinarians vet tech
54:14technicians zoologists equine trainer
54:17foreign owners animal nutritionists and
54:19dog trainers K-9 units
54:21she closed in saying that there is such
54:24excitement at tchs Pickering with the
54:27with this program and that the students
54:28have great hopes and dreams that are
54:31really moving along in a great Direction
54:33Dr Fulton then addressed the board to
54:36let to let us know that overall tchs
54:39Pickering has seen its highest
54:40enrollment in several years
54:42enrollment is at 535 students with 96 of
54:46these students being full-time there are
54:4917 programs offered at tchs Pickering
54:52nine of which offer dual enrollment
54:55credits
54:56Mr Samuel and director of student
54:58services introduced Miss Jen Russ
55:01preschool special education PSA teacher
55:05on special assignment and Miss Vanessa
55:07tool Head Start education supervisor who
55:10gave an overview of the Early Childhood
55:12programming at TC
55:16Mr Ewing first gave some quick facts
55:18about both the psae and Head Start
55:22programs both programs are both
55:24federally and state funded the primary
55:26mission of these programs is to help
55:28students prepare for transitioning into
55:30the school into the school districts
55:33your Early Childhood care and education
55:35program supports high school students in
55:38understanding the general Child
55:39Development and gaining exposure to the
55:41different types of child care programs
55:43through Theory and field experiences the
55:46Head Start in preschool special
55:47education programs offer Hands-On
55:50experiences for the Early Childhood
55:52Program students to learn about and
55:54Implement current teaching practices and
55:56techniques
55:57the board approved several Marketplace
56:00contracts with school districts
56:01including one with the Westchester Area
56:03School District professional learning
56:05facilitation and coaching
56:07the next cciu board of directors meeting
56:10meeting will be held on Wednesday
56:12November 16th at 7 30 pm at the
56:15Educational Service Center on Boot Road
56:17in downtown that is my report
56:21thank you did you have any trouble
56:23finding your way home from Pickering
56:26well I'd been a Pickering before but not
56:29in the dark
56:30yeah no it was getting dark it was
56:33earlier with some it was downstairs
56:36I found that the biggest challenge
56:38getting getting there was fine in the
56:40lake but then when it got dark I ended
56:42up in different places every time I left
56:44there
56:45even with the GPS even with it all right
56:49thank you
56:51um
56:54Dr Herman are you doing a bsba report
56:58a very short one okay thank you
57:00president
57:04here now Dr Saul President Pierce and
57:07myself to representing the Westchester
57:10area school board at the psca delegate
57:15assembly on November 5th and that's
57:18coming up quite too
57:20that includes my report
57:22thank you
57:25legislative liaison Dr Shaw
57:28okay
57:29um there are only six session days
57:31scheduled for the 2122 legislative
57:33session which ends on November 30th 2022
57:37and any legislation that does pass by
57:39the end of the session will expire and
57:42will have to be reintroduced in the 2223
57:44legislative session in order to be
57:46enacted
57:48um every month the Chester County School
57:50Board legislative committee meets and
57:53our meeting this month is tomorrow so
57:56um I'm sorry I don't have any updated
57:58information for you right now but the
57:59next time we meet we will have elected a
58:02new governor and potentially many new
58:04legislators so the board will be changed
58:08the legislative policy board will be
58:11changed there'll be lots to talk about
58:12that concludes my report
58:15thank you very much and back to you Mr
58:18durnell for Equity report
58:21thank you president Tiernan
58:23on Thursday October 20th Dr Tyrone
58:26Howard personally led a professional
58:27development session for our staff
58:29entitled equity in action
58:32this program introduced our Educators to
58:34the important role that race and culture
58:36have on teaching and learning School
58:39Personnel also explored important data
58:42Concepts and knowledge designed to
58:44increase racial awareness and improve
58:47cultural confidence
58:48participants learn strategies resources
58:51skills and approaches that can create
58:53inclusive classrooms for all Learners Dr
58:56Howard also provided the same learning
58:59opportunity for our administrators
59:00yesterday
59:03on October 24th the school district
59:05recognized the holiday of Diwali
59:07celebrated by millions of Hindus Sikhs
59:10and jains Families the festival gets its
59:13name from The Grove or or a valley of
59:17clay lamps Deepa that Hindus light
59:21outside their homes to symbolize the
59:23inner light that protects from spiritual
59:25Darkness
59:26one example of District celebrations is
59:28the inaugural Diwali event at
59:31Henderson's South Asia Student
59:33Association sassa held on Friday October
59:3721st the event was held in the school
59:39library and members from the Sasa
59:41presented information about the volley
59:44and
59:45facilitated activities like cleaning
59:47painting clay Diaz of the candles
59:51clerk who played jars and drawing
59:54rangolis
59:55and if you're not sure what they are
59:57Google Rangoli is they're beautiful
59:59designs that are created as they're
1:00:01bright colors especially for Diwali
1:00:06um the the Moby mentoring our black and
1:00:08brown youth is up and running this
1:00:10school year the program consists of a
1:00:13group of community leaders from the
1:00:14Charles A Melton arts and education
1:00:16center who Mentor young men from East
1:00:19Henderson and Rustin at the Mountain
1:00:20Center
1:00:21the students and mentors meet every two
1:00:24weeks to discuss topics that range from
1:00:25educational to cultural and Civic
1:00:28the program is a valuable community
1:00:30resource that aims to close the
1:00:32achievement gap for young
1:00:34African-American students
1:00:37finally take a look at the Westchester
1:00:39Area School District Equity newsletter
1:00:41dated an email out on October 5th 2022.
1:00:45this Edition will give you a great
1:00:47introduction to Dr Yuna Martin The
1:00:49District's interim Equity director
1:00:52the newsletter highlights the pillars of
1:00:54the district's Mission belonging Care
1:00:57community and gratitude
1:01:00the newsletter also illustrates many of
1:01:02the ways diversity equity and inclusion
1:01:04has been celebrated in our schools and
1:01:06in our community this month including
1:01:09Hispanic Heritage Month Yom Kippur and
1:01:12Bali that ends my report
1:01:16uh Mr Janelle I I wanted to also have
1:01:19the opportunity to introduce our interim
1:01:21director of equity
1:01:23Dr Edina Martin uh you know welcome to
1:01:27your first word meeting thank you
1:01:37um would you just restate you said
1:01:39belonging Care community and
1:01:43gratitude thank you
1:01:50alrighty thank you all you Liaisons for
1:01:54being out there and keeping the board
1:01:56and the community aware of what how how
1:01:58our district is connected to the larger
1:02:01World which of course it is and these
1:02:04people spend extra time
1:02:07um exploring
1:02:09what is happening just outside the
1:02:12Westchester School District so we thank
1:02:14you
1:02:15the last item on tonight's agenda is
1:02:18comments from residents on a non-agenda
1:02:21items
1:02:26I always want to forget that other
1:02:28business
1:02:30I know I know I apologize
1:02:35okay
1:02:38Mr bevel Aqua you are going to propose
1:02:42to
1:02:44votes that we need to approve agreements
1:02:48going forward so if you would take that
1:02:51away that's correct and on the agenda if
1:02:54anybody's following it's under 10 other
1:02:56business and 10th grade the motion of
1:03:00States as follows approval is requested
1:03:02of the amendment to the agreement
1:03:04between the Westchester Area School
1:03:06District Board of Education and the
1:03:08Westchester area education support
1:03:10professionals Association
1:03:14and a second for that
1:03:17Mr Grinnell
1:03:19this is a big one is there any comment
1:03:22or
1:03:23question or
1:03:28just a question that was stated
1:03:30differently since our agenda is that
1:03:34it it doesn't say Board of Education a
1:03:36number sorry
1:03:42it just as you stated it differently
1:03:44that it's post here number three
1:03:49okay
1:03:54yes you got a special dictated version
1:03:59approval of the amendment to the
1:04:02agreement between the Westchester area
1:04:03school district and the Westchester area
1:04:05education support Professional
1:04:07Association
1:04:09yes yes
1:04:12all right
1:04:14we're clear on that yeah
1:04:18and we still have a second yes thanks
1:04:21with no further questions we'll vote
1:04:26vice president yes
1:04:29director Darnell yes
1:04:32director Herman
1:04:34yes
1:04:35director lonsley yes director Chester
1:04:39yes
1:04:40director Fleming yes
1:04:43director Shaw
1:04:45yes president Terry yes
1:04:49and one more of your business yes the
1:04:52last motion is a number 10-4 approval is
1:04:56requested of the proposed agreement
1:04:58between the Westchester Area School
1:04:59District Board of Education in the
1:05:01Westchester area education support
1:05:03professionals Association for the period
1:05:05July 1st 2023 to June 30th 2028 by
1:05:10suddenly
1:05:17what he did was reverse the two groups
1:05:21he put Board of Education before the
1:05:24education support professional but it's
1:05:26the same words is that all right okay do
1:05:29we have a second for that one
1:05:31Mrs Fleming
1:05:33then we're all in agreement that's what
1:05:35we're voting on
1:05:36es okay
1:05:41vice president yes
1:05:44director Fleming yes
1:05:46director Chester yes
1:05:49director Herman
1:05:51yeah
1:05:52sure now yes
1:05:55director Williamson yes director Shaw
1:05:59yes
1:06:00president yes
1:06:03thank you now comments from residents on
1:06:06non-attended items
1:06:08Mr Jennings thank you presidents Aaron
1:06:10now is the time for public comment on
1:06:12non-agenda items persons wishing to make
1:06:15home a comment were required to properly
1:06:17register prior to the designated start
1:06:19time on tonight's 7 PM meeting when
1:06:22public commenters names are called
1:06:23please approach the podium and begin by
1:06:25stating your first name last name and
1:06:27municipality public comments are limited
1:06:30to three minutes per person the
1:06:32three-minute time clock will be
1:06:33projected on the screens located
1:06:35throughout the room
1:06:36the board asks that all commentary be
1:06:39directed to the board as a whole public
1:06:41comments may be interrupted or
1:06:43terminated if the commentary exceeds
1:06:45three minutes or if the commentary is
1:06:47obscene and or threatening in nature
1:06:49all persons attending this meeting are
1:06:51expected to conduct themselves with
1:06:52decorum and civility in addition to
1:06:55refraining from abusive and profane
1:06:57remarks please also be respectful of all
1:06:59persons and public comments including
1:07:01those comments and opinions that differ
1:07:03from your own
1:07:05distracting and disruptive behavior or
1:07:07other actions which interfere with the
1:07:09orderly conduct of this public meeting
1:07:11will not be tolerated
1:07:13we will now call the first of eight
1:07:15speakers
1:07:22just uh before we begin I know that two
1:07:26of our three student reps share with me
1:07:28that they have to leave shortly
1:07:31going to Michigan yeah correct all right
1:07:34so it just uh be mindful that our
1:07:37students may have to excuse themselves
1:07:39for the meeting tonight thank you
1:07:44Constance Holloway
1:07:46West Whiteland Township
1:07:48I have a daughter who currently attends
1:07:50Westchester
1:07:52East High School over the past two over
1:07:55the past two years two school districts
1:07:57in Chester County Union bill and Great
1:07:59Valley have made national news for
1:08:01hiding student gender transitions from
1:08:05their parents
1:08:10for hiding student uh
1:08:13gender transitions from their parents
1:08:15having this occur in two two districts
1:08:17so close to home made me wonder could
1:08:19the same thing be happening in
1:08:21Westchester Area School District
1:08:22unfortunately a document obtained from
1:08:25the right to know from a right to no
1:08:27request filed in May of this year
1:08:28suggests that this shameful practice May
1:08:31indeed be occurring in Westchester Area
1:08:33School District the form marked
1:08:35confidential
1:08:37right here
1:08:38is titled gender support plan and was
1:08:40attached to an email to Gene Myers on
1:08:43February 16 2022. the email States
1:08:47that uh states attached to the forms
1:08:50that we use when a student wants their
1:08:51name changed as is written on the form
1:08:54the purpose of this document is to
1:08:55create a shared understanding about the
1:08:57ways in which a student's authentic
1:08:59gender will be accounted for and
1:09:01supported at school
1:09:03there are several aspects of this
1:09:05supportive document that should terrify
1:09:07any parent in the district here are some
1:09:10sample questions from the gender support
1:09:12form or guardians of this student aware
1:09:15of the support of and supportive of
1:09:17their child's gender status if not what
1:09:20considerations must be accounted for in
1:09:22implementing the plan if the student's
1:09:25Guardians are not aware of the child's
1:09:27gender status how will the home school
1:09:29Communications be handled
1:09:31student will use the following restroom
1:09:34on campus
1:09:35student will change clothes in the
1:09:37following place
1:09:38what are the expectations regarding
1:09:40rooming for any overnight trips are
1:09:42there lessons units content or other
1:09:44activities coming up this year to
1:09:46consider such as Social Justice units
1:09:48and pride events
1:09:50let me make one thing perfectly clear we
1:09:53are not
1:09:55co-parenting with the government this is
1:09:58not the Soviet Union of communist China
1:10:00you do not have the authority to
1:10:04determine what parents deserve to know
1:10:06about their child's health so to clear
1:10:08up any confusion I am asking you now in
1:10:12front of this audience
1:10:13does Westchester Area School District
1:10:16hide a student's gender transition from
1:10:19their parents
1:10:23[Applause]
1:10:31thank you for your comments uh one of
1:10:33the things that I can share those plans
1:10:36are very specific they are very
1:10:39personalized
1:10:40I can share with you that when I was in
1:10:43principal at Henderson High School
1:10:45there was a student that was
1:10:47transitioning to gen to a different
1:10:49gender and that was something that this
1:10:52particular student was very
1:10:54uncomfortable sharing with one of her
1:10:56parents
1:10:57that that is something that is very
1:10:59specific and we are and we execute those
1:11:02plans in the fullest protection of our
1:11:04students
1:11:13from Alexis Cooper
1:11:23soon
1:11:36Alexis Cooper West Goshen Township
1:11:39um before everybody began I made a lot
1:11:42of posters about what I want to talk
1:11:44about and I would really really like you
1:11:46guys to read them after the meeting I
1:11:48will set them up
1:11:50um it'll make more sense after my speech
1:11:55there are seven books in our school
1:11:57libraries about underage students about
1:11:59underage student teacher affairs
1:12:02book number one
1:12:04twice female teacher seduces her 12 year
1:12:07old student detailed in flashback scenes
1:12:09as the character tries to reconcile what
1:12:11happened to him as a high school senior
1:12:13teacher Grooms her student using
1:12:15pornography and there are some scenes
1:12:17describing sexual acts between the
1:12:18student and his teacher
1:12:20book number two consent a 17 year old
1:12:23high school senior is groomed by her
1:12:25High School music teacher and what
1:12:26starts off as piano lessons and coaching
1:12:28leads to an affair the protagonist loses
1:12:31her virginity to her teacher the novel
1:12:33contains a few detailed sex scenes
1:12:35written under the guise of erotic
1:12:37literature
1:12:38number three Faith a high school female
1:12:41student with a supernatural power
1:12:43investigates teachers and coaches at her
1:12:45school who are drugged and raping high
1:12:46school girls at parties
1:12:48number four lies you never told me it's
1:12:51an audio book in The District in the
1:12:53high schools Russian has labeled this
1:12:56book as highest rated
1:12:58um if you do if you look under the
1:13:00Student Book search
1:13:01a high school female student has an
1:13:04affair with her Drama teacher and is
1:13:06written as a love story
1:13:07book five everything beautiful in the
1:13:10world a high school female has a crush
1:13:12on her art teacher which leads to an
1:13:14affair the student loses her virginity
1:13:16to her teacher after they drink alcohol
1:13:18and take a weekend trip together she
1:13:20refers to herself as a pervert in the
1:13:22novel
1:13:23book six Pretty Little Liars High School
1:13:26female student who is a minor sneaks
1:13:28into a bar hooks up with a guy she later
1:13:31finds out to be her teacher once the
1:13:33school year starts the student and
1:13:35teacher continue having a romantic
1:13:37relationship
1:13:38book seven triple shot buddies in love a
1:13:41high school female has a crush on her
1:13:43English teacher and has her High School
1:13:45female friend tried to get the teacher
1:13:47to date her by having friends write
1:13:48notes to the English teacher over social
1:13:50media the female pretending to be her
1:13:52friend starts having her own feelings
1:13:54towards the English teacher the novel is
1:13:56written as a romantic comedy
1:13:59as a parent I find that unsettling that
1:14:02schools in this community have the
1:14:03subject matter available to minors I
1:14:06want to know how you feel about the high
1:14:08schools continuing romanticized fiction
1:14:10books about high school teachers
1:14:12Crossing sacred boundaries with their
1:14:14students
1:14:15how do you reflect on the district
1:14:18there's seven books in the high school
1:14:20libraries
1:14:21about romanticized sexual relationships
1:14:24between students and teachers I just
1:14:25don't understand like why is this there
1:14:28thank you
1:14:30[Applause]
1:14:36Mike Leonard Road
1:14:45Lakewood Road West Whiteland
1:14:48the right to know request confirmed that
1:14:50this past August Fern Hill Elementary
1:14:52School teachers were trained on
1:14:54exploring gender identity in the
1:14:56classroom
1:14:57on August 24th third house principal
1:14:59took the Twitter to celebrate the
1:15:00training by declaring today we learned
1:15:02all about gender
1:15:04I read the trade
1:15:06and while teachers did learn how to
1:15:07introduce gender education to kids who
1:15:10still believe in Santa Claus
1:15:13they didn't really learn all about
1:15:14gender
1:15:16they didn't learn what happens once we
1:15:17get beyond the pronouns and the name
1:15:19changes
1:15:20and the kids grow older they decide to
1:15:23continue down the road to gender
1:15:24transition the medical realities such as
1:15:28puberty blockers stunning brain
1:15:30development or freezing the growth of
1:15:32the pelvis in a pre-pubescent state
1:15:35cross sex hormones possibly destroying
1:15:37the ability to orgasm later in life or
1:15:40how during a double mastectomy the
1:15:42nipples are repositioned which requires
1:15:44severing the duct that supplies breast
1:15:46milk to the nipple yes killing the
1:15:48ability for a woman to breastfeed ever
1:15:49again
1:15:51and then there's the harsh reality that
1:15:53suicide rates go up 20
1:15:56after gender affirming surgeries you
1:15:59know the dangers that come from
1:16:01mutilating a perfectly healthy body well
1:16:04the good news is I think that I can help
1:16:06the district
1:16:07the recent months I've had the privilege
1:16:09of getting to know two Brave members of
1:16:11the transgender community
1:16:12Sarah Higdon is a transgender woman in
1:16:14her early 30s a seven year Army veteran
1:16:17bronze star recipient and Chloe Cole is
1:16:20an 18 year old woman who started puberty
1:16:22blockers and testosterone at 13 had a
1:16:26double mastectomy at 15 then decided to
1:16:28de-transition at 16. now both of these
1:16:32Brave Young Women recognize the dangers
1:16:34of gender ideology being promoted in
1:16:36schools and it begun speaking out in the
1:16:38face of terrible hostility
1:16:40her efforts Chloe now receives regular
1:16:43death threats that's where we are as a
1:16:46country right now
1:16:48well it won't be silenced in fact I'm
1:16:50happy to say that both women have agreed
1:16:52to come to Westchester Area School
1:16:54District and share their experiences
1:16:56with staff and students at an assembly
1:16:59at no cost to the district
1:17:01there is a storm brewing and that is the
1:17:04growing number of young men and women
1:17:05who realize they were manipulated they
1:17:08were manipulated at a time in their
1:17:10lives when they needed the guiding hands
1:17:12of responsible adults
1:17:15now Westchester has a chance to do
1:17:17something special here and get in front
1:17:19of what's coming by being one of the
1:17:20first districts in the country to host
1:17:22an event like this
1:17:23the transition Community is growing and
1:17:26all of us need to listen to them they
1:17:28have a lot to tell us
1:17:29I'll be following up in the coming days
1:17:31to discuss this event further thank you
1:17:34[Applause]
1:17:57Nancy wood East Bradford
1:17:59in July 2020 the school board reviewed
1:18:02findings from an extensive Equity audit
1:18:04conducted by the University of
1:18:05Pennsylvania the 64-page report included
1:18:08numerous commendations highlighting the
1:18:10good work our district was doing in
1:18:12progress already made
1:18:13it also provided 46 recommendations Each
1:18:16of which included detailed action steps
1:18:19it was a road map for continued
1:18:21Improvement
1:18:22the board voted unanimously Republicans
1:18:24and Democrats alike to sign a resolution
1:18:26committing to a sustained and
1:18:28transparent effort to systematically
1:18:31uncover areas of inequity prejudice and
1:18:33discrimination and to identify and
1:18:35Implement Solutions
1:18:37the web page containing that resolution
1:18:40is now gone from the district's website
1:18:43also gone are pages that contain the
1:18:46facts and misconceptions about Equity
1:18:47Equity related curriculum revisions data
1:18:50on hiring goals and practices data on
1:18:52student achievement and
1:18:53disproportionality professional
1:18:55development opportunities and numerous
1:18:58parent and student resources
1:19:01by itself I wouldn't read too much into
1:19:03website changes websites undergo
1:19:05overhauls all the time but there's a
1:19:07larger context here at last week's board
1:19:10committee meeting it was evident that
1:19:12there is a significant disconnect
1:19:13between the board and the administration
1:19:15regarding how to move forward with
1:19:17Equity leadership
1:19:18we're in a difficult climate in which
1:19:21we're over a year now our community has
1:19:23endured a sustained politically
1:19:25orchestrated attack against Equity work
1:19:27in our schools
1:19:28School Board candidates in the last
1:19:30election targeted our schools and
1:19:32teachers with anti-crt propaganda these
1:19:35candidates were endorsed by the
1:19:36Republican Committee of Chester County
1:19:38who used paid political ads to Target
1:19:40our schools the Westchester NAACP
1:19:44characterized these attack ads as
1:19:46appalling disrespectful and unacceptable
1:19:49you've witnessed yourself in these
1:19:52meetings the attacks against Equity of
1:19:54all forms delivered with a shocking
1:19:57level of callousness and often in the
1:19:58presence of students who have come here
1:20:00to plead for help
1:20:02take it in this context recent events
1:20:04raise a concern that there has been a
1:20:07weakening of the district's Equity
1:20:08mission in the face of pressure and
1:20:10attacks over half of the senior District
1:20:13administration roles have changed hands
1:20:15through retirements or resignations in
1:20:17the past 18 months and let me be clear I
1:20:20have the utmost of respect for the new
1:20:22members of our Administration but with
1:20:24so much turnover we are in a time of
1:20:26organizational vulnerability at a time
1:20:29when we simply cannot afford to be on
1:20:32Shaky Ground
1:20:33Equity work is hard and the problems
1:20:36that the equity Mission needs to address
1:20:38are long-standing and slow to correct we
1:20:41need strong leadership and a United
1:20:43unwavering Focus I urge the board and
1:20:46administration to revisit the equity
1:20:48audit recommendations and work together
1:20:51to reaffirm the district's commitment
1:20:54and resolution thank you
1:20:57[Applause]
1:21:15Melissa Bennett West Goshen
1:21:18I just wanted to take a moment to
1:21:20appreciate the superintendent's
1:21:22listening sessions for elementary
1:21:23schools in early summer and middle
1:21:25schools in early fall
1:21:27I know that some of those were small in
1:21:30attendance but it's great that
1:21:33administrators took time to invite
1:21:35feedback from families
1:21:37I know there were notes taken during
1:21:40those sessions and I'm wondering how
1:21:43will the district utilize that feedback
1:21:45will you ever share in a more
1:21:48comprehensive public way what you heard
1:21:50from those families and of course no
1:21:52names or identifying characteristics of
1:21:55individual sharing but themes or
1:21:57questions or whatever that came out
1:21:59anecdotally I'll share that I
1:22:01participated in two sessions one
1:22:03Elementary and one middle school and
1:22:06overwhelmingly I heard an appreciation
1:22:08for the ways the school tends
1:22:11Beyond academics and a desire for more
1:22:14care in Social and emotional realms
1:22:17I continue to be grateful for the ways
1:22:19the district gives time energy training
1:22:22and resources to social emotional
1:22:25learning trauma-informed care and
1:22:27diversity equity and inclusion it's
1:22:30definitely making a positive difference
1:22:31for our students and our families
1:22:34I also heard from people in attendance
1:22:37that one of those sessions got tense
1:22:39around a question about safe space for
1:22:42lgbtq plus students and I'm wondering
1:22:45how information about that session gets
1:22:48shared with the board or the community
1:22:50and how we continue to track or
1:22:53acknowledge or counterbalance the
1:22:56hostility in our community towards the
1:22:58lgbtq plus Community students and
1:23:01families Among Us
1:23:03there has been a consistent concerning
1:23:06pattern of attacking the lgbtq plus
1:23:09community at least since the spring and
1:23:12we know probably has been longer even if
1:23:16less consistent
1:23:17related to the attacks on the lgbtq plus
1:23:20Community I'm concerned about the
1:23:22semi-regular occurrences of racist
1:23:25incidents within our school district one
1:23:28this fall being the air drop of a racist
1:23:31image in an assembly at East High School
1:23:34does the District track any of these
1:23:37kinds of incidents to look at Trends and
1:23:40patterns and if we don't can we
1:23:43of course we can never share personal
1:23:45information about individuals but it
1:23:48seems there's some we can log and we can
1:23:50see a need instead of approaching them
1:23:53as isolated incidents see them as
1:23:55pointing to a larger system I hope we as
1:23:58a district can continue to do everything
1:24:01in our power to create safe spaces for
1:24:04all our students free from intimidation
1:24:07from attacks and from bullying thank you
1:24:13thank you Melissa for your comments I
1:24:16just want to share that back in August I
1:24:19did share with our education committee
1:24:21uh an overview of the listening sessions
1:24:24that we did help hold at the elementary
1:24:26level over the course of the summer
1:24:29and I would like to we in the month of
1:24:32September I did hold the listening
1:24:34sessions of all three middle schools and
1:24:37I can share and I will share it once I
1:24:39have the the sessions with the high
1:24:41schools as well a report to our
1:24:43education committee but some of those
1:24:45pieces that came up earlier this evening
1:24:48about the pillars of equity definitely
1:24:50came out in those listening sessions and
1:24:53that's something that's thematic with
1:24:55our school district this year and that's
1:24:57caring and community
1:24:59because all of the schools parents
1:25:02expressed just a great degree of
1:25:04gratitude for our teachers for our
1:25:07administrators for all the Care and all
1:25:10the efforts to bring our community
1:25:12together on on behalf of and for our
1:25:16students so I look forward to continuing
1:25:19that the high schools as it's going to
1:25:21be the winter that will probably be
1:25:24inside
1:25:25thinking in the library is in a very
1:25:27comfortable format with our high school
1:25:29parents thank you I just be interested
1:25:31in reading all like a whole summary of
1:25:34all the reflections just because I know
1:25:36you took notes so it
1:25:40I suppose that's right to Noble
1:25:45staff
1:25:55Anderson West Goshen
1:25:58over the last few months there has been
1:26:00a rising complaints expressed at board
1:26:01meetings with a heavy focus on
1:26:03curriculum books and school clubs
1:26:04curriculum books and clubs and
1:26:06activities that have been in our school
1:26:07for decades in many cases it seemed to
1:26:09be suddenly and newly thrust into the
1:26:11spotlight both locally and nationally
1:26:13the common theme of these complaints is
1:26:14that certain content and school
1:26:16activities are not only inappropriate
1:26:18for students but actually harmful the
1:26:19ensuing calls to action have included
1:26:22bands to access to certain acts to ban
1:26:25access to certain books changes in
1:26:27curriculum and the shutting down of
1:26:28supposedly offensive clubs and
1:26:30activities the concern I raised tonight
1:26:32is that at the core of the issues being
1:26:33raised is an attempt to impose a
1:26:36specific morality which is rooted in
1:26:38dominant religious beliefs on public
1:26:40school happenings we're defining things
1:26:42as appropriate or inappropriate but on
1:26:44Whose terms we have such a vibrant and
1:26:46diverse community that it would be a
1:26:48huge disservice to many ethos and
1:26:50religions represented if the district
1:26:51gives Credence to these complaints by
1:26:53aligning our curriculum activities in
1:26:55both with that of a very specific and
1:26:57narrow morality
1:26:58I appreciate that we have District
1:27:00policies and procedures in place to
1:27:02address complaints and concerns but I
1:27:03struggle to understand why we are
1:27:05seemingly take it to a new level the
1:27:07district has been in my opinion over
1:27:08generous with the southern scrutiny
1:27:10which is now being utilized for every
1:27:11library book curriculum book and club
1:27:13that someone raises an issue with
1:27:14because these complaints should not
1:27:16shave a basis when it comes to books for
1:27:18instance we have a system in place it's
1:27:19called a choice if a book you disagree
1:27:21with is in the library your kid
1:27:23fortunately doesn't have to read it they
1:27:25or you as a family can choose not to
1:27:26read it or take it out if a book you
1:27:28disagree with is part of the curriculum
1:27:30your child doesn't have to read it we
1:27:32have a system in place that allows you
1:27:33to work with the teacher to select an
1:27:35applicable alternate text
1:27:37the same Choice applies to school clubs
1:27:39and activities no one is required to
1:27:41participate in any club or activity it's
1:27:43a choice if a student or family does not
1:27:45align with or disagrees with the club or
1:27:47in school activity they have the freedom
1:27:48not to participate giving voice to these
1:27:50complaints also serves to diminish the
1:27:52hard work and expertise of our district
1:27:53teachers and staff who utilize and
1:27:55facilitate these resources on a daily
1:27:57basis if this is the case why are we
1:27:59still having a conversation because it
1:28:01seems like Choice isn't enough instead
1:28:03what I observe being advocated by these
1:28:05complaints is the revocation of choice
1:28:07to allow only those options that stem
1:28:09from a very specific and narrow morality
1:28:11not only is choice not enough but there
1:28:13seems to be an obsession with taking
1:28:14away the choices and access of others
1:28:16which is quite the opposite of Freedom
1:28:18the kind of this kind of oversight will
1:28:20not cut it in a vastly diversely
1:28:22beautiful Community like the Westchester
1:28:23Area School District I want to thank the
1:28:25district for their steadfastness and
1:28:26responding to these issues and hope you
1:28:28continually reaffirm your stance on
1:28:30having representative literature and
1:28:31curriculum not Banning books and
1:28:33supporting activities that represent all
1:28:35students representation matters and
1:28:37while we may have disagreements about
1:28:38what is appropriate or not we have
1:28:40choice and we cannot allow the very
1:28:42specific and narrow morality of some to
1:28:44be imposed on all
1:28:51Amanda Greenberg
1:29:01hi I'm Anna Greenberg East Ocean
1:29:05um before I start I want to ask anybody
1:29:06that has a minor here
1:29:09um I advise that you remove your minor
1:29:10from the room during this
1:29:16all right good evening I'm here that you
1:29:19to ask that you revise or create a
1:29:21policy on how books are purchased and
1:29:23put into our schools we need one policy
1:29:26that applies to all the schools in the
1:29:27district because it's currently
1:29:29inconsistent
1:29:30are Librarians and Educators ordering
1:29:33books because they're told to or because
1:29:34they've seen a recommendation I doubt
1:29:37the book oryx and Craig was purchased
1:29:39after someone actually read it and
1:29:41thought it would be quality content for
1:29:42our students origin Creek reviewed by
1:29:46booklooks.org was rated quote not for
1:29:48minors end quote yet it was purchased
1:29:51with our tax dollars and put into our
1:29:53school libraries this book contains
1:29:55alcohol drug use sexual activity with
1:29:57children trafficking children for sex
1:29:59suicide and explicit bestiality do you
1:30:03find this to be pedophilia I do here's
1:30:06some examples from the book
1:30:08page 59 quote let's pretend I'm here
1:30:11with you big button all getting ready to
1:30:13suck your brains right out your dick
1:30:15page 118 quote it was hot as hell
1:30:18outside the two of them watching porn in
1:30:21Craig's room still they dutifully lit up
1:30:23a joint and started surfing they checked
1:30:25into tart of the day which featured
1:30:27elaborate confectionery of usual
1:30:29orifices then went to Super swallowers
1:30:31then to a Russian site that employed ex
1:30:34acrobats ballerinas and contortionists
1:30:36whoever said a guy can't suck his own
1:30:38dick
1:30:39then they went to Hot Tots a global sex
1:30:42trotting site somewhere from page 118
1:30:45the locations were supposed to be
1:30:47countries where life was cheap and kids
1:30:48were plentiful where you could buy any
1:30:50of them you wanted this was how two of
1:30:52them first saw oryx she was only about
1:30:55eight or look date they could never find
1:30:57out for certain how old she'd been then
1:30:58her name wasn't oryx she didn't have a
1:31:00name she was just another little girl on
1:31:02a porno site she was small boned and
1:31:04exquisite and naked like the rest of
1:31:06them with nothing on her but a Garland
1:31:08of flowers and a pink pear ribbon
1:31:10frequent props on the sex Kitty sites
1:31:13she was on her knees with another little
1:31:15girl on either side of her positioned in
1:31:17front of the standard gargantuan male
1:31:19torso a life-sized man Shipwrecked on an
1:31:22island of delicious midgets the three of
1:31:24them were going over the guy with their
1:31:26kittenish tongues and their tiny fingers
1:31:28giving them a thorough workout to the
1:31:30sounds of moans and Giggles the giggles
1:31:32must have been recorded because they
1:31:34weren't coming from the three girls they
1:31:36looked frightened and one of them was
1:31:37crying every so often he froze frames by
1:31:40now he had a small Archive of them
1:31:42sometimes he'd print them out and give a
1:31:44copy to Jimmy
1:31:46page 166 quote the brother would be sold
1:31:49to a pimp they said a pimp for hairy
1:31:52white foreign men or bearded Brown men
1:31:54or fat yellow men and kind of men who
1:31:57like little boys they described in
1:32:00detail what these men would do they
1:32:01laughed about it he would be a melon bum
1:32:03boy they said that's what boys like him
1:32:06were called firm and round on the
1:32:08outside expired
1:32:11why are you allowing pedophilia your
1:32:13time has expired thank you
1:32:15[Applause]
1:32:34foreign
1:32:49thank you thank you
1:32:51um at the beginning of the night there
1:32:52was a mention of the Cherry Crest farm
1:32:54field trips my daughter
1:32:58look she had a great time I can't wait
1:32:59to hear more about it but my comment
1:33:01tonight is about
1:33:03one of the concerns I raised about
1:33:04earlier this year about gender ideology
1:33:07back in February my comment focuses on
1:33:09the recent gender training at Fern Hill
1:33:11Elementary back in August I object to
1:33:14this training and requested not be
1:33:16implemented again I have several reasons
1:33:18for my request first being the trainer
1:33:20trainer has a Twitter page and she is a
1:33:23self-described
1:33:25this District should not be hiring
1:33:27radical activists two the books in the
1:33:30training
1:33:31I find them to be very controversial and
1:33:33inappropriate one of them I had Jazz
1:33:35promotes the idea that a young male who
1:33:37knows nothing about the world but who
1:33:39believes in the tooth fairy can somehow
1:33:41know that he has a girl's brain simply
1:33:43because he wears long hair and playing
1:33:45with dogs Calvin another book in that
1:33:48training is more of the same but in
1:33:50reversed in my opinion these books are
1:33:52inappropriate unnecessary and having
1:33:54manipulative messaging I don't want my
1:33:56daughter's exposed to this
1:33:58more broadly another reason is the
1:34:01concepts promoted in the training gender
1:34:03identity expression non non-binary queer
1:34:07pronoun selection the gender bear where
1:34:10x marks the spot of the genitalia all
1:34:13with the stated goal of quote
1:34:14challenging gender limits on these
1:34:16Concepts to be unpopular instill
1:34:19confusion again or controversial and
1:34:21unwanted we know they're unpopular
1:34:24because the Pennsylvania Department of
1:34:25Education has a website promoting these
1:34:27policies until recently they scrub this
1:34:29website about a week maybe a week or two
1:34:31ago I sent you that when Dr Scott see
1:34:34and it just coincides with the uh the
1:34:37coming of the election in a few weeks if
1:34:39the district is hiding its promotion of
1:34:41this ideology before an election this
1:34:43District should not be training its
1:34:44teachers
1:34:45we know these Concepts instill Mass
1:34:47confusion
1:34:48they undermine The Language by which we
1:34:50all communicate by destroying the
1:34:51meaning of words pronouns like they are
1:34:54no longer plural right knowing the word
1:34:55they meaningless those who say there are
1:34:58more than two genders cannot tell you
1:35:00how many they are there are rendering
1:35:02the word gender meaningless those who
1:35:04say that a male can be a woman cannot
1:35:06Define what a woman truly is making it a
1:35:08word woman meaningless we know these
1:35:10concepts are controversial their Mass
1:35:12promotion coincides with the rise of the
1:35:14multi-billion Dollar General affirming
1:35:16care industry which you heard about
1:35:17earlier tonight that encourages chemical
1:35:19castration and surgical mutilation
1:35:22this is no longer about tolerance than
1:35:24being inclusive rather it's about
1:35:26celebration and recruitment in order to
1:35:28sustain this injury at least in part
1:35:30finally we know these concepts are
1:35:32unwanted in elementary schools and I
1:35:34know that because I don't want them and
1:35:35I know I'm not alone all my children
1:35:37learn academics I don't want them and so
1:35:40I did not send them to school to test
1:35:42gender limits so please keep this
1:35:45training keep this ideology out of our
1:35:46schools thank you
1:35:48thank you
1:35:48[Applause]
1:36:03this is turned into you do you mind if I
1:36:05uh just share a statement regarding some
1:36:07of the concerns that parents raised
1:36:09tonight regarding the transgender
1:36:12training professional development that
1:36:14was offered back to Ferndale in August
1:36:17and I know that many of you have seen or
1:36:20heard of the Westchester Area School
1:36:22District's Mission before but I would
1:36:24like to take a moment to re-share that
1:36:26with you all now
1:36:27our mission is to educate and Inspire
1:36:29our students to achieve their personal
1:36:31best
1:36:32and one of the most important elements
1:36:33of achieving this mission for all of our
1:36:35students is understanding the serious
1:36:37impact that positive School environments
1:36:39as I described above have on our
1:36:42students academic and lifelong success
1:36:44and the development of inclusive School
1:36:46environments has been called into
1:36:48question in a few articles that appeared
1:36:50about Fern Hill's Elementary summer
1:36:54professional development sessions
1:36:56these articles spreads concerns about
1:36:59transgenderism and gender terminology
1:37:01and the instruction of our youngest
1:37:02Learners and I understand that many of
1:37:05us did not experience School in that way
1:37:07when we were growing up
1:37:09um but there is a need for this this is
1:37:12a reality uh we do have transgender
1:37:14students in our schools and we are best
1:37:16preparing our students our teachers as
1:37:19well the feedback that we received from
1:37:21staff on the following training was also
1:37:23greatly appreciated is 94 found the
1:37:26learning relevant and practical and 97
1:37:28founded provided opportunities to think
1:37:30critically and creative and we know that
1:37:33this is much harder for our students to
1:37:35learn the valuable skills they will need
1:37:37in the future like Reading Writing math
1:37:40and so much more if they are not able to
1:37:41come to school knowing that they are
1:37:43safe respected and valued this
1:37:46responsibility to help our students and
1:37:48family achieve their goals and dreams is
1:37:50one that we do not take lightly and it
1:37:52is one that we will continue to strive
1:37:54toward as a district thank you
1:37:59foreign
1:38:02excuse me we're not going to tolerate at
1:38:05first from the audience thank you
1:38:08excuse me
1:38:11thank you
1:38:12all right summing up the meeting I
1:38:16wanted to comment on the fact that Dr
1:38:18Herman and I and several other people
1:38:20went to Fern Hill on Thursday as part of
1:38:23a visit that had been set up some time
1:38:26ago and it's part of what the board does
1:38:30we go and visit schools for about an
1:38:32hour
1:38:33sent me the principal meet students go
1:38:37in and out of classes depending on which
1:38:39kind of school it is Elementary is a
1:38:41little shorter High School is usually
1:38:42half a day
1:38:44but it gives us a chance to see what is
1:38:47happening in a way that
1:38:49sometimes we don't get to see sitting in
1:38:52a board meeting
1:38:54getting reports so
1:38:57almost all of us have had the
1:38:58opportunity to do this when I went to
1:39:01Fern Hill I could not have
1:39:06um predicted that I would be so engaged
1:39:09by the number of very small to fifth
1:39:13grade people
1:39:15from two different schools
1:39:17um Glen Acres has some classes over
1:39:19there and because of their construction
1:39:21and
1:39:23the way the entire building fit together
1:39:27the way students
1:39:29of all kinds of backgrounds and
1:39:32abilities and
1:39:35um
1:39:36uh appearances work together in every
1:39:40single classroom so there was a
1:39:45there was not just a special education
1:39:47classroom for kids with particular needs
1:39:50I saw those kids in a classroom where
1:39:54they got
1:39:55special help but I also saw them in
1:39:57regular classrooms interacting with
1:40:00students who were learning because they
1:40:04were being with children that they might
1:40:06not have had a chance to get to know
1:40:08better
1:40:10so I saw belonging and care and
1:40:13community and gratitude from the
1:40:16principle to every single teacher and
1:40:18there were all kinds of teachers in that
1:40:21building
1:40:22it was
1:40:24um an eye-opening affirming
1:40:28visit
1:40:30so that I think if sometimes all the
1:40:33board got to hear was uh comments and
1:40:37questions and concerns we would have a
1:40:40pretty Grim picture of what was going on
1:40:42in our schools what we actually see in
1:40:45our schools is an incredibly vibrant
1:40:51um caring community of very different
1:40:54children all together so I wanted to say
1:40:57that I didn't this is not a quote from
1:40:59anybody and it's not a speech about any
1:41:02particular thing it's what I came in
1:41:05with because I showed it to
1:41:08ah before we came in but
1:41:11um when we say diversity we're not just
1:41:13talking about racial diversity we're
1:41:16talking about the kind of diversity that
1:41:19we want to get our kids have we want to
1:41:22have our children have the opportunity
1:41:24to see and live because they're going
1:41:27out into in a world that's going to be
1:41:29diverse they're going to be all kinds of
1:41:32people
1:41:33um we can protect them in many ways when
1:41:36they're very small but very quickly they
1:41:39are ready to meet different kinds of
1:41:41people and get to know many different
1:41:43kinds of things
1:41:44so I would like peacefully to leave this
1:41:47meeting and uh I'm calling for the
1:41:50meeting to adjourn do I have a first
1:41:53Mr Darnell and a second Mrs Fleming all
1:41:56in favor
1:41:58okay meeting is adjourned thank you all
1:42:00for coming
1:42:01will you comment on the pornographic

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