NOVEMBER 14, 2012 A Regular Public Meeting of the Board of Education of the Township of Teaneck, County of Bergen, New Jersey, was held in the 3rd Floor Cheryl Miller-Porter Student Center at Teaneck High School, 100 Elizabeth Avenue, Teaneck, New Jersey, on Wednesday, November 14, 2012, at 8:00 p.m. Dr. Ardie D. Walser, President of the Board, presided. PRESIDING OFFICER’S MEETING NOTICE STATEMENT “I hereby call to order the Regular Public Meeting of the Teaneck Board of Education, held on Wednesday, November 14, 2012, in the 3rd Floor Cheryl Miller-Porter Student Center at Teaneck High School, 100 Elizabeth Avenue, Teaneck, New Jersey. Adequate notice of this meeting has been sent to The Record, The Suburbanite, filed with the Municipal Clerk of the Township of Teaneck and posted inside the Teaneck Board of Education, One Merrison Street, on Friday, November 9, 2012.” ROLL CALL Board Members Present: Dr. Ardie Walser Dr. David Diuguid Mrs. Margot Fisher Mrs. Sarah Rappoport Mr. Sebastian Rodriguez Mr. Howard Rose Mrs. Clara Williams Mrs. Gervonn Rice Absent: Others Present: Ms. Barbara Pinsak, Superintendent of Schools Mr. Robert Finger, Business Administrator/Board Secretary Mr. Vincent McHale, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Teaneck Public Schools Superintendent’s Report 11/14/2012 I am happy to report that our school buildings sustained minimal damage during Hurricane Sandy. Our Operations and Maintenance staff were on duty as soon as possible after the storm to assess and remediate any damages and to clear the campuses of debris. Even before the storm arrived, the department made sure that any scaffolding or other work connected to various projects was either tightly secured or removed. I would also like to acknowledge the cooperation of the Teaneck Township Education Association (TTEA) in helping the District achieve a productive return to school. We experienced excellent staff attendance in District schools for November 8th and 9th, days originally planned for the NJEA convention. District administrators returned to work as soon as power was restored in our buildings. Although Eugene Field was without power, Central Office staff worked out of Teaneck High School. Teaneck students and staff not only returned to school gratefully but with their generosity unaffected. Our parent organizations are as active as ever in supporting the school community and the community at large. The following is a short list of some of the activities in which students are engaging: • Lowell School will host their first annual “Turkey Trot”. Students will win turkeys and/or gift cards to their local supermarket to help their families during the holiday season. The Lowell PTO is donating the gift cards for the trot. • The TTEA sponsored a food and clothing drive in conjunction with the Teaneck PBA. Donations were delivered to the Teaneck Police Department and were then driven to Seaside Heights NJ, for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Two trucks were filled with goods from our school collections. • Hawthorne is sponsoring “Sunshine after Sandy “ to assist students in Moonachie recover after the hurricane. Staff is donating $10 gift cards and students are giving whatever they can to support the children. • At Whittier • Ms. Colahan’s third grade students took the initiative to create a student written newspaper. They’ve written the copy, illustrated, photographed and edited their newspaper “Kidz News.” Funds collected from the sale of newspapers will be forwarded to The Red Cross to help families stricken by Hurricane Sandy. • Third and fourth grade students are collecting food for Center for Food Action in Hackensack. • In December third grade students will be sponsoring a Pajama and Book Drive. Pajama Program, a not-for-profit organization, provides new, warm pajamas and new books for children in need in the United States and around the world, many who are waiting and hoping to be adopted. www.pajamaprogram.org is based in New York City. • This week, Thomas Jefferson Middle School is observing a Week of Thanks and Giving sponsored by the TJMS Student Council. This outreach is Thomas Jefferson’s way of helping the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Activities include Dress Down Friday - $5.00 donation for staff to wear jeans to work. Money to be used to buy gift cards for students and their families who are in need. • BF has designated November 15th as Jerseys for Jersey Day. Staff may wear jeans and a team jersey for a minimum donation of $5.00. Students are asked to donate $2.00, a pair of new socks or 2 canned goods. Donations will be given to a charitable organization to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy. BF fifth graders will hold a Read-A- Thon for the same purpose. The school will also collect school supplies to donate to schools in need. • Bryant School sponsored a coin drive to support relief efforts. • On Saturday, November 10th, 45 Teaneck High students and 15 chaperones traveled to New Dorp High School in Staten Island, NY to assist with relief efforts for that area. Teaneck High School Board of Education representative will present slides at November 14th public meeting. The Architecture Construction and Engineering (ACE) team will have their first meeting on Tuesday, November 20th. A total of 30 students registered for ACE this year. Congratulations and thanks to our ACE coordinator Yvonne Witter. Ms. Witter kept the team going despite the relocation of our industry mentors. Thanks to Joe Di Cara, from the architectural firm of Di Cara-Rubino. Mr. Di Cara stepped up to assist in the mentoring of our students so that we would not lose the program. We look forward to another good year. Many community members have reached out to the schools to support the education of our students. That outreach has taken many forms. I would like to note School Operation and Curriculum Agenda item #36. This item speaks to the donation of approximately 500 books about the Holocaust to our Teaneck High School Holocaust Center by the Ores family. These materials will enhance the learning of our students for years to come. Pearl Markowitz, also a Teaneck resident, has volunteered to catalog the materials so that they will be of optimum use in our school. Of course, Goldie Minkowitz, Teaneck teacher and sponsor of the Israel Club, facilitated the process for Teaneck High School. The Strategic Planning meeting, postponed because of recent weather challenges, has been scheduled for Wednesday, November 28th at 7:30 PM in the Teaneck High School Media Center. A draft of the District Strategic Plan is available on the website (www.teaneckschools.org). Please join us that evening for a brief review of the planning process, the plan itself and our progress towards implementation. We are all partners in the efforts to educate our students and good information can result in better education. Since this is the time of year for reflection and gratitude, I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to the Teaneck community and especially the outstanding students in our schools for the honor of spending another year as Superintendent. I am especially grateful for the leadership of the Teaneck Board of Education and their advocacy for the achievement of our students. Student Liaison Board of Education Report November 14, 2012 Regular Public Meeting Ms. Cesca Wolos-Fonteno and Mr. Tinisi Tidoe 1. Powder Puff Game-raised $700 for a local charity 2. Highwaymen won their first football game against Wayne Valley 3. Hurricane Relief: School administration made the students aware that assistance was available if needed *charging stations *laundry *food to take home *showers *toiletries 4. Saturday, November 10th HEAL, SOLVE, and National Honor Society students were bused to Staten Island to assist with the Hurricane Sandy victims with 12 faculty members. They helped deliver food and supplies. The school organizations donated supplies. 5. Rumors-School Play November 16, 17th and 18th 6. Student Athlete Seminar-How to get athletic scholarships - November 13th 7. 9th Grade Assembly-Olympian Maya Lawrence - November 20th 8. Teaneck Alumni returns to Teaneck High School to talk to the Freshman Orientation classes on November 21st 9. Thanksgiving Pep Rally November 21st 5:30 pm 10. Teaneck High School Homecoming November 22nd at Hackensack 10 am kickoff 11. Guidance Freshman Parent Night 12. College Fair-100 colleges attended 13. SAT-November 17th 14. Teaneck High School Open House-November 15th 15. Early Decision and Early Action was extended because of Hurricane Sandy. NOVEMBER 14, 2012 PRESENTATIONS Audit Presentation – Elizabeth Shick of Lerch, Vinci & Higgins, LLP. PUBLIC HEARING ON MEETING AENDA The public hearing on matters appearing on this meeting’s business agenda commenced at 8:58 p.m. No one wished to address the Board on any agenda matters and the hearing was then closed. FORMAL BUSINESS AGENDA The Board of Education took the following indicated actions on the business agenda items for this meeting. 6 BOARD POLICY NOVEMER 14, 2012 MOTION made by Dr. Diuguid seconded by Mr. Rodriguez; 8. the Board approved FIRST READING of the following Board Policies: 2363 – Pupil Use of Privately-Owned Technology (New) SUGGESTED 3282 – Use of Social Networking Sites (New) SUGGESTED 4282 – Use of Social Networking Sites (New) SUGGESTED Roll call on Board Policy Motion #8; Motion approved 8-0. 7 BOARD OPERATIONS NOVEMBER 14, 2012 MOTION made by Dr. Diuguid seconded by Mr. Rodriguez; 5. the Board approved the following Minutes for the October 3, 2012 Workshop Meeting and October 10, 2012 Regular Public Meeting. 6. the Board accepted with regret, the resignation of Board Member Herbert Burack effective October 15, 2012. The Board recognizes Mr. Burack for his service to the school district. Roll call on Board Operations Motion #5 - 6; Motions approved 7-0.