[0:09] Welcome to the October 5th,

[0:10] 2026 Hudson School Board meeting.

[0:12] Heather. Sure.

[0:16] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

[0:20] and to the Republic for which it stands.

[0:22] One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:27] justice for all.

[0:33] You do not have any Hudson residents here this evening in

[0:36] attendance to provide public input.

[0:37] So I will move to our good news update.

[0:40] Thank you.

[0:41] This weekend, the elder FFA.

[0:43] Chapter had an eventful trip to the Deerfield Fair on.

[0:47] Several of our students received first place honors in

[0:50] their separate competitions, and the floral and forestry

[0:53] teams both finished second in

[0:54] the state in their competitions.

[0:57] Our schools around the district celebrated National Custodian

[1:00] Appreciation Day on Friday, with celebrations for their

[1:02] custodial staff, who would like to thank our custodial teams

[1:05] for the great work that they do

[1:06] to keep our buildings looking spotless.

[1:09] And lastly, students at Albion High School took place in a

[1:12] trip to the Health Care Career Expo at Parkland Medical Center

[1:15] in Derry.

[1:16] This past week.

[1:16] Students rotated through stations and got a hands on

[1:19] look at all the different departments of the hospital.

[1:21] Thank you.

[1:22] Thank you.

[1:23] Jane could not be here this evening, but she did provide a

[1:25] short update, so I am going to share that in her absence.

[1:28] She said that homecoming last

[1:30] week in the events went very well.

[1:32] There was a great turnout and lots of students attended and

[1:34] had a great time.

[1:35] The CTE ambassadors had their first professional development

[1:38] opportunity at UNH Manchester last week, and the ambassadors

[1:41] did a great job.

[1:42] They had some great speakers that taught them about

[1:45] professionalism for all the CTE ambassadors.

[1:47] She thinks that it was very successful for session, and

[1:49] she's looking forward to, as are all the CTE ambassadors,

[1:52] the further professional development.

[1:54] And finally, similar to what was just shared, she too said

[1:57] that FFA also competed at the Deerfield Fair.

[1:59] There was a great turnout with students representing Alvin

[2:01] very well, placing in their categories.

[2:05] So this evening we have a grant allocations overview, and

[2:10] Superintendent Wallace is going to present that this evening.

[2:12] Thank you, Chairman Dillon.

[2:14] So again this is something we started last year for the board

[2:17] and the public around federal funds, grant funds that are

[2:20] received and in the slides.

[2:23] Miss graves could not be here this evening.

[2:25] Um, so I'm going to do my best to cover the topics.

[2:28] Um, so it outlines what grants are.

[2:31] It defines the different grant funds that we receive both

[2:35] federal, state and local grant funds to, um, support

[2:39] educational programs.

[2:41] Uh, the key differentiation is they are not meant to supplant,

[2:45] uh, the district's financial responsibilities.

[2:48] Um, so unlike loans, grants do not have to be repaid, but they

[2:52] must be used for the purposes that they're allowed or

[2:55] entitled to under each of the grant programs.

[2:58] Um, similarly, a grant works as money and dollar money in,

[3:02] dollar money out.

[3:04] Um, so the district, uh, pays and then there's the

[3:07] reimbursement mechanism from the state or the federal

[3:10] government, depending on the grant funding source.

[3:13] Um, as we go through the

[3:14] slides, it defines the grant allocations.

[3:17] Uh, unlike a fiscal year, grants run over multiple years.

[3:21] So for this past September, we

[3:25] actually closed out the 2425 grant.

[3:28] We have the current 2526 grant.

[3:32] And just recently we had the approved 2627 grant.

[3:37] So until September 30th, when that 2425 grant closes, you can

[3:42] be as a school district operating in two years of grant

[3:45] funds or up until that other grant fund is closed.

[3:48] Three um, but now that the 2425 grant is closed out, we're

[3:52] working from two grant grant years, but they don't run

[3:56] concurrently with the fiscal year.

[3:57] And that's important to note.

[3:59] They're on a September 30th, two year deadline.

[4:02] So the life cycle of grant allocations, it talks about a

[4:05] grant application.

[4:07] There are grant allocations that are given to each of the

[4:09] schools under all of the

[4:11] different grant, uh, grant mechanisms.

[4:14] There's approval for what is an allowable expenditure and

[4:17] request from the district to the Department of Education.

[4:20] And then there's an approval of those expenditures with final

[4:24] approval from the New Hampshire Department of Education.

[4:27] And then each month, there is a monthly reconciliation and

[4:31] reimbursement request that happens from the district to

[4:34] the New Hampshire Department of Education.

[4:36] And then at the end of

[4:38] September 30th, there's a grant closure.

[4:40] And during each part of the month and at the end of the

[4:43] grant, there's an associated final report mechanism, because

[4:47] we are a district that receives in total of all of our grant

[4:51] funds over $1 million.

[4:53] There is also the requirement of a single audit for our

[4:56] grants, because we receive greater than $1 million in

[5:00] federal grant funds, and that's conducted on an annual basis by

[5:04] the district from an external auditing firm.

[5:09] On the next slide, there are some grant allocations that are

[5:12] for the 2627 school year.

[5:15] You will also see these in the

[5:17] upcoming executive summary report.

[5:20] And we'll also step through these with the Budget Committee

[5:23] and the public and at budget

[5:25] hearing and deliberative session.

[5:27] The board is very familiar with

[5:28] many of these grant allocations.

[5:30] Perkins funds.

[5:32] Those are used particularly for CTE programs.

[5:35] And as you can see, $61,421.42 is what the district receives

[5:42] in Grant Perkins funds, and

[5:44] those can vary from year to year.

[5:46] Ida, which Miss Borge is the,

[5:50] grant approval for that and

[5:52] oversees ID a that's $914,675.99.

[5:58] There's also a subcategory for Ida, which is our preschool

[6:01] grant that is used specifically for preschool out of Ida grant

[6:05] funds, and that's $17,363.14.

[6:10] And then there's a series of title grant funds, um, that

[6:14] Miss Benson oversees as the, as the grant approver of those

[6:18] grant funds.

[6:19] And those are title one $426,120.82.

[6:25] We also have a title one coordinator that helps write

[6:27] that grant, and then that goes to Miss Benson, and then it

[6:30] goes to me for final approval.

[6:32] Um, and then to the Department of Ed, there's title two.

[6:35] Um and those funds are also $128,799.74.

[6:42] And then there is title four, and that's

[6:46] $98.55. And then in the last couple of years in working in

[6:51] our schools, we also have some state grants.

[6:54] And those are robotics grants

[6:56] that are specific for robotics activities.

[7:00] Um, and we received this year $5,700 for a robotics grant for

[7:06] Hudson Memorial School, and

[7:07] then $5,700 for a grant at Alvirne.

[7:12] Last year, we also received a farm to school grant that Miss

[7:15] Atherton is our food service director.

[7:17] Um wrote and we received um, that's a state grant.

[7:20] And the board will recall a couple years ago we also

[7:23] applied with Mr. Pratt's help.

[7:25] It's probably 2 or 3 years ago, a safe grant.

[7:28] And that's where we received some grant funds to add

[7:31] additional surveillance cameras.

[7:32] So those are more of the state grant funding sources.

[7:35] You can see the total amount of grant funds that we receive.

[7:39] Um, and then these are some

[7:41] examples of allowable expenditures.

[7:43] They can be used to support salaries, you can fund a

[7:46] position through the grant.

[7:47] You can fund travel supplies, professional development,

[7:50] professional services,

[7:51] equipment and direct costs and software.

[7:54] These are not all inclusive examples.

[7:56] These are just some examples of allowable expenditures for

[8:00] grant funds.

[8:02] Uh, yes.

[8:03] Ask a clarifying.

[8:04] The terms of each grant vary.

[8:06] So what is an allowable expense would vary based on the terms

[8:09] of each of the specific grants.

[8:11] Is that correct?

[8:11] That is correct.

[8:13] Yes, that is exactly correct.

[8:15] Okay. Um and then um impact to the taxpayers.

[8:19] Um as mentioned, every dollar in from the federal government

[8:22] or state government is spent, a dollar is received and it is in

[8:26] a reimbursement model.

[8:27] Um, grants have no tax impact to the local taxpayers.

[8:32] Where it will show up is in our revenues of what we receive.

[8:36] Um, so that kind of encapsulates that slide.

[8:40] And I didn't do a complete read through because I didn't want

[8:44] to do that, but I will pause there to see if there's any

[8:46] questions that the board has with grants.

[8:49] Dan uh, Doctor Mullis, if you wouldn't mind for the just for

[8:52] the public, um, can you kind of give us a crash course on what

[8:55] each title is?

[8:57] So like what's covered under title one, what's covered under

[8:59] title two, title four, just like a CliffsNotes version?

[9:02] If. Yes.

[9:03] Um, so I'll start with title two because that was one of my

[9:07] prior district that I wrote that has to do with um, can be

[9:10] used for professional development to support teachers

[9:12] to support staff.

[9:14] Title one.

[9:15] Um, and Miss Benson can speak to this a little bit more than

[9:17] I can, um, is used to support, um, you know, students that

[9:22] need additional support in reading or mathematics.

[9:25] Um, and there's certain criteria that it has to be used

[9:28] for title one services in a school within the district

[9:31] needs to be designated as a

[9:33] title one school or title one district.

[9:35] Miss Benson, please correct me if there's anything that I

[9:38] missed or.

[9:39] That's correct.

[9:39] Okay. And then title for which

[9:42] I have a little familiarity with.

[9:43] And please, again, correct me

[9:44] if I'm wrong, is really to be used.

[9:48] I'm trying to think of a good example of title for.

[9:50] So

[9:52] Safe and Healthy schools is one category for title for digital

[9:55] learning, digital another.

[9:57] And also, um, an opportunities for well-rounded education are

[10:02] three different buckets for title four.

[10:04] Thank you, Miss Benson.

[10:05] Appreciate that.

[10:06] Okay. Thank you.

[10:07] You're welcome.

[10:09] Are there questions or comments from the board?

[10:11] Heather.

[10:12] How are the funds allocated within the district?

[10:15] I know we have preschool and

[10:16] then we have all other grade levels.

[10:18] Yeah. So there's there's some

[10:20] formulas that are part of the allocation.

[10:22] Um, and I'll have Miss Borge speak to it.

[10:24] One of the formulas is again with the population of students

[10:29] that um receive services for special education.

[10:32] I believe it's part of that formula.

[10:33] Yeah. Part of it is the total number of students.

[10:35] Um they take a look at across our entire state and what is

[10:38] allocated by the federal

[10:39] government and distributed accordingly.

[10:41] Again, based on our total population.

[10:42] And then we have parameters

[10:44] within which to budget said money.

[10:46] Um, ours is used predominantly for staff.

[10:50] So you're saying the Ida grant

[10:51] is predominantly used for staff.

[10:54] And how is that allocated.

[10:55] That's you said within parameters.

[10:57] So you have to make sure that

[10:58] you're not supplementing or supplanting.

[11:00] You can't just let this be the

[11:02] only source of revenue for your staff.

[11:04] So you have to make sure that you have other staff that are

[11:06] being accounted for.

[11:07] Moving forward, we're also going to have to be looking at

[11:10] kind of balancing that out with the new funding formula that

[11:13] will go live in a year.

[11:14] So that will be a little bit different as we move forward.

[11:16] Um, it has to be strictly for people who are providing

[11:19] services to students with disabilities.

[11:21] There is an option within the grant that you can tap into

[11:25] what they're framing as preventative services.

[11:28] But there's quite a lot that goes with that.

[11:30] And we honestly have enough need of staff that there isn't

[11:34] leftover money to use.

[11:35] Okay.

[11:36] And then, Heather, just as a follow up in the executive

[11:38] summary report that will come forward to the board at the

[11:41] next meeting, budget workshop meeting, there's towards the

[11:45] end of the executive summary, it'll include, um, positions

[11:49] that are funded through grants.

[11:50] And so it'll show how many are funded through, say, Ida Grant,

[11:54] how many are funded through title one.

[11:56] Um, and that's been something I think that we've been doing

[11:59] since I've started, probably even before I started.

[12:03] Um, just for the public, for the board.

[12:05] It just shows what's funded through those grants.

[12:08] And to miss Borge's point, what we're seeing, and not just in

[12:10] Hudson is fluctuation with grant funds right now.

[12:14] Um, some of them have been stable, I think.

[12:17] Correct me if I'm wrong.

[12:18] Ida's been it's.

[12:19] Been fairly.

[12:19] Stable, been stable, but some of them for school districts

[12:22] can vary.

[12:23] And when that happens, if, say on a given year you receive

[12:26] less money than you thought, then there may not be as many

[12:29] positions that you can fund through a grant funding source.

[12:32] Okay.

[12:33] Thank you.

[12:33] You're welcome.

[12:35] Have your comments or questions

[12:36] from the board regarding grants.

[12:41] Thank you.

[12:43] I appreciate the overview and certainly further information

[12:45] to come as part of that budget process, I think has always

[12:48] been helpful for the board and

[12:49] for the Public and Budget Committee.

[12:50] So I think that that will be helpful moving forward.

[12:52] Yeah, it's I again, Maureen, I think this is the second year

[12:56] we've done this presentation kind of to lead into the budget

[12:58] process and just feedback from the board and the public is

[13:02] it's been a nice kind of precursor to the budget.

[13:04] Absolutely.

[13:05] Um, and it's always questions come up in deliberative session

[13:09] and budget committee about the grants.

[13:11] So I think just having this overview has been helpful.

[13:13] Absolutely. Certainly.

[13:15] So now moving into new business this evening we have a request

[13:19] from the Sustainability Club regarding the Youth Climate

[13:23] Leadership Academy in December.

[13:27] Sure. I can speak to that.

[13:28] Um so Miss Murphy, who is the teacher advisor um, is bringing

[13:32] forward from principle deals.

[13:35] A memo for the Youth Climate Leaders Academy.

[13:38] We've had the students here, I think, in the past after this

[13:40] conference has occurred.

[13:42] Um, it's been a great opportunity for our students

[13:44] that are part of the sustainability club.

[13:47] Um, and this year they're expecting to have up to six

[13:51] students attend from each

[13:52] school and they've included the cost.

[13:56] And similarly to the past, it's, I think, been a nice

[13:58] follow up when we've brought the students back afterwards.

[14:04] I'll make a motion to approve the travel request.

[14:07] Second.

[14:08] Any discussion?

[14:11] All in favor?

[14:11] Aye.

[14:12] Any opposed?

[14:16] Moving on to policies.

[14:16] We have two coming forward for first reading tonight.

[14:20] Yes. So um policy EHB data data records retention.

[14:25] Um so the key highlights from this policy are the revisions

[14:28] include a specific definition for the meaning of the word

[14:33] what is considered a record using language that is better

[14:36] defined as aligning to the definition of a governmental

[14:39] record, and then also adding a provision outlining

[14:44] the amphibious relationship of certain student records to

[14:48] various legal requirements.

[14:50] So what is considered a part of a student's record?

[14:54] And, and then also a provision has been added related to

[14:58] records connected to federal funds under policy DAF, which

[15:02] was recently reviewed to the board.

[15:04] You'll see some call outs for the records relating to federal

[15:07] funds, and then also some updates for special education

[15:11] records that need to be maintained.

[15:14] It also talks about on page three of five, the disposal of

[15:18] sensitive information and how there should be a disposal of

[15:22] records, which is also highlighted, as well as

[15:26] banking, financial records and electronic media records.

[15:30] And then along with that

[15:32] accompanying policy is the procedure.

[15:35] I've started to go through the process of reviewing this with

[15:38] directors last week, pending final approval from the board.

[15:41] And this is the retention schedule procedure, which

[15:44] really applies to multiple departments.

[15:49] It applies.

[15:49] You'll see one section applies to finance.

[15:52] One section applies to enrollment data and enrollment

[15:55] reports that need to be completed um, maintained.

[15:58] Um along with financial reports.

[16:01] Um it talks about budget reports that need to be

[16:03] retained and kept on file.

[16:05] Um attendance records.

[16:07] Um, also retirement applications, w-2s tax forms,

[16:11] all of that information has a certain cycle of how many years

[16:15] you need to complete that and maintain that information.

[16:18] And then along with that, there's, um, along with student

[16:21] records, it does talk about some other internal records

[16:24] that we need to keep.

[16:25] For instance, Mr. Pratt keeps, are asbestos training records

[16:31] review that we do with our staff.

[16:33] Um, any of those maintenance types of records that we also

[16:36] need to maintain and keep on file.

[16:38] So the procedure accompanies the policy.

[16:40] Um it is very comprehensive pending the board's approval

[16:43] tonight we'll also be reviewing this.

[16:45] Um we started a review with directors, but we'll be

[16:48] reviewing this with principals.

[16:49] We'll be reviewing this with the saw staff, um, as well as

[16:53] administrative assistance.

[16:54] Because this procedure I think is, is really the backup to

[16:57] make sure, make sure the district follows the policy.

[17:01] Before we move on to those for second reading, are there any

[17:03] comments or questions regarding the policy and the procedure

[17:06] for first reading?

[17:11] Okay.

[17:12] So let's bring those back to our next meeting then.

[17:15] Dan. Okay, second reading.

[17:17] And then we have a series of policies that are coming

[17:20] forward for second reading tonight.

[17:22] Yes. So for second reading this evening, we have policy E

[17:25] public access to school district records policy.

[17:28] E.H., which is the procedure for public access to school

[17:32] district records.

[17:33] Um, and also right to know requests.

[17:36] Um, this would be a new procedural form.

[17:38] Uh, along with that we have policy EHB, which is subpoenas

[17:42] involving district students,

[17:44] officials, employees and or records.

[17:47] And then policy k f, which is the use of school facilities

[17:51] offer second read this evening.

[17:55] Any discussion or motion regarding the policies for

[17:57] second reading.

[18:01] I'll make a motion to approve

[18:02] the policies from second reading.

[18:04] Second.

[18:06] Discussion regarding the motion.

[18:09] All in favor of adopting policy E h procedure e h, policy e, h

[18:14] b and policy k f as included in the agenda packet, say aye.

[18:18] Aye. Any opposed?

[18:21] Okay.

[18:23] Recommended action this evening manifests.

[18:26] I did check with finance.

[18:27] I don't believe they have been sent out yet to the board, so

[18:31] those will be sent out the next day or so.

[18:34] Thank you.

[18:35] Then we have two sets of minutes for consideration.

[18:40] Um, the August 17th minutes

[18:42] back I had worked with Debbie Leary.

[18:45] I hope that that was your request was captured, Heather.

[18:48] But certainly if you have a further request, let's talk

[18:50] about that.

[18:51] And then also certainly our minutes, draft minutes from the

[18:54] September 21st meeting as well.

[19:04] Heather, can I just confirm that that captured.

[19:06] Yes, yes.

[19:07] Sufficient.

[19:07] Thank you.

[19:08] Thank you.

[19:09] Um, so do we have a motion regarding.

[19:14] Make a motion to approve the draft minutes.

[19:17] Second.

[19:19] Any further discussion?

[19:21] All in favor?

[19:22] Aye. Any opposed?

[19:25] Reports to the board this evening.

[19:27] Superintendent reports.

[19:28] Thank you.

[19:29] Chairman.

[19:30] So for curriculum instruction and assessment updates.

[19:32] Miss Benson and I attended the Agricultural and Sustainability

[19:36] CTE event at Alvirne on September 22nd.

[19:39] Uh, students explored career options such as forestry,

[19:42] natural resources, agriculture, veterinary science, and a

[19:45] multitude of other career pathways.

[19:48] Um, there are more photos from the day that can be found on

[19:50] the district's Facebook page.

[19:52] Um, but it was a great day for alvirne students to, to visit

[19:56] and see the different career pathways.

[19:58] And also similarly to other years, we also had HMS

[20:02] students, um, that came up and had an opportunity to see the

[20:05] career pathways, as Miss Benson mentioned.

[20:08] Um, and she also was in attendance.

[20:10] The CTE ambassadors from the Palmer Center at Alvirne took

[20:13] part in a professional development conference on

[20:15] Wednesday at UNH in Manchester.

[20:18] Um, there were over 80 students at this event from across the

[20:23] state, and they heard from presenters specializing in

[20:27] leadership development,

[20:28] marketing and professional communication.

[20:31] And as also mentioned in Jane's report, that was was a great

[20:35] event for our CTE ambassadors.

[20:37] Staying with that theme, um, I was on HGTV last week, um, for

[20:42] our monthly broadcast.

[20:44] Um, so last week we had our district broadcast and on the

[20:48] broadcast, we had Rich Paiva who attended and we highlighted

[20:52] both the agriculture sustainability event and the

[20:55] CTE ambassadors leadership professional development event

[20:58] last last week in Manchester.

[21:00] Uh, the discussion covered how CTE ambassadors are involved at

[21:04] Alvirne High School, also attending the elementary

[21:06] schools to teach Stem lessons, which the board and the public

[21:09] have heard about in the past, and attending the middle school

[21:12] to discuss CTE programs and elective offerings when

[21:15] students progress to Alvirne High school.

[21:18] Um, so that that's our, was our

[21:20] last last week's monthly installment.

[21:22] And I'm really enjoying the partnership.

[21:25] This is the second year we've had with CTV to take different

[21:28] themes from across all of our schools and, and provide a 4 to

[21:32] 5 minute broadcast to the community of, of what's going

[21:34] on in our schools.

[21:36] Um, committee updates since our last meeting, we've had a

[21:39] couple of committee meetings, and some of the folks in this

[21:42] room have been at some of those meetings.

[21:44] Uh, we had the Capital Improvement Committee met and

[21:47] we reviewed long term maintenance and capital

[21:49] improvement projects.

[21:51] Um, this also included town

[21:52] engineer Elvis Dema who attended.

[21:55] And we discussed the extension of a sidewalks at HMS to the

[21:59] beginning of the driveway.

[22:00] And the committee is working with the town engineer on a

[22:03] plan to address the HMS sidewalk for students, staff

[22:06] and families, um, as a, as a long term project.

[22:09] And there were other projects that we discussed, both short

[22:12] term maintenance projects and long term projects.

[22:14] Also last last week we had the communication committee met.

[22:18] Um, we now have new school representation and parent

[22:22] member representation on the

[22:23] committee, which I'm pleased to report.

[22:25] Um, have joined our committee.

[22:27] Um, Mr. Leblond is our communication coordinator,

[22:29] facilitates the meeting.

[22:31] Um, he highlights some of the communication improvements

[22:34] we've had in the last year.

[22:36] Um, as part of the updates, we included our district update

[22:39] that's sent out every week.

[22:40] Some of the updates and enhancements to our school

[22:43] newsletters, uh, the updates in our alumni newsletter, which I

[22:46] also try to share out with the board as well.

[22:48] And then, um, our school district broadcasts with CTV,

[22:54] uh, hiring update.

[22:55] The school district has limited teacher vacancies as of today.

[22:59] Um, working with Mr. Fretwell,

[23:00] we have only five teacher vacancies.

[23:03] A small number of paraeducator vacancies exist, and we do have

[23:07] some other staff positions which include a few, um food

[23:11] service staff member vacancies as well.

[23:14] But again, as mentioned, we're in a really good place from a

[23:16] hiring perspective.

[23:17] I have a question, please.

[23:19] Um, how many paraeducator vacancies exist?

[23:22] I know you specified the number of food service staff.

[23:24] You.

[23:25] Exactly.

[23:25] Sure.

[23:27] Three.

[23:28] Okay. That's great.

[23:30] Is there any struggle with filling in the vacancies?

[23:33] No. It's real.

[23:34] Well, always.

[23:35] But it's really been a matter of, like,

[23:37] people who just came on board and maybe it wasn't a fit.

[23:39] And so it's been a little bit rotating these last few.

[23:42] Um, but we've really had a decent amount of success in

[23:45] getting the positions filled.

[23:47] Thank you.

[23:48] And just as comparison, the last couple of years we've had

[23:51] at this point anywhere from 10

[23:53] to 15 vacancies for Paraeducators.

[23:55] So we're in a really good place.

[23:57] Um, with, with hiring across the district.

[24:00] Yeah. Um, my last couple of updates, um, that I like to

[24:05] highlight are under the other updates section.

[24:07] On September 23rd, assistant principal Assistant

[24:10] Superintendent Benson and I attended the Alvin Hall of Fame

[24:13] inaugural induction ceremony.

[24:15] Principal Beals had the idea of of an Alvin Hall of Fame.

[24:20] And this has come to fruition.

[24:22] And through his efforts of really bringing this forward,

[24:25] um, this inaugural Hall of Fame class of inductees included

[24:28] community supporters, the Hills family members, Doctor Alfred

[24:32] Hills and Virginia Hills, Merrifield, Kronsberg, Jessie

[24:37] Norwell Hills and Arthur Stedman Hills, as well as the

[24:40] Alvin School trustees.

[24:42] There's also the category of distinguished staff for the

[24:46] Alvin alumni, excuse me, Alvin Hall of Fame, and that included

[24:49] distinguished staff Barbara Hamilton, Margaret Peggy Lavoie

[24:53] and Joan Munford.

[24:55] And then the Alvin Hall of Fame class also included

[24:58] distinguished alumni David Alarcon, class of 1979.

[25:03] Paul Bellavia, class of 1967.

[25:06] Ryan Phaneuf, class of 2007.

[25:09] Tasha Cannon, Saint Mark, class of 2002.

[25:12] Catherine Tyne, class of 2013.

[25:16] And hearing the speeches and stories that evening that were

[25:19] shared were impactful.

[25:21] And each member has last left a lasting legacy for our Alvirne

[25:25] high school.

[25:25] And I know Mr. Meyer was there.

[25:27] Um, it was it was just a great evening to be part of and look

[25:31] forward to future future years

[25:33] of, of having this induction ceremony.

[25:35] Um, and then looking ahead, I always like to do a little bit

[25:38] of forecasting ahead for the public and the school board.

[25:41] Um, we have curriculum nights that are scheduled for this

[25:43] week and next week.

[25:45] Um, we have curriculum nights this week at Hills Garrison

[25:47] Elementary School.

[25:48] Um, it's called a celebration of learning on October 8th at

[25:52] Nottingham West Elementary School and ELC, we have

[25:55] curriculum nights um as well.

[25:58] Um, on October 8th is Nottingham, Nottingham West and

[26:03] then the ELC is October 15th.

[26:06] Um so those are great opportunities for our our

[26:11] community and parents to really see what's going on in our

[26:14] school, visit classrooms, meet

[26:15] with teachers, staff, and administrators.

[26:18] And then lastly, on the Nottingham West Elementary

[26:22] page, on the Facebook page on October 19th, Mrs. Goss's class

[26:27] and fourth grade students have planted and grown fresh herbs

[26:32] that will be used for a special lunch.

[26:34] This is part of the Farm to School grant.

[26:36] And this will be part of the

[26:38] Farm to school day special menu.

[26:40] Um, we are going to have the Commissioner of Agriculture

[26:42] there um as well.

[26:44] We've invited Mr. Jasper to

[26:45] attend and that's on October 19th.

[26:48] Um so I always like to do a little bit of a look ahead for

[26:51] the, the community and the board.

[26:53] Thank you very much.

[26:55] Assistant superintendent report this evening.

[26:57] Thank you.

[26:58] So later this week, I mentioned before that we have an ongoing

[27:03] PLC coalition team of teacher leaders who are learning about

[27:08] how to lead data dives at their schools.

[27:11] The next installment of training focuses really around

[27:15] using a data tool.

[27:17] Our consultant has built three.

[27:19] One that's very intro intro level for looking at data and

[27:23] then ones that are more advanced.

[27:25] So he will be training our coalition teachers on those

[27:28] three tools, and they will be bringing the tools back to

[27:31] their teams as they look at assessment data, whether it's

[27:34] from common tests that the teachers are given or other

[27:38] screening data.

[27:39] And so that is, um, that is our next step in, in that time and

[27:44] that training.

[27:45] Um, also, uh, last Friday, our reading intervention team, we,

[27:51] they participated in an online training with youth, which is

[27:54] the University of Florida Literacy Institute on a

[27:57] systematic, um, foundational reading resource that we have

[28:01] in district.

[28:02] It was kind of a next level step of learning.

[28:06] There's been a lot of positive feedback from elementary

[28:08] teachers with having this

[28:09] resource to use during intervention.

[28:11] Our next step would be to have

[28:15] the teachers who took part in the training bring that that

[28:18] training to the classroom, teachers and extension.

[28:20] So that small group learning, and then they teach another

[28:23] group of teachers on Thursday.

[28:27] Joyce Wise, Marie Kirk and I, we went to a PD session with

[28:30] Curriculum Associates.

[28:33] We attended many hands on sessions.

[28:35] Um, ones that I found really interesting were about

[28:38] scaffolding and support for early writing skills and

[28:41] effective routines for teaching vocabulary.

[28:44] Our plan to is to take the, um, very interesting lessons that

[28:50] we learned at the PD.

[28:51] We're going to bring them to the Ela committee and the

[28:53] Social Studies Committee, and to our department heads and

[28:56] show them what we learned so that they can share that with

[28:59] their teachers.

[29:00] Um, and then tomorrow we have a team of Hudson reading

[29:04] specialists, department heads and coordinators who are going

[29:06] to be going to the third annual New Hampshire Literacy Summit

[29:10] in Concord, New Hampshire.

[29:11] And this conference is

[29:13] basically on the science of reading.

[29:15] It's not connected to any program.

[29:16] It's what's what is the science of reading?

[29:18] We both know there will be

[29:19] national and New Hampshire presenters.

[29:21] It's a fantastic conference.

[29:24] Um, some of the activities will be ways to promote student

[29:27] engagement in the reading classroom and also ways to

[29:30] support small group differentiated instruction

[29:32] using data to inform the decisions for the students in

[29:34] front of them.

[29:36] Um, and our plan is to have the attendees, um, we're going to,

[29:42] they're going to divide and go to different sessions.

[29:43] And on March 9th, when we have more teacher presentations on

[29:48] the PD day, they will be sharing out, um, information at

[29:52] that time with the entire district.

[29:56] Thank you.

[29:57] Questions? Yes.

[29:59] Um, what I didn't hear.

[30:00] What was the name of the curriculum that they learned?

[30:05] Oh. You fly.

[30:06] Okay. Yes, I didn't I didn't hear.

[30:08] Yeah. And then my second question was, you mentioned

[30:11] when they went to the conference for Curriculum

[30:13] Associates, was this for.

[30:15] This was for I ready or is for something different already.

[30:18] But it really was bigger than I ready.

[30:20] It was about what does the research say about early

[30:22] writing skills and really having us understand

[30:25] Scarborough's rope for reading?

[30:26] And then how does that apply to writing and what do young

[30:29] learners, what do they have to know and learn in order to be

[30:31] successful writing?

[30:33] And what we learned is that they have to hold a lot in

[30:35] their minds.

[30:35] And how can as teachers, how

[30:37] can we support them with handwriting?

[30:39] How can we support them with building background knowledge

[30:41] before we ask them to start writing?

[30:43] So it was by curriculum associates, but it really was

[30:46] about the science of reading and writing.

[30:47] Okay. Thank you.

[30:50] Thank you.

[30:51] Director of Special Services Report.

[30:53] So September is generally a month where we're, um, making

[30:56] sure all our data is complete.

[30:58] There's a number of reports that are run on October 1st.

[31:00] So you have to make sure that all of your data is in for the

[31:02] month of September.

[31:03] So that is a heavy lift that we

[31:05] work on through the end of September.

[31:06] Um, we also make sure that we have spent down that last, that

[31:09] third grant, um, doctor talked about three active grants,

[31:12] particularly until the end of September.

[31:14] You have to work very hard and diligently to make sure every

[31:17] last penny is budgeted and expended.

[31:19] So we did that as well.

[31:20] Um, we also obviously took a month to welcome our new

[31:24] students transition kids from grade to grade.

[31:26] Welcome students who have moved to us from other locations, as

[31:29] well as welcoming our staff and making sure that they feel

[31:31] confident and secure in being able to do the jobs that we

[31:33] have tasked them with.

[31:35] Um, that said, the bulk of what I have to talk to you about is

[31:37] our strategic plan updates.

[31:38] And so since there's no Miss

[31:40] Graves, I will run right into it.

[31:42] All right.

[31:43] Um, so I'm going to speak

[31:44] tonight about the second focus area.

[31:47] Um, and kind of broke that into each of the three four target

[31:51] areas within.

[31:53] Um, so for our first year, um, we have been working on

[31:57] expanding student well-being and school based engagement

[32:00] through a variety of ways.

[32:01] Um, our schools are establishing consistent and

[32:03] positive touch points ranging from daily morning meetings,

[32:07] classroom jobs at Hills Garrison School, and creative

[32:10] engagement like first grade lunch.

[32:11] Read Alouds at the Early Learning Center.

[32:14] Um, we also have our new assistant principal.

[32:17] Mr. rice creates a very upbeat,

[32:20] positive culture in the mornings.

[32:21] On Fridays, he has some crazy new costume every day that he

[32:24] greets the students in, um, on his Fridays every week.

[32:27] So that's kind of cool.

[32:28] Um, we're working on building spirit and peer support at

[32:32] Hudson Memorial School.

[32:34] Um, through events like Red Ribbon Week, including the jump

[32:37] rope contest.

[32:38] Um, there's a sixth grade social at Hills Garrison.

[32:40] They have book buddies where fifth graders pair up with

[32:43] second graders, and they work on reading together and

[32:45] integrate connections at the high school.

[32:48] Um, we hosted a successful freshman transition night and

[32:51] started very early in the school year with a student club

[32:54] fair so that high school students can really find that

[32:58] that community that is their own.

[33:00] Early in the year and don't

[33:01] have to spend too long searching.

[33:04] Um, we are also working on involving and engaging families

[33:07] as recognized in the strategic plan.

[33:10] Um, we've been welcoming and

[33:12] inclusive family events scheduled.

[33:14] Schools are successfully drawing families in through

[33:16] events like open houses, bingo nights, and book fairs,

[33:19] including a dedicated sensory friendly hour at the ELC.

[33:22] I think it was a half an hour actually, at the beginning of

[33:25] one of their events.

[33:27] Um, we have district and community integration.

[33:30] Students and families are represented in have represented

[33:33] the district in broader community efforts, such as the

[33:36] participation in the Bensons 100th anniversary events.

[33:40] We are expanding forward planning.

[33:42] Hudson Memorial School is actively preparing strong

[33:44] family facing events for the school year, including its

[33:47] first ever hosted robotics competition and expanded steam

[33:51] art and literacy nights

[33:53] in the area of strengthening

[33:55] and sustaining student leadership.

[33:57] Our elementary and middle schools.

[33:59] Their students are taking ownership through morning

[34:01] announcements at his garrison.

[34:02] Peer initiatives like Nottingham West, Paws Pals and

[34:05] active student run groups like the HMS Colt Leadership Program

[34:08] and a dance and events committee, which is sponsored

[34:11] and supervised by adults.

[34:12] Um expanded clubs middle schoolers have gained new

[34:15] avenues for creative and practical expression through

[34:17] clubs like woodworking, writing, recycling and the

[34:19] brand new craft club.

[34:22] And the high school, Albion High School launched Feed Our

[34:24] Kids and initiated Honor Society applications and saw

[34:27] senior capstone projects directly addressing student

[34:29] well-being well-being.

[34:31] One in particular was noted to me as student is starting a

[34:34] capstone project that is focusing on a peer mentoring

[34:37] and academic support program.

[34:38] So it will be peer to peer as opposed to an adult.

[34:41] Um, so that's kind of a neat idea.

[34:44] Lastly, in the area of promoting arts, music and

[34:46] creative talents, fine arts are being recognized and integrated

[34:50] across all levels from.

[34:51] At the Early Learning Center.

[34:53] First grade commissioned artwork that has been presented

[34:55] to Doctor Mullis for frame to

[34:57] be framed and posted in his office.

[35:01] We have performance programs.

[35:05] Marching band performed for 140

[35:07] guests, the Hall of Fame induction.

[35:08] So that was really exciting.

[35:10] Um, we also have unique creative activities like the

[35:13] Elks Candy bot 2000, which is a candy bot who will collect, um,

[35:20] excuse me, Halloween candy, um, for distribution to the troops.

[35:25] Um, so it's just a little bit interesting and creative twist

[35:27] on how we might accomplish that.

[35:30] Any questions?

[35:32] Couple a couple of thoughts and questions.

[35:34] So I, I appreciate the update.

[35:36] I think that that's really exciting.

[35:38] Some of the things that I'm hearing about happening across

[35:40] the district.

[35:40] And so I appreciate sharing from the elk level all the way

[35:43] up to Alfred High School.

[35:45] I think one thing that I'm trying to understand is how.

[35:50] How is the district and how do we as a board measure success?

[35:53] So when I hear, um, you know, this event was successful or we

[35:59] hosted a successful freshman transition night, or we added

[36:02] one new club, I guess, where I would like to, to push a bit is

[36:08] identifying what that success looks like in each of these

[36:11] areas at the onset.

[36:13] So that then you and we know if we were truly successful in

[36:17] meeting, that is the goal.

[36:19] For example, create two new clubs or is it 20 new clubs and

[36:24] is it is a successful

[36:25] transition night one family attending?

[36:27] Is it ten?

[36:28] Is it 75% of the freshman class?

[36:30] I don't know, but these are just some of the things that

[36:33] that I'm sort of thinking about.

[36:34] It's it's fantastic what's happening.

[36:36] And there's some really exciting opportunities for our

[36:39] students around the district.

[36:40] But I think trying at the onset to identify what What the

[36:47] benchmarks are for each of these as we move through the

[36:50] strategic plan.

[36:50] And this is also year one.

[36:52] So we're still you are going to be identifying those.

[36:54] But I think as we continue to build on that in years two,

[36:58] three, four and five, I think starting that preliminary work

[37:02] of identifying benchmarks now

[37:04] would be helpful moving forward.

[37:06] Okay.

[37:07] That's just one thing I'm thinking about.

[37:09] Yeah.

[37:10] When would benchmarks otherwise be provided?

[37:13] The strategic plan was adopted in February, I believe.

[37:16] So when would benchmarks typically be provided in a

[37:19] strategic plan.

[37:20] Well I think it depends on the focus area.

[37:22] So in some of the more academic, specific, rigorous

[37:26] and aligned pre-K curriculum, those benchmarks have been

[37:30] provided and are embedded within there in the various

[37:32] work streams and things like that at the district level and

[37:35] provided to the board when we're making goals.

[37:37] So it depends on the focus area.

[37:39] I think for this one, where the benchmarks aren't so linear, I

[37:44] think that trying to move to that place would be helpful for

[37:48] all of us, I think.

[37:49] But some of them have been provided, Heather, just depends

[37:52] on the focus area.

[37:53] And I think that this was an area that is a little bit

[37:55] harder to establish a benchmark

[37:56] because it's about student well-being.

[37:58] And so how do you measure that?

[37:59] So I agree.

[38:00] Exactly. Yeah.

[38:01] School community.

[38:02] Yeah. Student well-being.

[38:03] And so that, you know and Heather, you had asked it a

[38:06] couple meetings ago too.

[38:07] I think out of the four focus areas, Maureen, to your point,

[38:11] this is one where we've got to find what how are we going to

[38:15] measure that success?

[38:16] What are the what's the evidence?

[38:17] How do we quantify it?

[38:19] Yeah. Because anecdotally, there's great things happening

[38:22] and we all know that we hear about it.

[38:24] You shared many of those tonight.

[38:25] We our students are telling us about them in the community.

[38:28] But I think being able to quantify that would be helpful

[38:33] at the board level, at the sea

[38:35] level, for a variety of reasons.

[38:37] And I do think that this is

[38:38] likely the the hardest one to quantify.

[38:41] Yeah. Um, but I think that I'd like to see us try to move in

[38:45] that direction.

[38:46] Okay.

[38:48] Other comments or questions?

[38:50] Feedback regarding the strategic plan update.

[38:55] I will just otherwise say I appreciate that this has just

[38:57] become a regular once a month update in the agenda packet

[39:01] that the public can expect that the board can expect.

[39:04] This is something we talked about when we were all when we

[39:06] in the room were creating the strategic plan.

[39:08] So I appreciate it that the updates are coming from various

[39:11] people throughout the administration.

[39:13] Um, and then focusing on each

[39:15] of the various focus areas each time.

[39:16] So I do appreciate the way that

[39:18] this is being presented to the public.

[39:20] So I think that was a great suggestion out of the board

[39:23] workshop that we had back in the spring time.

[39:25] And then similarly, um, I know

[39:27] as we're entering budget season.

[39:29] Um, Steve, I'm thinking of your

[39:30] comment and others on the board.

[39:32] You'll see a lot of linear lines and connection with the

[39:35] budget and the strategic plan, not only in the executive

[39:38] summary, but in other parts of the budget report.

[39:41] So we're really trying to do a good job of making how this is

[39:44] not disconnected from what we're doing as part of our day

[39:47] to day practice and part of the budget.

[39:49] So that has been great feedback that we received going back to

[39:52] the board workshops that we've had.

[39:53] Great.

[39:54] Thank you.

[39:56] Do we have any committee reports this evening?

[39:59] Dan.

[40:00] Thank you, Chairman Dion.

[40:01] Last Monday I attended the h.

[40:04] C TV Committee meeting.

[40:07] Some areas to that were discussed were the upcoming

[40:10] budget season.

[40:11] They gave us an update on financials, as well as updates

[40:14] on some equipment that is being phased out due to end of life

[40:20] and of usefulness.

[40:21] Um

[40:23] areas.

[40:25] Um let's see.

[40:26] Uh, one thing that was brought up and maybe something that the

[40:30] board can think about.

[40:31] And certainly Doctor Mueller, you can maybe pass on to Mr.

[40:35] Beales is um the idea of having a.

[40:38] A student representative at the CTV

[40:44] meetings was was brought up and.

[40:46] And to me, that seems like a very good idea considering the

[40:50] fact that a lot of the, you know, CTV does quite a bit of

[40:55] business with the with the high school, especially with with

[40:57] the sports and stuff.

[40:58] So and their events at the high school.

[41:01] So that might be something that we can, you know, possibly look

[41:03] at, but it was a fantastic meeting and certainly a lot to

[41:07] think about for the upcoming budget season.

[41:09] Thank you.

[41:10] Thank you.

[41:11] I think that that's a really I

[41:13] appreciate you sharing that feedback.

[41:14] That is a really interesting request, and it could certainly

[41:16] be helpful given the amount of work that HGTV does as it

[41:20] relates to broadcasting about our students and things.

[41:22] So I appreciate that.

[41:23] Dan, any other committee reports tonight?

[41:27] Um, yeah, we had a recent, um,

[41:29] our and trustees committee meeting.

[41:31] Um, most of the discussion was around the summer was pretty

[41:35] busy, um, Mostly for open

[41:37] houses for the chapel, which is complete.

[41:39] Um, and then I'll just make a note that, um, like Doctor

[41:43] Mullis mentioned, the trustees being honored at the Hall of

[41:45] Fame ceremony.

[41:46] Um, and if we remember from our end of year requests, um,

[41:50] funding for the Hall of Fame

[41:52] ceremony did come from the trustees.

[41:54] Um, so I do just want to raise that and, um, reiterate our

[41:57] appreciation for that.

[41:58] That was a great event.

[41:59] Um, and definitely wouldn't

[42:02] have happened without the trustees.

[42:05] Any other committee reports tonight?

[42:09] We have our Board of Selectmen liaison comments.

[42:11] Yes. I wanted to thank the Hudson Memorial School for

[42:16] donating their Benson Park Centennial Art project for us

[42:19] to display at our, uh, latest Board of Selectmen meeting.

[42:23] They did a really great job.

[42:25] They looked great.

[42:26] We all picked a straw.

[42:27] And that's how that's how we chose which animal was going to

[42:29] be at our place.

[42:31] Um, so I wanted to thank them for letting us borrow those and

[42:35] display them during our meeting.

[42:36] I also wanted to remind everybody that October 16th is

[42:40] our project blackout game at Alvirne High School.

[42:43] Um, blacking out childhood cancer.

[42:47] Uh, 7 p.m.

[42:47] at Alvirne.

[42:48] We raised over $15,000 last year.

[42:51] We're well on our way to surpass that this year, so I

[42:54] hope everybody comes out and enjoys the raffles, enjoys the

[42:57] game, and just supports a great cause.

[43:01] Board member comments.

[43:02] Damn, I have nothing this evening.

[43:05] Um, it appears and I don't have official confirmation that the

[43:09] CPSC has been brought back.

[43:12] The Special Education Parent Advisory Council.

[43:15] So what I wanted to bring up, just a reminder to the public

[43:19] to anyone can join.

[43:20] This is parent driven, but it's also caregivers or, or staff

[43:25] members or community members.

[43:26] But is this something the board should discuss having a school

[43:30] board member at

[43:32] or adopting it as an official committee.

[43:35] So I think we could certainly consider it.

[43:37] We could put it on as an agenda

[43:39] item for discussion at a future meeting.

[43:41] Um,

[43:43] I think that yeah, we could consider it.

[43:45] Perhaps some fact finding and get further information.

[43:48] I'm just hesitating in because there's other community

[43:53] committees that we as a school board do not have a member on.

[43:56] So I'm just hesitating there.

[43:58] But let's do some additional kind of fact finding, get some

[44:02] information and we can add it as an agenda item and have a

[44:04] public discussion.

[44:05] Heather. Absolutely.

[44:06] I can actually offer a little bit of information.

[44:08] This was spearheaded very much by a parent, um, wanting to

[44:12] resurrect what had been before, but also really model after

[44:15] something that she had observed in another state.

[44:17] She was very, very excited.

[44:18] Um, she is very much, um, working on a parent led group.

[44:24] Um, so I don't know about the interest of the group.

[44:29] She and I have been talking and we're going to be talking again

[44:31] in the near future.

[44:32] Um, I don't know about the interest of the group to be a

[44:35] committee of the board.

[44:36] I don't I don't know where she's at with that.

[44:38] So I think those are conversations to be had.

[44:40] Yeah.

[44:40] Thank you.

[44:41] I and I appreciate that.

[44:42] Further information.

[44:43] We had received one email about it, I believe, as board members

[44:46] a couple of weeks back.

[44:46] So limited information.

[44:48] So let's just get some further information and then we can

[44:51] certainly talk about it again in the future.

[44:52] Heather. Yeah, that's a great request.

[44:55] Anything else tonight?

[44:57] Heather.

[44:58] Nope. That's, that's.

[45:00] None for me tonight.

[45:01] Steve. Uh, none for me.

[45:02] I also have no comments this evening.

[45:05] So we have the RSA for non public.

[45:07] Signing RSA 91 a colon three

[45:09] Roman numeral two letters B and C.

[45:12] Make a motion to enter non public.

[45:13] Second.

[45:14] Roll call.

[45:14] Dan.

[45:15] I.

[45:16] I.

[45:16] Ethan. Hi, Steve.

[45:17] Hi.

[45:18] Hi. We're now in non public.

School Board Meeting of 10-05-26

Transcript