[0:16] All right, testing.
>> Mic is on. I think we're good. Now we
[0:19] got that.
>> Okay. We will call to order the uh
[0:23] » joint board of alderman and board of
education uh special meeting for
[0:27] scheduled for June 3rd, 2026 at 6 p.m.
at Bucks Hill School. Uh we'll start
[0:33] with uh
well we'll do their we'll let her call
[0:38] to order also and then she can do the
pledge in the uh silent prayer.
[0:41] » Good evening. W welcome to the
Waterberry Board of Education special
[0:45] meeting Wednesday June 3rd 2026 at 6 PM
at Bucks Hill Gymnasium. And now we
[0:52] stand for the pledge.
[0:57] I
>> alian to the flag of the United States
[1:00] of America to the
stands one nation
[1:06] indivisibley
and justice for all.
[1:16] Okay. Can we do a roll call for the
board of alderman?
[1:19] » Trusting.
[1:26] » Roll call for the board of alderman.
Please. Roll call. Yep.
[1:31] Alman Blake.
Alman Kern.
[1:36] Alman Drury.
>> Here. Alman Feliciano Roman.
[1:41] » Alman Graasso here.
>> Alman Hunter
[1:44] » here.
>> Alwoman Martinez McCarthy.
[1:48] » Alman McInty.
>> Alman Mosley
[1:52] » here.
>> Here.
[1:53] » Alman Newang.
[1:57] » Okay. Alman Raldi
>> here.
[2:01] » Alman Sanchez.
>> Alwoman Weaver.
[2:06] All the woman Zimmerman,
Alman Dioen Carlo
[2:11] » here.
>> Got seven here. Eight absent.
[2:18] » Eight.
Eight.
[2:19] » Got eight. We got eight. Yeah.
>> Who was it?
[2:22] » We got Mc Graos, Martinez, McCarthy,
Ronaldi.
[2:25] » Oh, I didn't hear her.
>> Okay.
[2:26] » Okay. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[2:29] » And now we'll do the roll call for the
board of education.
[2:32] » Commissioner,
>> present.
[2:34] Anthony
>> present.
[2:36] » Vice President Latoya
>> here.
[2:39] » Jackson
Lopez
[2:42] » present.
>> Nunes
[2:45] » here.
>> Commissioner
[2:47] » here.
>> President Brown.
[2:55] » And now at this time we'll have a quick
presentation by uh Superintendent Darren
[3:00] Schwarz. Thank you uh vice president and
uh thank you all for taking the time. I
[3:06] know it's been a very busy uh few weeks
and so I will keep this very short and
[3:09] then we'll just take the tour of the the
the the Bucksell preschool as um as we
[3:15] as we discussed. So uh if you go to the
next slide, let's keep a moving. We're
[3:20] just in step number one right here. Just
talking about uh making sure that we uh
[3:25] not only establish the need and the edsp
specs through the board of education,
[3:28] but also um looking to uh get a
appropriation for bonding for the
[3:36] project.
[3:39] Uh I sent this to both boards and so I
just want to highlight it for the board
[3:43] again, the boards again and the public
that beyond the 79% reimbursement that
[3:48] Waterberry always receives for any
project uh that we do in in in
[3:52] Waterberry if we meet the criteria. So
again uh any project we we get about
[3:57] 79%. Uh there is under public act 25174
an early childhood bonus of 15% uh being
[4:06] provided through uh the the governor's
office and legislation to be able to uh
[4:12] to be able to earn an extra 15% on any
projects to uh expand early childhood.
[4:17] There's also a 15% bonus for uh special
education projects. Now that doesn't
[4:23] mean uh we can get over 100%
reimbursement for this. They're not
[4:27] going to pay us to do this. Um, and I
think there's new legislation that just
[4:30] came out that actually caps us at 95%
reimbursement. So, the the cap would be
[4:35] 95%, but we have two really good buckets
here to be able to get additional uh uh
[4:41] uh uh reimbursement beyond 79%.
[4:47] I'm not going to go over this because
this slide is similar to what we had
[4:49] last time, but I just want to remind
everyone that we're looking at uh 25
[4:53] classrooms to be able to provide 163
general education students, preschool
[4:58] education, and 353 special education
students. I I do think there's a mis
[5:03] there was a misunderstanding in some
places that this is only for special
[5:06] education students. It's actually a mix
of special education and general
[5:10] education students. and then all of the
other um opportunities uh for students
[5:16] uh to be able to experience uh what they
need through all the additional pieces
[5:21] that would be in the building including
sensory rooms and and bathrooms and
[5:25] their classrooms OT and PT spaces.
>> I see. I do want to point out because um
[5:32] you know I missed us educational people
sometimes just assume everybody speaks
[5:36] education speak and so I do want to
point out that there is a uh there is
[5:40] standards about preschool classrooms
that from um organization uh uh the
[5:46] accreditation company for preschool is
the NYAK accreditation and they do
[5:50] require 42 square feet uh uh for usable
indoor space per child per classroom
[5:56] that's 756 square ft per classroom of
usable space. So shelving, a bathroom
[6:04] does not count for that 756 square ft.
That's a very large room uh for for if
[6:11] uh for us. And so many of our uh older
structures, they don't they don't they
[6:16] didn't make rooms that large. Never mind
if you put a bathroom inside that room,
[6:20] it would actually reduce the amount of
space. And so again, uh some
[6:23] conversations about why would it be a
new preschool? our older structures just
[6:27] weren't built for these types of models.
Not only that, but our older structures
[6:31] have um multiple floors that don't have
easy access to outdoors. Uh whereas in
[6:37] this school, you want if it is a
multiple floor school, you want both
[6:40] floors to be able to be able to walk
right out for emergency services and
[6:43] purposes because many of our students
have mobility issues. Um we also have
[6:48] beyond the toilets and sinks that I've
just talked about there. Nyak also
[6:52] requires 75 square feet of outdoor space
per child uh be to be able to properly
[6:56] to properly uh play and explore. So um
and learn from u uh through natural
[7:02] elements. So those are some NYAK
standards. There's a lot more than that.
[7:06] I I and I all the preschool uh teachers
and administrators here know what the
[7:11] NYAK standards are. Um and uh we we need
that accreditation for our preschools.
[7:21] So, uh, one of the things that was
discussed an awful lot at the last board
[7:24] of alderman meeting were, um, was the,
uh, the the current status of the
[7:28] Bucksill preschool. So, I do want to say
that we are committed, board of
[7:31] education and myself are committed to
continuing um if if this vote goes
[7:36] forward and we are given the opportunity
to apply for this new preschool and seek
[7:41] that 94 to 5% reimbursement, there is
still time between now and then and we
[7:47] do need to keep this uh the the
portables up and running as best as
[7:51] possible. So, um, I sent this
information out, uh, earlier, but I
[7:56] think it's more it's important to say it
publicly that it's important that we
[8:00] continue to patch all recoccurring leaks
in the roof and add screens to the
[8:03] windows, replace the outdoor and worn
exterior doors, replace the ceiling
[8:06] tiles as necessary, reinforce the
foundation, which is probably be the
[8:10] biggest um the biggest cost that we were
going to need to make sure that there's
[8:14] nothing getting underneath the current
structures. Uh we'll need to close all
[8:18] the those exterior gaps, seal all the
windows and doors, upgrade exterior
[8:22] woodwork in need of repair, including
handrails, uh replace walkable
[8:26] playground material if there's some trip
hazards there, and increase maintenance
[8:30] of exterior landscaping.
And I just want to show you this. Even
[8:35] though the school isn't only for
students identified with special
[8:37] education, I think it's important for
the board. Somebody uh may have asked me
[8:40] for this, but since 2017 18 till now,
we've had a 28% uh increase of students
[8:46] that have been identified for special
education um in in less than 10 years.
[8:51] So almost a 30% increase of students
being identified at this early age.
[8:57] And uh just before we play that video, I
just we're going to play the video,
[9:01] we'll go on the tour. Um uh but I just
wanted to put together I thought it was
[9:06] a shame that we couldn't do this while
students were actually in the building.
[9:10] I think that would have really brought
the building to life. Um it's hard to
[9:15] recreate that for you all. Um and so my
fear of having a walk through a
[9:20] building, it's a building isn't the same
without kids in it. And so, uh, we
[9:23] wanted to try to recreate in a
three-minute video just the the essence
[9:27] of, um, what Waterberry, um, what what
Bucksville Preschool is. And the video
[9:33] was taken from 10 minutes down to 3
minutes. There's a lot of footage there.
[9:37] Uh, so, um, hopefully you get the idea
of what it means for staff, students,
[9:42] and parents.
[9:49] » Oh, look at that.
[9:53] excited to, you know, to go in this
school every day. Every day. And she
[9:57] have like [music] a big smile.
>> First two days crying on his way in,
[10:02] crying on the way out. Next day was
happy to come in, happy on his way
[10:06] [music] out. And ever since, every day I
pick him up, happy kid.
[10:10] » He was not walking when he first [music]
came into school. And um he now is.
[10:15] » He never put more than like four words
together. And now he's singing songs.
[10:19] comes home and he just sits there and
sings a song. It's it it's amazing to
[10:23] see. Without programs like this, these
kids don't have a chance.
[10:30] So, it's good to see
[10:34] that there's potential
to keep improving and helping these
[10:38] kids.
>> I feel like they love my son, you know,
[10:41] and when you go to school, you know, you
want people to to love your kid cuz
[10:46] you're leaving them. So I want them to
be like, you know, a part of our family.
[10:51] So, and I feel that here.
>> People underestimate the power of
[10:54] preschool. I think they look at it as
daycare when really it's the foundation
[10:57] of education. I had a student when I was
a parent in Stacy's room that I was a
[11:02] onetoone to. Um he had cereable palsy.
He went I believe to career academy. He
[11:09] had a um history teacher and he's like
you. She wanted him to write a paper,
[11:14] the class, a paper about someone who
stood up to you, who meant a lot to you,
[11:19] that you feel like was like a mentor or
something. And he literally wrote a
[11:22] letter to me even though I had him at 3
years old. This I mean this program
[11:29] um that they're trying to do, I think
believe they're trying to give
[11:33] uh give more space. I think that that is
not only going to, you know, help the
[11:40] parents, um, it's gonna help the
teachers, [laughter] it's gonna help,
[11:44] it's gonna help the kids.
>> First day here, looking at the outside,
[11:47] I was like, uh,
yeah,
[11:50] » it's more like a mobile home on wheels.
Um, so yes, it would be nice to see an
[11:56] actual school, bigger classrooms, more
teachers, more aids, all that stuff is
[12:03] what all the parents, I'm sure, if you
ask them, are hoping for.
[12:07] » I I can only imagine what like
3-year-old me would have been like if I
[12:11] had had the ability to be in a new
facility that was like functioning that
[12:15] way. Um, I'm 30 now, so and to see this
building and kind of still be like, "Oh
[12:20] my god, it's still here." But then like
the warmth and community that comes out
[12:24] of this building is still really
awesome. So I can only imagine how much
[12:28] that would impact going forward.
>> Our communication with parents um our
[12:34] community um we just need the facility
to be able to um expand on what we're
[12:41] doing.
>> The things that we have now
[12:45] their time is up. They're falling apart.
And we've been waiting for this for a
[12:51] long time. And it's not for us. It's for
the kids.
[13:01] » All right. Well, thank you all for um
hopefully that gave you an idea of what
[13:06] it's like to be in the school for for a
small amount of time. Um, but with that,
[13:12] uh, I believe we're ready for a tour.
Unless there's, uh, unless you wanted to
[13:18] do questions. I don't I don't know if
you that's what you wanted to do or not.
[13:20] I think we're here for the tour. So,
>> yeah. Any question any questions right
[13:23] now? If not on the tour, there'll be two
mics. Dave will have two mics. If
[13:26] anybody does want to ask a question, use
the mics so you you'll be heard on the
[13:30] camera. Okay. Alderwoman, uh, Martinez
McCarthy.
[13:33] » Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. I on the
video
[13:39] of the the principal said they've been
waiting for a long time.
[13:45] » Why did Why is it taking a long time?
>> So, that was a teacher, I believe, that
[13:50] said it. Uh teacher, uh not the
principal that said that. She's been
[13:53] waiting for a long time. Um I think
there have been multiple discussions
[13:58] over the years of what we can do with
the portables. I've I think there's uh
[14:05] we've taken two steps forward, get some
ideas, but I think the reality is is
[14:10] that no one's put the proposal to the
board of alderman. No one's put the
[14:14] proposal to the board of ed in the
leadership position as a superintendent
[14:18] to be able to do this. And so you need
someone to say this is time. And I think
[14:22] when the extra 15% came up through the
state removes a lot of barriers of nos
[14:28] for us, at least that's what we would
think. And so with that opportunity and
[14:33] for me seeing it closely, you know, I
know we've sat in rooms where we've
[14:37] pitched different things we should be
doing or we'd like to do, but it just
[14:41] never got to this point. And so quite
frankly, I just think as the
[14:46] superintendent, one of the things that
when I was being interviewed by the
[14:49] board of education, there are a few key
areas that we talked about, early
[14:52] childhood, multilingual, special
education being three major points of
[14:57] need in the district. And this is
something that I know for um for me was
[15:02] going to be important to try to push
forward. So with the extra 15% now I
[15:06] think it removed a lot of the barriers
of what maybe and I don't want to speak
[15:10] for other people of why they didn't put
a for but I'm assuming that they didn't
[15:14] want to ask for a new building because
of the cost that it would have been
[15:18] associated with but I don't I don't know
why they wouldn't have put a forward.
[15:22] » Okay. Thank you.
I would have put a forward 13 years ago
[15:27] when I was when I first came here.
[15:31] » Alder Gracel,
>> I [clears throat] don't think that's
[15:37] um is there any other
>> Just lean into that mic. Get that mic in
[15:40] front of you.
>> Is there any other facilities that they
[15:44] could use if this gets approved? I know
it's going to take three years
[15:50] at minimum
>> at least. Yeah. Is there any other
[15:52] facilities that they could go into for
the next 3 years while that if
[15:58] everything is done in
without this without
[16:02] » I mean I'm only saying that because of
the horror stories I've heard about that
[16:05] place.
>> Sure. Well, you'll see it in a few
[16:07] minutes. I don't I think that what we
heard and to be fair that that that was
[16:11] um stories over the decades of what's
happened in that building not
[16:15] necessarily and with the what's
happening like every day on a daily
[16:19] basis. I think with the commitment that
I I have and have walked the building
[16:23] with chief operating officer Albini and
uh principal Sims to continue on what do
[16:28] we need to do over the next three years
to make this still a place that shines
[16:32] for kids. Um I think we feel comfortable
with the plan that we've put into place.
[16:37] I think Principal Sims feels
comfortable. Um and so uh without
[16:42] displacing other students from schools.
So if we did that, we yeah, I could I
[16:48] could put 10 classrooms in a school, but
then that means I'd have to take those
[16:51] kids and displace them and cause a
domino effect throughout the district. I
[16:56] think that with if if approved, um I
think with our plan in place, we we're
[17:01] we're going to be okay. and specifically
Alderman McGasso, it's um approving that
[17:07] the structure uh from beneath and
closing all the gaps beneath them really
[17:12] reduces anything moving forward in terms
of building nests or going underneath
[17:16] the structure. That's the big that and
the roof. If we could do those two
[17:20] things and then ensure we continue to um
um attack anything as it comes up, um I
[17:27] think between us and the and the
principal, we feel comfortable that that
[17:31] it it will it will be able to last for
until the new building is built.
[17:37] » Thank you.
[17:42] » Oh, sure. We could do that.
Miss Wade, do you want to come up?
[17:52] Yeah, sure. [applause]
[17:59] So, with a with an assist, it is
basketball season, right? With an assist
[18:02] from Commissioner Orso, uh M Miss Wade
uh um played a video for us earlier. Uh
[18:10] we had a finance committee meeting and
she came and and played this for us and
[18:13] she just uh you can see that her son
graduated uh today from Bucks Preschool.
[18:17] So congratulations. [applause]
[18:22] » And if you just want to tell just
briefly your one story of many stories
[18:27] that we have and then uh you want to
play for them.
[18:30] » So just tell the same story you told us
and then we'll we'll go on the on the
[18:34] tour unless there's any more questions.
>> Thanks for having me and um listening to
[18:38] us. My baby graduated today so I'm so
thrilled. Um the annex is amazing. We've
[18:44] gone through this for weeks now, but I
um I'm not sure if you guys know what
[18:48] this device is, but this is called the
AAC device. It's a communicative device.
[18:54] I never knew what it was until birth to
three recommended it to us, and the
[18:59] annex actually helped us get it at home.
With our insurance, we would have had to
[19:03] pay $11,000.
With the help of the staff at the annex,
[19:07] I paid $0 and it's heavy duty and he can
keep it forever.
[19:13] So Royal is non-verbal. He's autistic.
He's level three, so he needs help with
[19:18] almost everything. He gets speech,
occupational, and physical therapy,
[19:23] which is 30 minutes a week. Speech being
my priority with him. When he's in
[19:29] school,
the message that he has for you guys
[19:33] takes a lot longer. So there's words,
there's pictures, pictures of his
[19:38] family, pictures of the food that he
eats. So when he's in class, they'll
[19:43] say, "Royal, what do you want to do
today?" And the goal is to get him to
[19:48] tap it and it's going to tell them, "Do
you want more royal?" And he'll tap it.
[19:53] So that is just for one child. So
imagine all of the teachers and the
[19:57] other students that have the devices.
This empowers him to really have a voice
[20:02] in a world where he doesn't. Because if
you say, "Hi, Royal."
[20:07] You won't hear his voice, but you'll see
his smile. you see his expression and
[20:12] that's why this device is so important.
So me and him work together and we have
[20:16] a message and hope that you guys can
hear it and if you ever need it again,
[20:21] you're more than welcome to hear it.
Thanks for listening to us.
[20:26] » My name is Royal, but you can call me
R.J. I graduated from prek today. I have
[20:32] a superpower and it is called autism. I
use my device to tell my family and
[20:37] teachers what I want and how I feel.
I get help with speech, physical, and
[20:42] occupational therapy. This helps learn
how to take off my jacket and eat by
[20:47] myself. We really need your help. I
heard you can help me and my friends by
[20:52] voting yes. Say yes to a new school so
my friends can get help like me. Say yes
[20:59] to budget so me and my friends can get
the help we need. Say yes to our future
[21:04] and I will tell my parents to vote for
you. My mommy wants me to be a teacher
[21:07] when I grow up, but I want to be a
chair. Haha.
[21:12] I don't use words yet, but that doesn't
mean I don't have anything to say. Thank
[21:16] you.
[21:19] [applause]
[21:28] » Um, thank you so much again for that
story, one of many. Um, if there's any
[21:34] other questions, I'd be happy to answer
them. If not, we'll take the tour.
[21:37] » Aldo Martinez McCarth.
>> Thank you. Uh, I just want
[21:42] clarification. So, if this goes through
and the the kids, are they able to be
[21:51] removed while the building the new
school is being built? I know that
[21:56] Alderman Graasso mentioned, but I just
need
[21:59] » Sure. So the the exact space of the
location of the new building will be
[22:03] determined um for for this application
and for a reimbursement. It doesn't
[22:08] necessarily have to be decided on as we
put this application in. So the fact
[22:14] that it that they're currently here
doesn't mean the eventual building will
[22:18] be where it is. In fact, um although I'm
sure everyone loves uh the hill,
[22:24] especially on uh cold winter days and
the wind whipping up here, um the actual
[22:30] more ideal situation for us as a
community is to actually have it more
[22:33] centralized as best as possible. And I
think Commissioner Orso, how long did it
[22:38] take you to get here today from the east
end?
[22:40] » Let me smile. It took me 35 minutes. So
the reason why this isn't the ideal
[22:46] location for a central location for most
of for our students that are special
[22:50] education in three and four is because
of the amount of time it takes actually
[22:54] from the the ends of the city to get
here. So if you think about because the
[23:00] space is limited and because many of our
kids take transportation to get here.
[23:05] You could think of a kid on a bus coming
from the east end to get up here to only
[23:09] be in school for two hours to and then
only to get on a bus again for another
[23:13] 35 45 minutes to go home. So a central
location will reduce transportation
[23:18] times for the vast majority of our kids.
And so the kids wouldn't need to be they
[23:22] only would need to be dispersed if the
building was going to be built directly
[23:27] on the site of the portables. Now, good
news is is that between Bucks and Wilby
[23:33] and North End, there is a lot of land up
here. So, if the ultimate decision was
[23:37] to put the school on this property, I
still think we could continue to what we
[23:41] have right now um while the school is
being built. But, there are multiple
[23:46] locations in the city, more centralized
that we'd be looking at to try to put
[23:50] the school at.
>> Okay. So basically the the kids will
[23:56] still be in the same facility while
you're the building is being built.
[24:01] » Correct.
>> Correct.
[24:02] » Correct.
>> Okay. That's what I wanted. Thank you.
[24:10] » Okay.
[24:21] If you could wave your hand around,
[applause]
[24:27] we had an afterchool graduation today
from 4 to 6 and then staff are still
[24:32] here because they believe in the
children in the and in this building.
[24:36] I'd also like to thank the parents who
are here. Can you please wave your hands
[24:40] as well?
>> [applause]
[24:41] » Thank you so much for having me.
So, while Dr. Schwarz said that I know
[24:47] all of the answers, I I do not. Um, so
if I can pass the microphone, I have
[24:53] some staff members here that would be
happy to answer questions um as well.
[24:58] So,
I've always wanted to conduct guided
[25:03] tours, whether it be at a museum or a
Newport mansion.
[25:08] um maybe something I do when I retire.
Well, this is my chance and this is our
[25:14] Newport mansion. [laughter]
So, while it may not be grandiose on the
[25:19] outside, we do amazing things as you've
seen just a little bit in the video. So,
[25:26] what you'll see today as you walk in is
a building that definitely needs some
[25:32] TLC that will need repairs over the
course of the next three years. But this
[25:37] is our home and we've built a community
and a sta and our staff and our parents
[25:43] believe in us and our hope is that we
can take this and move it and expand on
[25:49] what we're doing um here. So I hope that
you can capture that even without our
[25:55] students here. So with that being said,
I would like to show you our playground.
[26:00] Miss Lydia, our social worker, can lead
the way.
[26:04] Um, while we like our outdoor space, we
love our grass, running, playing, it's
[26:12] very countryike up here.
Um, it, like Dr. Schwarz mentioned, it's
[26:18] not centrally located,
so it does take parents
[26:24] and our community members a while to get
up here.
[26:27] » And there's no bus that comes up here.
No public bus.
[26:30] » The public bus is probably 15 to 20
minute walk. And if you're a parent, you
[26:36] have to walk um St. Michael's Drive with
your stroller or your children if you
[26:43] take the bus.
[26:47] While our playground is old, it works
for us now. We've added our swings.
[26:52] We've added some newer equipment and we
make it work.
[26:56] What we're lacking is some adaptive
play areas for our children who cannot
[27:04] walk. So I think a couple of parents
mentioned their journeys here with us
[27:09] where their children learn to walk.
If we get our new building, we would
[27:14] have a playscape designed to meet
children with all abilities.
[27:20] Miss Susan, who's here in the green and
white dress, you'll see a buggy that's
[27:25] inside. It's a a big stroller. She
uh got a donation for our school and
[27:33] purchased the buggy and we call it the
inclusion buggy. And what that means is
[27:38] that her students who can't walk can
come out here and she pushes them around
[27:45] so that they can be around their peers.
So, we've made it work. We're making it
[27:50] work. We will continue to make it work
because I have amazing staff with
[27:55] creative ideas and we're always looking
to do what's best for the children here.
[28:00] Are there any questions about the
outdoor space?
[28:08] Thank you, Shakira, for picking up those
toys.
[28:12] I have to do that later.
Okay. Well, we're going to move inside.
[28:18] Uh Mr. Albini is right here.
Um, I do need a staff member to open up
[28:23] the door.
All of the classrooms are open. So, I
[28:28] think what would be best because we
don't have a large enough area for us
[28:33] all to be is for you to walk through the
building. I'll be centrally located and
[28:39] you can find myself or staff member.
[28:54] comfortable in this building and are
teachers comfortable and do you want to
[28:57] stay in this building just for our
perspective so we know uh how you guys
[29:01] feel about remaining in the building
over the next three years?
[29:05] » Thank you. That's a great question. And
I have a staff member,
[29:09] Miss Michelle.
[29:12] » Oh.
[29:17] She had a better answer than I did when
we talked about this.
[29:22] This is Miss Michelle. She's one of our
pair of professionals.
[29:26] Um I just wanted to say that um the
sense of urgency I felt at the last
[29:33] meeting. Um I tend to let my emotions
get the best of me because um I'm very
[29:40] passionate about what I do. I didn't um
donate 30 years of my life to be other
[29:44] people's children because for hahas I
really believe in investing in society.
[29:50] These are future citizens. We need to do
right by them. Um so I did describe
[29:56] conditions in the school but it's still
it's like saying when you need house
[30:00] repairs you're not going to move. You
want to stay you want to invest in your
[30:05] school in your home. Um, so I think
people who are asking about moving
[30:11] locations, it's really not a good idea
while the school is built because this
[30:18] is where the children feel comfortable.
We have kids with very highly specific
[30:22] medical needs. We have a system in place
here every day. We have a staff that
[30:29] knows what to expect, emergency
procedures, where the nurse is located.
[30:34] We have our system down path and um
especially for those ch students who are
[30:40] highly specialized medical needs or
students who are severely behavioral um
[30:46] it's probably safer to stay here while a
new school is being built to be honest.
[30:56] » We have another question here.
[31:01] What what percentage of the students
that come here are special needs?
[31:08] » 90%.
[31:13] » So all of our classrooms have children
with special needs. Some are co-taught
[31:19] and then we have four specialized. So
out of the 10 classrooms,
[31:23] six classrooms are co-taught which are
half peers, half special education and
[31:28] the remaining four are for our children
with exceptional um needs.
[31:36] » That answer. So yeah, so the preschool
that
[31:41] the preschool that is being talked about
being built is going to be pretty much
[31:46] mostly special needs.
[31:50] So what we would like to do in the new
preschool model because peer
[31:55] interactions are so important and like I
was speaking about before with taking
[32:00] even taking the children out on the
playground to be with their regular
[32:03] education peers. What we'd like to do is
have a continuum for children. So, our
[32:09] new proposed preschool program would
have three-year-olds that are both
[32:14] regular education and special education,
co-taught rooms, regular education
[32:20] rooms, and then our highly specialized
rooms. Many of the parents that are here
[32:24] today can attest to the fact that their
children may have been in a couple of
[32:29] different classrooms because we move
children based on their developmental
[32:34] need and what they need. So, a child
that has an IEP may start out in a
[32:39] specialized classroom that may need may
need to go to a co-op classroom. By the
[32:44] end of their preschool tenure with us,
they may have exited from special
[32:48] education and they need a place to go
to. So, our new preschool center would
[32:53] provide all of that.
>> Thank you.
[33:02] » My Amazon purchase is paying off.
[laughter]
[33:05] I just wanted to know what are the
>> I I know that they mentioned birth to
[33:11] three, but what are the actual age range
that um like what's the the age that uh
[33:18] the student when they graduate?
>> Uh so by law child can start with us at
[33:24] 2 years and 9 months. So many of our
children that come in have not yet
[33:28] turned three. they have to be in a
program and we have to start following
[33:33] their IEP by the time they turn age
three. So, we have children that come in
[33:38] from 2 years 9 months and now they stay
until they're five based on the new
[33:43] kindergarten um
law that was passed.
[33:49] » So, through six two to two to six.
[33:55] Any other questions?
[34:01] Okay, I think we're ready to move
inside.
[34:09] » Thank you, Miss Crystal, for holding the
door.
[34:15] » Oh, yep, it does.
[34:19] [cough]
[34:26] » Oh, yeah. The graduation. Uh yes, that's
[34:35] » nice and cool in here.
>> Um this is our OT PT room. So this is
[34:40] where the OT and PT work out of
good to see you. Thank you.
[34:54] » Therapy and physical therapy room.
[35:03] This is our area.
>> Yeah.
[35:05] » Where we keep all our wipes, paper
towels.
[35:19] » Just Just hold it down. It'll pick up.
>> What do you want?
[35:22] » You don't have to talk. Okay. We won't
hear it, but the camera will.
[35:25] » Oh, do you want me to
>> just down?
[35:28] » Yeah. What do you want me to say?
[laughter]
[35:31] » Perfect.
>> Okay. This is our sensory motor room.
[35:36] So, as you can see, we're a little
space.
[35:42] » This is where we bring children who need
to compress
[35:46] » or need a space to feel safe, to relax,
>> to get their sensory needs met,
[35:55] » especially our students with autism.
employment.
[36:01] » What percentage of autistic
>> do you think your kids are autistic?
[36:06] » I can't give an exact percentage, but in
my class, um, I have 12 in the morning
[36:11] and 10 in the afternoon.
>> Oh, wow.
[36:13] » In a self-contained environment.
So in a century location, how many
[36:18] children in her is it individual or is
it
[36:22] » Sometimes it's individual, sometimes
there's a we try not to have more than
[36:26] two or three at a time, you know,
especially if they're having a hard
[36:29] time. It's usually a one-on-one type
situation.
[36:32] » Okay.
[36:35] » It's not it's not that big of a space,
that's for sure.
[36:38] » It's very small.
>> Oh, yes. Come on in.
[36:43] » Miss Amy's room. Miss Amy's office.
>> Miss
[36:55] someone is really in here because
they're having a hard time. It's
[36:58] probably by themselves with an adult and
we have so principal or the secretary
[37:04] can make sure that everything is still
super.
[37:08] later.
>> Sometimes when it's just like a child
[37:11] that needs to get the kids,
>> they just have to go somewhere else. So,
[37:15] I have two sons. I have Dante who's
graduated today. And Noah, who's a year
[37:20] younger, and he'll graduate next year.
They both come here this year. But last
[37:26] year, Noah got sent to Kingsbury to a
classroom that was supposed to be the
[37:30] same as here, and it was not the same as
here. It took the whole year of fighting
[37:35] to get Noah sent here and
he thrives here. But at Kingsbury, there
[37:42] was no sense of community. We would get
to the door in the morning and they'd be
[37:46] ready to just send him through the door.
A kid that's nonverbal, has high support
[37:51] needs, can't communicate, wouldn't know
where he was going in the building if he
[37:56] had to go. That's so different for him
here. the teachers, the peers being able
[38:02] to go from classroom to classroom.
That's not the case if they got sent and
[38:06] like this got broken up into multiple
classrooms in different buildings.
[38:12] » It's just not the same. This No, my sons
both have thrived here.
[38:17] So, like I've heard multiple times
people say like where else could they
[38:21] go? I don't know if I think that's a
good idea because when Noah got sent to
[38:25] Kerry and there was only one classroom
there full of the kids like him, it
[38:30] didn't work.
[38:47] Yes. Hi. Hi.
[38:52] » I knew that and I was so excited.
[39:04] » No kidding. Come here.
>> Oh, nice.
[39:09] » Oh, that's wonderful.
I worked at
[39:15] 18 years
[39:33] to what some people consider to be
amenities
[39:38] to use.
[39:47] So, we often have recess in the hallway
during the winter. It was a long winter.
[39:53] Very long. [laughter]
>> A long winter. It
[39:55] » was very long.
>> So, we set up play spaces. As you can
[39:58] see outside of my office, I have a mini
grocery store. I [laughter] have a
[40:02] sensory space. So, we're always looking
to improve and make it the best for the
[40:08] children here.
[40:11] No, I know that table will be moved once
our graduation's over.
[40:16] » That's my office. So, [laughter]
[40:20] » how many how many students are in here?
>> 200 almost 290.
[40:26] » The new building would be about 520.
>> The new building would be 520
[40:31] » approximately.
>> This building right here
[40:34] » um different hallway
>> different sessions.
[40:38] It's just one hallway.
>> One hallway.
[40:40] » One hallway.
>> We come in that way and we go out that
[40:43] way. But when they put in the building,
they put it in backwards. So the where
[40:48] we came in, that was supposed to be on
that side.
[40:51] » Okay.
>> It was supposed to be central for the
[40:54] building. So now we have our students
coming in that way. Our parent pickup is
[41:00] on that side. Bus dismissals on this
side. children who are coming in over
[41:04] here and they have to walk all the way
down to their rooms that can be very
[41:10] difficult for them.
>> And then we have things like these that
[41:14] our kids really love so much they want
to take it with them because we have no
[41:19] storage for things. So they just have to
stay in the hallway
[41:23] » and it's hard cuz we have to
>> run wild with this
[41:27] » cover
screen in my room. We run with the
[41:31] screen like this and just so the kids
can
[41:34] » Oh, Donna could stop [laughter] and that
would be the end.
[41:37] » She's on the ground. He's behind the
ground. Nope.
[41:40] » We only down, please.
>> So, will they give them full day
[41:46] » if the parents
>> to do that or
[41:49] » Well, they they all want full day for
Yes, we just have half day because
[41:55] space.
>> Yes. This this actually when I started
[41:58] here there were offices. There were like
six desks. So we were all in here and
[42:04] then
>> we tried to like we play Tetris. We
[42:07] maneuver things and we change offices
and we change spaces to figure out what
[42:12] works best.
>> Now it's our sensory room.
[42:15] » Oh, he loves it. He was going the
circle.
[42:22] [laughter]
>> Would anyone like to see
[42:26] children in here at a time.
>> So, ideally, we'd have more than one
[42:30] space where we could go to calm down.
You know, the preschool classroom can be
[42:34] very loud, overwhelming. So when you
have a child, especially like a child on
[42:38] the autism spectrum with those sensory
issues, this can be a real
[42:57] » you can't segregate like special
regular, right?
[43:03] My son came here
>> the actual it's called least restrictive
[43:07] environment really
[43:12] environment is to be in this one
classroom with other students need
[43:17] technically it's okay by law
>> but most of our students aren't that
[43:22] restrictive what you want them to be is
in the classroom with regular ed kids as
[43:26] well so that they can see what they call
peers so that they can see that um and
[43:31] they learn a ton from each other. And so
our ideal situation is have more
[43:35] students that are regularly specialized
combined rather than just separated
[43:40] because they learn more from each other.
But there are students that are in
[43:43] specialized classrooms because according
to the IP and the PPT decision, that's
[43:48] the best that's where they're best um
going to be able to grow.
[43:51] » But if you wanted to have a school that
was just special ed, you couldn't do
[43:54] that, right? Under
>> um not necessarily. Not if not if every
[44:00] single student was there placed behind
>> in the room and you know we're following
[44:05] through with whatever their um provided
services for that time slot then we're
[44:10] carrying that over for the rest of the
week. So if they have 30 minutes of
[44:15] services with a speech path then she's
giving us information that we're
[44:20] carrying through for that week of what
we're working with with that child.
[44:25] to
>> be prepared for all
[44:29] some more. [laughter]
>> Um, yeah. So, I have, um, a degree in
[44:34] special education. I'm actually going
back for my masters because I love it
[44:38] here and because my kids deserve the
best. So, um,
[44:43] » yeah.
>> Can I add something, too? I know you
[44:45] have a great room. If you guys pay
attention, the lights, most of the
[44:49] lights are covered. And that's because a
lot of children are
[44:54] stimulated by the light.
>> So things that you kind of take for
[44:57] granted just walking into like your
regular classroom, you got to pay
[45:01] attention to all of the accommodations
that they make for them. So like for
[45:05] example, you see the sink. I'm sure at
the new school, you won't have to make a
[45:09] step stool. It'll be something there for
them, but then we have basic necessities
[45:15] for kids. You know it's
>> arms are too short.
[45:19] » So then they can so it's the water come
closer to them.
[45:24] » Yeah.
>> So there's a lot of
[45:27] » you know adaptions that we're making in
the classroom.
[45:32] » How many kids are usually in you know
here like
[45:38] » session?
[45:45] I have two here.
>> What about the meltdowns in the areas
[45:49] where like I see little corners that
only one child at a time
[45:54] » can go into when they are having a
meltdown or a hard day or or whatever
[45:58] they're they're you know I've got two
very different um two very different one
[46:02] of them. This is his classroom and he's
five. Um but I see that when he needs
[46:07] somewhere to at home he has a cubby bed
that took us forever to get. So, I
[46:11] brought in that. We have that little
cozy.
[46:13] » I'm just curious, but only one child at
a time kind of thing.
[46:27] » They're coming, huh? Hopefully,
[laughter] they're coming.
[46:29] » But they're coming.
>> Yeah. I think it when we plan the
[46:32] environment to accommodate children in a
way that settles all of those extraneous
[46:39] » I think things that that helps with the
behavior a lot
[46:46] of specializ Super
teacher will be in some of the ABA
[46:51] classrooms.
>> Oh, thank you.
[46:55] like I wanted to send it to
[47:20] 11 years.
He's
[47:33] on my jump starting right now.
[47:54] my coworker and my other pair of April
she is a longterm sub so she because she
[48:02] has a bachelor's degree
so they like promoted her because she's
[48:07] filling she's like desapping so she's
filling a
[48:11] deficit in the city
>> for a teacher
[48:14] » so for behaviors here because yours is
the behavior class or
[48:19] » we tend to um down the hall we more
medically fragile children. So
[48:25] » um even though this is a self-contained
room, yes, our room is more geared
[48:28] towards children with autism and
behavior issues.
[48:36] » What does this do?
>> I would just like to thank all of our
[48:38] guests for coming. It really meant a lot
to us to share our stories and
[48:42] experiences. Dr. Schwarz would like me
to let you know. Um, if you're able to
[48:48] go back to Bucks Hill Gym to adjourn the
meeting, um, please do so. Thank you
[48:53] again.
[49:07] » Hey, we're going to stay right here.
We'll journey right here. Okay. This way
[49:10] you don't got to go all the way back.
Okay, we can shut it down here. We're
[49:13] gonna wait. Let me just get a couple.
>> Oh, actually, well, never mind. They're
[49:17] all going to the gym. Never mind. They
all went Let's go.
[49:21] » At the gym.
>> I'm going on my
[49:27] Thank you so much.
>> Thank you so much.
[49:30] » Walk there, sir.
[49:36] » It is.
>> Byebye.
[49:41] Thank you.
>> Thanks for coming.
[49:43] » It's beautiful.
[50:02] » We have programs that they go all the
way through age 22 in the Waterberry
[50:07] public schools. And so there's a we call
it the continuum of services. Uh the
[50:12] ideal situation is always the least
restrictive environment for students.
[50:17] And what that means is as much as
possible giving them as much exposure to
[50:22] peers of their age, um the more
restrictive you get with specialized
[50:26] classrooms and special education, um
that's not that's not um where we'd like
[50:32] to go educationally. Um, and then if we
don't have a program here in Waterberry
[50:37] that can properly service the student
and the PPT determines uh that the the
[50:43] better placement is an outplacement,
that's where you see some of those
[50:46] contracts for outplacement for students.
I will say Waterberry compared to peers
[50:51] does a much better job of keeping
students in house because we do have so
[50:54] many programs. So, a long answer to yes,
we have different programs that students
[50:59] go to after they uh graduate preschool.
I will say we've had to expand that an
[51:05] awful lot in the last few years, extra
classrooms in the district that students
[51:09] have to go to because they're just not
getting enough um education when they're
[51:14] three and four and they're just not
ready to enter in uh to our um our
[51:19] typical kindergarten classes. And so,
um, although we do have that continuum
[51:24] of supports, uh, I think the more we can
provide at the preschool level, the
[51:29] actual less you're going to need later
on if we if we could do this better.
[51:35] » And are they mostly assimilated into the
the schools that are in your district
[51:39] once they get out?
>> So, it's multiple schools across the
[51:42] district that hold um different programs
based on their need. And so again, the
[51:47] PPT um will determine where the best
placement for the child is. Um whether
[51:53] that's uh coming out of special
education and going into a typical
[51:56] kindergarten class or going to a
specialized classroom, the PPT always
[51:59] makes that recommendation and decision.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[52:04] » All right. Anything further? All right.
Seeing none, Alderman Mosley.
[52:09] » Motion to adjurnn.
>> Second.
[52:12] » All right. Motion made and seconded. All
those in favor signify by saying I. I
[52:17] » oppose. No.
>> All right. The board of alderman is
[52:19] adjourned.
>> Okay. And for the board of education,
[52:23] before we adjourn, are there any other
questions? Anything for the
[52:26] commissioners?
>> Okay. I'll entertain a motion to
[52:29] adjurnn.
>> Make a motion we move.
[52:34] » All right. That is it for the board of
education.
[52:37] » All in favor?
>> I
[52:42] charge for