[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

Waterbury Boards of Aldermen and Education Combined Special Meeting - Bucks Hill Annex - Jun 3, 2026

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