Comments about Dr. Burton’ update on High School matters

• Please share the timeline for the update of the school profile

  • It will be updated this summer based on input from the staff, students and community, and will be available in September in time for college applications.

• Hope that the new Director of Student Support Services will be available in time to support Juniors in their transcripts. 

  • The new Director of Student Support Services will be hired prior to the start of the 2023 new school year.

• Please reach out to a broader group of students for feedback

• Recommendation to increase the weighting for CPA classes - they are working at a higher level. CPA students should be incentivized to earn a high grade.

• Open up more availability to enter science classes

• Please provide clarification on the qualifiers for Computer Science and whether more students who earned a high grade will be able to take the class

• Thank you for the updates in the presentation.  Please know we are not just complaining parents.

• Eliminate qualifiers and err on the side of giving students a chance.

• If a student drops an AP class, can they move to another academic class, and not get scheduled in a study hall?

  • The high school is reviewing scheduling options to see if they can allow students who drop an elective AP class to move to another elective. If there is not an elective available at that time, Study Hall is the only option. If the student is in a required class, such as AP Biology, they move to the lower level required class and will lose a different elective.

Budget Comments/Questions

• Question about the restructuring of the Curriculum and Instruction office - why are you adding 2 new directors?

  • A: These directors will oversee the content areas K-12 and provide consistent articulation of the curriculum. This is best practice and we are bringing the district in line with the level of content expertise we should have within a district our size and that we have had in the past.

• Question about the K-4 Social Worker & the Director of Student Support Services.

  • A: The position of Social Worker will provide additional guidance and emotional well-being support for all students. The Director of Support Services will add long-needed assistance in the high school guidance office, as well as to the K-8 program.

• Budget should include the cost per student and how it compares to comparable districts.

• A recent NY Times article talked about the need to teach students how to study - if we are not doing that, maybe we should.

• Education Foundation donations should be considered as revenue.

Public Comments

• Regarding the Progression chart 

  • It would be helpful to add actual stats to this course progression chart - how many students follow these pathways?

  • There should be a pathway to environmental science for someone who is not a chemistry student.

  • Will there be changes in this chart coming for next year? If so, how will that impact students who just completed scheduling for next year?

    • Students will have the opportunity to make changes as needed in their schedules through the Guidance Department at the HS. 

• A: See Dr. Burton’s presentation on Monday, 5/8/2023 for updates to the plans for next school year.

• Comments about AP 

  • A student got into 3 APs but was told he can’t take all 3.  Students in other districts seem to take as many as they want.

  • AP Bio - nearly impossible to get into the class, and if they don’t get in they are cut out of Chem and restricts their opportunities

  • Students lose interest in science. 

Concerns with Freshman Integrated Geoscience class 

• Still has a substitute teacher and students are not learning the material.

• Will the course be redesigned in addition to changing its name? 

  • See updates in Dr. Burton’s 5/8/23 presentation

• Still waiting for additional data on grades and the numbers of A’s, B’s, C’s.  I hope we are looking at peers and other comparable districts.

• Why are we so rigid and continue to place unnecessary obstacles in our students’ way? 

• When will we get a final report from the Community Advisory Committee, it was promised at the end of April?

  • Dr. Burton will share updates at the 5/8/2023 presentation.

• Need to address some of the “parking lot” topics - especially grading.

  • Dr. Burton will share updates at the 5/8/2023 presentation.

• There needs to be a guiding principle for grading for teachers.

• Concerns with Computer Science AP - students had the pre-requisites but were not admitted.  Not enough sections?  If that many qualify we need to add sections.

  • A: The number of sections and room availability are being addressed currently with the HS for Computer Science courses.

• Who makes the decisions on the grading policy?  Is it Department Chairs, or is it a district decision?

  • A: The practices for grading are set forth by Board Policy and Regulation 2624 - Grading System that delineates a system of measuring, recording, and reporting the achievements of individual students in the continuing process of learning.

• Concern about constant testing and pressure of assessments.

  • Look deeper at the grading policies.  Example, in English, every essay gets a B.  What does it take to get an A by the end of the semester? 

• In Math the only way to demonstrate proficiency is through speed. 

  • We should be modeling the different ways students can be successful. 

  • A student who has mastery still struggles to get a B on a test.  It is systemic.

• Middle School Students are having anxiety about going to the high school. Many are going to private school. 

• There seems to be no reward for taking on the challenge of accelerated any more - there is no incentive to take a harder more rigorous course. Students drop down to CPA and get A’s.

• Affordable housing in town

  • We would like to hear about plans or studies that have been done or will be done regarding the number of families with students who will be new residents, and the impact on infrastructure?

  • The BOE should put a plan together for welcoming all of these new students into our community.

  • A: The Board of Education is currently working with a demographer to address the potential number of students based on the new housing developments that are planned for the community.  To date, we have the ability to educate our students and we welcome all new residents and students to our district schools.  

• STEAMFest and Education Foundation event on Saturday. Thanks to donations from the community. 

• Thank you for adding directors of Math and English!

• Commenters thanked the Superintendent and the Board for approving the use of an additional unused snow day for a Health and Wellness Day off on April 21, 2023.  Members of the Muslim community appreciated the timing of the school closure as it coincides with the end of Ramadan, the celebration of Eid al Fitr, which will allow students to celebrate with their families, and makes them feel welcome in the community.

• Provide an update regarding the meetings between the township and the school district about fields

  • The township has reached out to the school district about the potential of increasing field opportunities for recreation, and we are reviewing options. The township will provide updates when their reviews have been completed.

• Suggestion that the BOE put committee reports earlier on the agenda, so that questions about those reports could be addressed in the first public comments section.

  • The order of the meetings is set in Bylaw 0164- Conduct of Board Meeting. If the Governance Committee feels a change is needed, they will review the Bylaw.

• Suggestion to review a civics program highlighted in a recent New Yorker article.  

• Community service idea - students could help the fire and police departments by painting house numbers on Belgian blocks.

• Suggestions/Comments on High School grading and GPA weighting practices.

• Please provide more data that is relevant to parent concerns

  • Have teachers empower students/ give them opportunities to empower themselves

  • Colleges look at grades and not just the weighting.  

  • It’s almost impossible for 8th-grade students to get into accelerated classes at the high school.

  • Glad to hear you are looking at the data in a student-centered way, and that you will be hearing directly from students.  Encourage you to reach beyond the student liaison committee.

  • Find ways to bring more hope and happiness to the high school. 

  • The data was helpful - would like to see more detail on what courses exist and how many students took them

  • Would like to see more granular data about core classes.

  • Concern that there is an unhealthy culture - stress and anxiety, HS should be more about “the journey” not the struggle.

  • Grading philosophy - there is a difference between what parents see as a grading philosophy and the high school.  

What is the grading philosophy at the high school?

• The practices for grading are set forth by Board Policy and Regulation 2624 - Grading System that delineates a system of measuring, recording, and reporting the achievements of individual students in the continuing process of learning.

• Commenters thanked Dr. Miron for his presentation and for providing more data on grade distribution and GPA weighting.  

• Suggestions/Comment on further data and ongoing review:

  • Don’t include electives in the grading data

  • Seems like much of the grading data supports the parent concerns

  • Please continue moving toward not having a selective process for AP

  • In looking at the AP acceptance data for Calculus.  44 kids got into Calc AB, 39 into Calc BC.  We don’t know how many applied/how many did not get in, even if they have A’s in precalc.  There are 300 students in the grade.  Give students a chance to show they can do it.

  • In visiting colleges we keep hearing the same message - they look for students to take APs if there are many offered at their high school - give students a chance to show the schools they have done that.

  • Please reflect what our students deserve - to be looked at by admissions officers with the same weighting of grades as other high schools use.  Let them have what their peers at similar high schools have.

  • We look forward to getting student input via a survey or a forum, from all students not just student council or student liaison members.

• What is the framework - when will we see change?  How else can we have productive collaboration? We want to work together with the staff and administration.  

• Please give us a timeline for when changes will happen

  • Changes are being worked on regarding the weighting of courses at the HS, the HS profile, and the portrait of a graduate.  

• The timeline includes the following activities:

  • March:  Examine all of the feedback and proposals from each group

• March:  Determine possible changes to the GPA weighting scale

• April:  Proposal will be developed using the input from the CAC

• Conversations will be conducted with staff

• Conversation will be conducted with students

• Conversations will need to be done with Power School for the logistics of the weighting changes

• April - May:  Proposal will need to be presented to the Board Program Committee for review/Board approval

• May:  Plan for implementation will need to be determined for SY 23-24

• What kinds of changes are planned for AP?  Will the qualifying exams all be eliminated?

• Changes with the access to accelerated and AP are in progress.  The details of these changes along with the pathways for all content areas are being finalized and will be presented to the board and community at future board meetings.

• Additional qualifying exams for AP courses have been eliminated for students in accelerated courses and the details for how students qualify from CPA level courses will be delineated. 

Comments to the Board

• As elected officials you represent the parents - please continue asking for these issues to be addressed

• Please know that the parents who are here in person represent many more parents who cannot attend, but who are concerned and expressing their concerns and interest via What’s App and other groups.

• Middle School - needs more focus on reading outside of school. Students come home and are on social media.  They need time management lessons and skills, and school should require reading so they don’t talk online all night.

• Consider an additional return of snow day to recognize Ramadan

• Please look at the integrated science test scores and grades - discrepancy in grading between teachers

• Thank you for your work on the Budget and glad to see there will be additional support for the Guidance office for College Admissions. 

• Thank you also for the Community Advisory Committee.  I hope there will be a change to the GPA weighting by September. I also hope the Program Committee will see and weigh in on the ideas and suggestions made at the CAC on the “Parking Lot lists.”

• March 12-18 is Sunshine Week … shine a light on government activities for transparency. 

• Was the high school musical The Prom recorded? Can these productions be recorded and aired on the community cable channel?

  • The plays and musicals are usually only allowed to be recorded for internal use.  The copyright agreements do not allow recording or live-streaming. There are similar issues with recording musical concerts and performances, as the rights given to student groups are usually for one-night local use. Many of the athletic events are live-streamed by the student broadcast club Studio 462.  Those links can be found on the High School athletics website when they are available.

  • The township is not currently using the cable channel, so the school district does not have access to it.  We live-stream all Board meetings and they are posted on the website by the next morning to be available to any interested community member

• School Budget should include the number of students and cost per student.

  • The presentation at the March 13, 2023 Board meeting was for the preliminary budget which will be reviewed by the County.  Once the County approves the budget, it will be advertised for public review.  The advertised budget includes both advertised enrollments as well as cost per pupil calculations.

• Where are the answers to questions from the BOE meeting on the website?

  • The Q&A page has been updated and will be kept updated going forward.  Comments will be posted, and answers to specific questions will be given to the best of our ability at that time.

• Acknowledgment and appreciation in seeing District goals and seeing the areas of focus

• 8th Grade Orientation 

• Concerned about some of the information about the high school culture. The attitude from Guidance was that this is not like the Middle School…know that it is more rigorous and you will have challenges. 

•  Why was writing not mentioned at all in the LAR curriculum? 

  • The ELA curriculum is driven by the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. The grade 8 writing standards include writing arguments, writing informative/explanatory, and narrative pieces.  Students are expected to produce clear and coherent writing, develop and strengthen writing, and use technology to produce writing.  English 9 is a course that challenges and teaches the students to formulate, refine, and express their thinking primarily through the mode of argument. The activities of the class, ranging from small group discussions to major assessments, focus on the skills involved in effective argumentation: claims, evidence, warrants, and reasoning. The complexity of the literature of the course lends itself to this type of discourse. Writing activities are done on a daily basis and are an integral part of the course and not isolated as a separate entity. 

• College Admissions Offices/AP Pathways

• Different from the past - Penn State/Ohio State/U Wisconsin don’t have admissions officers assigned to different regions the way they used to. How do they know the differences among schools anymore?

• Do we support students in having alternate pathways to get to AP from CPA?

• How does a Millburn student compete with schools where students have more AP options? They should have full access.  Why is staying with the status quo beneficial?

  • These are all questions/concerns that the Community Advisory Committee is reviewing and will have responses and resolutions in the coming weeks.  In addition, we will be sharing the college acceptance information in the coming weeks.

• Data: We would like to see hard data on grades and class averages.

  • The administration is reaching out to the attorneys for clarification on student privacy concerns in sharing this kind of granular data.

• I want to trust that the administration is aware of and will address situations where grade disparity may be due to grading too hard, or unfair grading, which adds to the difficulty of the school culture. 

• We’re not asking for specific grades if that may conflict with privacy concerns, but how about in general by course, not class. For example - in xxx science course there are x A’s, x B’s etc.

  • As noted above the administration is reaching out to the attorneys for clarification on student privacy concerns in the kind of data that can be shared. 

Questions/Comments at Board meetings since the February 5th Forum have mostly been about the grading and grade-weighting practices at Millburn High School.

The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) has been formed to review and address these questions and concerns, and the answers to these questions will be resolved as a result of the committee’s deliberations.  

Dr. Burton’s February 17th Update shared several presentations that include some of the data that has been requested (see links below).  Other data is being compiled to be shared first with the CAC, and then with the community.

The district and high school administration are looking at the same data to provide solutions that will benefit all students in the district. 

We are working on providing answers to specific questions or comments that can be answered at this time. Others will be provided as the Committee completes its work over the next few months.

Here are the recent presentations and meeting videos for your review. 

• Millburn High School Report on Graduates of the Class of 2022 2/5/23

This was presented at the Forum, with data from the MHS Counseling Department about the college acceptances and attendance at the top 30 schools. 

• Strategic Visioning Presentation 

This presentation includes an overview of the district vision, mission and goals that inform the work that has been underway with Challenge Success and Hanover research, as well as grade and GPA data from the High School. 

• Annual Forum Video 2/5/2023

   

• Board of Education Meeting Video 2/13/23

   

• Board of Education Meeting Video 2/27/23

   

• Board of Education Meeting Video 3/13/23

Members of the public made additional statements or asked questions about:

• Public comments should be recognized, and comments attributed to the individual

  • Looking into this option

• Need clarification on the use of fields, repair of fields, shortage of fields, and collaboration with the Township

  • Mr. Shen indicated that the Board of Education has made no statement regarding fields.

  • Dr. Burton commented that we had not been part of the conversations surrounding fields and have requested to meet with the Township on the topic.

The following statements and questions are being addressed by the Community Advisory Committee:

• Appreciate data and transparency on High School data and look forward to being on the Community panel

• Any updates on AP Qualifiers and next year's course placement?

• Need more data and Timeline for more data

• Are similar conversations taking place with staff?

• Disappointed with the lack of substance in the program committee discussion

• Making change for this year's Juniors

• Proposals regarding AP access are too narrow

• Middle School access into accelerated and future courses

• Limiting students' confidence and access perspective

• Program Committee did not consider concerns on AP access

• Comparable schools have more information on their website including clear pathways

• Why are department chairs reluctant to make changes?

• Hanover Research data is 2 years old

• Mental impact on students of AP Qualifiers

The following statements and questions are being addressed by the Community Advisory Committee:

• Millburn HS is phenomenal, but always room for improvement

• College admissions have changed and we may need to rebrand the District.

• Student Wellbeing

• Thank you to Board members for all your work

• Uphold our Education system and do what is best for all students

• Thank you to Dr. Miron and the staff for creating a panel with parents

• Education Foundation is willing to work with the District and support initiatives

• Millburn students have not fared as well as other students across the country

• GPA weighting system should be reviewed and move in line with competitive

• districts

• Millburn students prepared for college

• Difference between district goals and strategic plan

• We support open access, not lowering the bar

• Conversations with college admission professionals for input on changes

• Will you report on the performance of those who opted into courses?

• Accelerated entry grade at Middle school to get into 9th-grade math

• Provide information to students about the rigor of courses so they are mentally ready if

• choose to opt-in

• Revisit Challenge Success Presentation

• Hanover Research suggestion to let students review assessments

• Review the District profile page and update the information

• Offer to help analyze data

• Gratitude to Administration and Board members for listening to parents

In an Open Forum fashion, members of the public posed questions and made comments, to which the board and administration responded. The following topics were raised by members of the public with responses given by the Administration and the Board.

Discussion Topics:

• Civics standards in the curriculum

• Black History Month recognition

• Fair share housing and funding

• Sexual Health Education Curriculum

• GPA comparison to other districts

• Access to test results

• Timeframe for changes to grading changes

• A discrepancy in English curriculum between middle and high school

• Breakdown of grade, by subject – grade distribution

• Equity across classes

• Student wellness and self-esteem

• Grading

• AP qualifiers

• Geoscience curriculum

• College admissions

• Incongruency of class grades to standardized testing

• Grades not reflective of effort

• The rigor of high school courses

• GPA weighting system

• Access and equity to higher-level classes

• Transcripts should be sent out sooner

• Purpose of assessments

• Inconsistencies of grading between teacher

• Amount of tutoring taking place

• A member of the community asked about how the district can find ways to reach out to families in the community who no longer have students in the system.  

  • The district makes every effort to reach out to all members of the community using the media and social media resources available. We will continue to look at ways to get through to all those interested in what’s happening in our schools. 

• Also concerned about “long-term tax exemptions” as part of new developments which will have an impact on schools with lack of revenue.

  • The school district Business Administrator works with financial advisors who help support the district's financial and revenue needs. The Board of Education's Finance Committee is kept informed of all financial impacts to the district, and will make adjustments if needed to any changes to the township tax base.

No comments/questions were addressed in public.

No comments/questions were addressed in public.

• Several members of the public made statements in recognition and thanks to the departing Board members; also a remembrance of Ms. Danielle Prieto

Members of the public asked about plans for the school district or township to support Cricket in the curriculum and as a varsity sport, and to provide Cricket facilities in the township.

According to the district Athletics Director, this would have to be something that begins at the state level. The NJSIAA would approve it as a club and varsity sport in the state, and then it could be added as a high school club and/or team. If the NJSIAA were to consider it, it is probably a 3-5 year process.

As regards a township facility, that is a discussion for the Millburn Town Council and Recreation Department to consider. 

A parent asked whether there are plans to add Guidance Counselors at the Elementary level in light of mental health and social/emotional needs. 

The district is aware of the mental health support needed for our younger students, and this is slated to be part of our conversations as we begin the budget process for next year. As the budget process is shared out in 2023, there will be more information forthcoming.

No comments/questions were addressed in public.

No comments/questions were addressed in public.

Members of the public announced an upcoming dance production by local dance troupe Purple Swans (11/20 - Morristown) and invited the Board and community to attend.

No comments/questions were addressed in public.

Members of the public asked about plans for the school district or township to support Cricket in the curriculum and as a varsity sport.

According to the district Athletics Director, this would have to be something that begins at the state level. The NJSIAA would approve it as a club and varsity sport in the state, and then it could be added as a high school club and/or team. If the NJSIAA were to consider it, it is probably a 3–5-year process.

When an incident at school is reported, can parents and the community get more information about the result?

The district shares as much information as it can about incidents when they impact the school community. In many cases, these incidents may lead to internal or external investigations, and we are bound by the parameters of those investigations, including confidentiality concerns.

No comments/questions were addressed in public.

A member of the public spoke about security concerns in the buildings, especially in light of the Uvalde report showing that lack of communication was one of many issues that day.  Please ensure that our schools can communicate in an emergency - wifi access, cell towers, announcements, phones etc. 

Safety and Security are always top priorities for the school district, and especially after the recent shooting incidents. Here are a few of the protocols we can share publicly.  There are many other steps we follow in our detailed confidential emergency operations plan:

• As a result of the 2020 Referendum, we installed security vestibules in all of our schools.

• During the school day all doors are locked, and the only entry point for visitors is through the security vestibule.

• Visitors must have appointments to enter the buildings, and they must identify themselves, provide valid ID, and be approved for entry. 

• Alyssa’s Law, enacted in 2019, required all schools in New Jersey to install silent panic alarms that alert law enforcement immediately of an emergency in the schools. 

• There are security cameras at multiple locations around the schools. 

• Our Director of Security, Mike Palardy, oversees the emergency drills and security protocols at all of our buildings. He is a former Millburn Police Lieutenant, who is in constant contact with school principals and personnel to address any concerns, as well as a liaison with the Milburn Police. 

• Our security officers at the MS and HS are former police officers and/or had military experience that have also completed the School Safety Specialist training. 

• The district has strong and close partnerships with the Millburn Police Department, Office of Emergency Management, and the Volunteer First Aid Squad, who support our schools and students whenever we need them. They make the safety of the township schools a top priority. The police response to any school in the district is maximum of 2 minutes.

• Personnel from our Police and Fire Departments attend all of the required monthly emergency drills in our schools.

• We thank them for their visible presence at our schools this week, and always. 

• A security audit is conducted annually by a security consulting firm, and we take their recommendations into consideration in all of our planning.

• Teachers and staff members receive State Department of Education training on security protocols and emergency procedures, and they participate in actual and tabletop drills. 

• We are upgrading our cell service within our schools as best we can. We are also working with the township to improve cell service around the town and in our district buildings.

If you have any questions about our security procedures, please reach out to our Security Director, Mike Palardy or your building administrators.