By Michelle L. Santoro

Sherman – The Sherman Board of Education (“BOE” or “Board”) met on October 1 in Mallory Town Hall and via Zoom for its regular monthly meeting.  Presided over by Kate Frey, Vice Chair, the Board recognized the four students recently elected to the Student Council – Adleigh Yagid, President; Kyra Matusow-Pransky, Vice President; Addison Ribisl, Secretary; and Emory Cleary, Treasurer.

Regarding the monthly budget report, member Maryanne Febbraio questioned Patricia Cosentino, Superintendent, about the negative balance on a line of the report.  Dr. Cosentino explained it represented the emergency enabling repairs discussed and approved at last month’s meeting.  To recap, the expenses were paid out of the school budget but were not budgeted for.  Cosentino explained, the BOE will seek to have some of the costs “moved” to school project expenses and then have that money back in the BOE budget. Further, Ms. Febbraio requested explanation from Dr. Pat on invoices for a locksmith for fobs and the school’s entry system, Foley’s Heating and Plumbing, PODS storage containers for housing school items and instruments, Home Depot for hardware (and other supplies for the school), janitorial items and shelving.  The Foley’s bill was also approved at the last meeting.

Dr. Cosentino gave a brief update on the School Renovation Project Update.  Demolition has commenced and the construction site should now be completely removed from the temporary school area where students are located.  She said, “Things are really moving along; we are on schedule.”   She advised that Dr. Fernand would send a letter to parents advising them as to status and First Selectman Don Lowe was expected to issue a Nixle update to the community.

The Policy Committee advised that it is still researching nuances with Shipman & Goodman versus CABE policies.  Dr. Pat noted that a review of neighboring districts revealed use of both Shipman & Goodman and CABE policies.

In her Superintendent’s update, Dr. Cosentino was enthused that September was a successful month. She thanked Bernadette Linero for coordinating the middle schoolers who participated in the Sherman Historical Society’s 50th Anniversary reenactment on September 20. Students in grades K-3 had their artwork displayed at the Fifth Annual Farm Day at Happy Acres Farm on October 4.  Cosentino advised that I-Ready assessments started. Lastly, she advised that the lunch program is doing beautifully; the student council participated in a taste testing of hot lunch options, which will begin October 14th.  The Daily Market will provide hot lunch.

The Board listened to a presentation by Dr. Karen Fildes regarding the SBAC results from the 2024-2025 school year.  The scores are reported in two ways – Achievement, which is a one-time snapshot measurement of a student’s academic performance, and Growth, which reflects the change in achievement score for a student between two or more points in time.  Students are evaluated against a fixed standard.  Participation rates have grown.  Out of 141 students, 137 were tested in ELA and Math; and out of 44 students, 41 tested in science, or just under 95%, which will result in a penalty.  Fildes briefly spoke about the different curriculums being used, noting some were new. She pointed out a dip in results for grades 6 and 7 in Math.  Staff are looking at individual students to see where improvements can be made.  Some questions by the Board were posed and minimal discussion ensued. In summary, Fildes advised they will continue to “focus on high-quality curriculum, data, and supporting professional learning – this is how we will improve student achievement. Member James Philipakos thanked Dr. Fildes for the data provided in her presentation.

The Board approved the hiring of the following new school employees: Mia Burch A Registered Behavior Technician, effective September 24 and Social Worker Dazira Fulton, effective September 22.  Aileen Murphy resigned.

Each of the following policy changes passed unanimously Policy #9311: Formulation, Adoption, Amendment of Policies, By Laws, and Administrative Regulations,  Policy #9273: Civility Code, Policy #9321.2: Electronic Board of Education Meetings and  Policy #9327.1: Board Member Use of Social Media.

The following policies were before the Board for a first reading: Policy #5145.15: Directory Information, Policy #3313.1: Local Purchasing, Policy #3516.4: Sex Offender Notification, Policy #3516.5: Sexual Offenders on School, Policy #4118.51: Social, Policy #4222: Teacher Aides – Paraprofessionals, Policy #5131.111: Video Surveillance and Policy #5131.8: Off School Grounds Misconduct.

The next regular BOE meeting is scheduled for November 5, 2025, and a Policy Committee meeting is scheduled for October 21, 2025.