FULTON – The Fulton City School District Board of Education met virtually last night, Tuesday, January 25 and discussed social-emotional learning in the district.
Superintendent Brian Pulvino began with discussing mask mandates, saying that he had spoken to a number of parents yesterday.
Pulvino said the district had received guidance from the state Monday night to keep the current policy of wearing a face mask in school in place for Tuesday, and that there is a full hearing on the matter of wearing face masks in schools scheduled for Friday, so the mandate is still in effect this week through Friday.
“We’ve spent 20 months doing the best we can on behalf of all of our kids and we really tried to aim for the middle,” Pulvino said. “I would ask that our families be patient with us.”
The board then discussed whether they will continue to meet virtually, switch back to meeting in-person, and create a combination. They decided to continue virtual meetings through February, unless the state directs districts to meet in-person, and then circle back.
During the superintendent’s report, Pulvino recognized the district’s administrators for their efforts, dedication, leadership and boundless energy.
Pulvino, Director of Human Resources and Student Services Geri Geitner, and Director of Student Support Services Elizabeth Tiffany, plus members of the restorative specialist team, then discussed the Strategic Coherence Plan and its social-emotional developmental health aspect.
Geitner said one of the district’s objectives is that by 2024, 90% of respondents of the Student Voice Survey agree or strongly agree with the statement “I feel welcomed and part of my school.” The district has allocated $2.4 million of COVID stimulus funds to social-emotional health, including five restorative practice specialists (RPS), one social-emotional learning (SEL) success coach, one sixth grade counselor, six Peaceful Schools SEL interventionists, and SEL professional development.
Tiffany highlighted these new resources. She said RPS build up community relationships then restore them if they have been harmed in any way. There is one RPS at each elementary school. SEL interventionists build up research-based interventions for students who may need some extra support. The new sixth grade counselor works with students to start discussing college and careers.
Lastly, the School Culture Student Advisory Committee consists of two student representatives from grades 7 through 12 and two representatives from each of the elementary school’s 6th grades. Their purpose is to work toward making all students in the district feel welcomed and a part of their school.
Desiree Saladin, a member of the restorative specialist team who works with Fairgreive Elementary, shared the SEL work she has been doing in the school. Kelley Sluka, another member of the team, spoke about how they are able to determine which students may need extra support based on their own voices rather than just looking at behavior. Geitner, Tiffany, Saladin and Sluka continued discussing SEL in all grades.
Pulvino then moved onto discussing the budget for the next academic year and community school set aside funds, which are used for after school programs, summer programs and community partnerships. He also talked about transportation aid and that Governor Hochul has placed it into the budget by her office.
The budget committee will be meeting next Tuesday. Last week’s meeting can be viewed here. Pulvino said the district should be able to continue live streaming these meetings.
Chief of Operations and Innovation Dominick Lisi then presented the financial summary for December.
Pulvino’s report ended and the board moved on approving all items on the agenda, which is available here.
The next BOE meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 8 and can be viewed on the Fulton Communications YouTube channel. Members of the community can provide input and feedback via email at [email protected].
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