On behalf of the Board of Education and my Administrative team, I extend to all staff, students, families and community partners a Happy Thanksgiving and best wishes for the Holiday season.  This is a time of the year where we enjoy quality time with family and friends, remember those loved ones who we lost and take time to give thanks to those who are serving in the Armed Services preserving the freedoms we enjoy each day. 

We have much to be grateful for as we have reached some great milestones this year such as the settlement of contracts and changes to various aspects of operations for both districts.  We also have received great press on a number of innovations and best practices. 

I am reminded of the words of Oprah Winfrey this Holiday and it puts all in perspective: Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.  Enjoy the gifts of family and friends you have and the great work that you have accomplished this year. 

Happy Thanksgiving and thank you.

There were a few presentations and one among them was a scholarship presentation.  We are also grateful for our industry partnerships one of which is the Burlington Auto Group led by owner Wayne Hileman and general manager of Burlington Chevrolet, John Broderick. John presented the First Annual Burlington Automotive Group BCIT Automotive Scholarship of $500 each to two of our BCIT adult education students. Congratulations to Dylan and Joshua.

Dr. Nagy also recognized the recent announcement that our own Board President, Bob Silcox will be honored as the Burlington County Distinguished Citizen of the Year along with the Honorable Barry Parker by the Garden State Council Boy Scouts of America in Burlington County.  Congratulations Bob for this prestigious honor.

The Board ratified the Memorandum of Agreements for the BCITEA and BCSSSDEA contracts for a duration of 5 years.  This is a momentous occasion and milestone. Congratulations to all bargaining units.  We appreciated your steadfast dedication to our students.

The Board recognized Kathleen Burgess who has served on the Board for 17 years.  Kathleen has seen the transformation of both BCSSSD and BCIT Districts.  She was part of the combined board when both districts came under one board.  She was a steadfast supporter of students and staff and was a cheerleader of innovation, student achievement and good citizenship.  Kathy provided directed questions and had high expectations.  She also had a kind heart.  She was a loyal supporter of our students, teachers and administrators and will be missed. Her work is indelible for the fruits of the hard work will be enjoyed for many years.  On behalf of both school districts and Board of Education, Dr. Nagy thanked Kathleen for her service as she steps down from the Board. At the December Board meeting, two new Board members will be sworn in. 

The December Board of Education meeting will be held at 4pm rather than 6pm given the Special Services Holiday Programs on December 12^th.

Dr. Nagy highlighted a few key events on our campuses this past month at BCIT:

National Honor Society and the National Technical Honor Society Inductions took place last evening at West – Congratulations to our inductees. 

On Tuesday, we had over 150 industry partners and CTE staff attend our annual PAC luncheon.  At the luncheon, the Holman Automotive Group were recognized as our 2019 Business Partner of the Year. A handful of our students have been chosen to attend Holman University, received a fully stocked auto toolkit, clothing, mentorship and opportunities for advancement. Please see press coverage by BCT.

Last week, we held the third annual ConstructionTechnology and Apprenticeship Expo at Medford where we had 11 union shops represented. We are grateful Dr. English and her staff, our CTE staff, our visiting schools and to Mr. Leon Jones who helped us arrange for the union shops to be present.  It was an interactive morning that placed students with industry experts with hands on interactive activities such as bricklaying and running a crane virtually.

At the end of the meeting, Dr. Nagy on behalf of the Board of Education, wished all a Happy Thanksgiving. The Board then went into closed session to address a personnel matter of which action was later taken.