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Board reviews curriculum updates, Keys Academy submissions and new extracurricular proposals including drone footage at home football games
Summary
Board was asked to approve curriculum guides, Keys Academy grant submissions and multiple extracurricular items; staff presented a request to allow a licensed parent volunteer to fly a drone at home football games and a renewal for a therapy dog program at Lloyd Road.
The board considered multiple curriculum and extracurricular items on the Aug. 25 agenda, including curriculum guides, a Keys Academy grant submission, and requests for new extracurricular activities.
Curriculum and instruction staff asked the board to approve curriculum guides and instructional materials for the coming year, including new high-school course sequencing in mathematics, humanities and STEM electives and updated elementary mathematics aligned to new state standards. Itemized agenda materials included curriculum guides for specialized programs and compliance items such as observation-and-evaluation instruments and the district professional-development plan.
The agenda included multiple Keys Academy items (a submission for a grant described as the "rise grama" for a total of $50,000) and a list of field trips and grants submitted by the district foundation. Staff asked the board to approve provider contracts and renewals for student services, notably a renewal for Effective School Solutions noted elsewhere in the meeting.
On extracurriculars, staff described two new proposals for board approval: use of a drone at home high-school football games and a therapy dog program at Lloyd Road. The drone request came from the athletic staff and would use a parent volunteer who is a licensed FAA drone operator; the footage would be internal and uploaded to the huddle system used for sports broadcasts and shared with the NJSIAA. District staff said they are working through insurance and supervisory protocols and that the athletic supervisor would oversee any operation. The therapy dog program at Lloyd Road was presented as an annual renewal of an existing program.
Board members asked clarifying questions about drone insurance, operator licensing, who would supervise flights and ownership/rights to footage; staff said the proposal would fall under the supervisor of athletics and building principals and that they would not allow unauthorized drones to operate on campus.
What it means: The curriculum approvals formalize course and assessment changes presented earlier; the extracurricular requests introduce new operational questions (insurance and supervision) that staff said they would resolve before routine use. The Keys Academy and foundation grants are part of the district’s program funding and field-trip approvals for the year.
Next steps: The board was asked to vote on listed curriculum and extracurricular agenda items; staff indicated they will finalize insurance and operating agreements for drone use and continue to monitor grant submissions and provider contracts.
