Michelle Hadous informed the Board of Directors of her recent relocation.  Ms. Hadous introduced her replacement, Michelle Khatib.  Ms. Khatib brings a wealth of experience as a 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program Director and looks forward to working with the Escuela Avancemos team.  Ms. Khatib presented the monthly programming report and budget to the Board of Directors. Madam Preseident Cristina Stamatin welcomed Michelle Khatib. 

Dr. Lorilyn Coggins presented to the Board of Directors an overview of the Charter
School Program Grant data that is required to be presented monthly at each board
meeting.

July financial reports were presented by Dr. Lorilyn Coggins highlighting
cash on hand, year-to-date revenues, year-to-date expenditures, and the current
fund balance in a summarized format. The financials are in order.  Results from the single audit will be presented to the Board of Directors once they are received. 
 

The Sanga Monthly Management Report was presented by Ana Ulloa, Stephanie Yassine, Lyndsey McClintic, and Steven Ovares.  Stephanie Yassine, Executive Director introduced Dr. Steven Ovares to the Board of Directors. Dr. Ovares has joined our team as our 4-8 instructional leader while Lyndsey McClintic will continue on as our K-3 instructional leader. Both leaders are experts in their respective grade bands and we believe this unique model will allow our leaders to work together to develop, implement and oversee a high-quality instructional model and academic program for our K-8 Academy while providing the necessary differentiation and support to address the unique needs of their respective grade bands.  Lyndsey McClintic, Instructional Leader (K-3) provided an overview of the School Leadership Team strategic planning process. The team has determined goals and strategies under three focal areas: academic growth, instruction, and school culture. The goals and strategies to be used for these three focal areas were presented. M-Step and WIDA goals are glaringly missing from the strategic plan. The data from these two assessment sources are at this point 3 years old and therefore goal setting with them would likely not be a realistic or accurate measure of progress at this time.  The benchmark assessment growth goals we have set will put us on the path of increasing growth and proficiency for all students as per the WIDA and MStep by the end of the year. Throughout the summer program, students were hard at work during the afternoon portion of their day to create, learn, explore, and develop their projects.  Through the academy's partnership with Detroit Children’s Fund, we were able to apply for and receive funds through their SC2 Summer Tools Mini-Grant. The academy was able to hire staff and create incentives for students to come to the modulars and spend time each day or each week as available for additional instructional lessons on the iReady platform.  The iReady to Learn Labs ran for 5 weeks and had in attendance an average of 15-20 students each day in addition to those involved in the summer school programming. Through monitoring growth, progress, and lessons completed on the iReady platform, 16 students were selected to receive the incentivized technology bundle which includes a computer, hotspot, mouse, headphones, and a $75 Amazon gift card. The Tune into Reading program was piloted at EA this summer as a part of our AM academic classes. The program has Independent, university-based research indicating its ability to improve students’ instructional reading level by over one grade in just 12 weeks. TUNE into READING improves reading skills by engaging students in activities in which their ability to learn is enhanced by the power of music. The academy was able to provide 46 students with Amazon gift cards, ranging in value from $20 to $100 dollars! With the criteria used to determine incentives, one student actually qualified for two $100 gift cards. Through the academy's authorizer as well as internally, we have been strategic in our placement of benchmark assessments throughout the year to ensure we have a constant and consistent pulse check on where we are in terms of meeting our goals.  Lyndsey McClintic pointed out to the Board of Directors to note that this year will be the first year for the academy in administering the KRA (Kindergarten Readiness Assessment) and PSAT (8th grade). At this time no update to report on the status of the National Professional Development (NPD) grant submission.   Madam President Cristina Stamatin asked Dr. Steven Ovares while working in Florida was he exposed to any bi-literacy programs. The former district Dr. Ovares transferred out of was going through an audit review to gauge the level of impact the program provided.  During his departure, the results were not available.  However, his former team has agreed to provide him with an analysis report that he can present to the Board of Directors.   Ann Ulloa mentioned that there are not enough bilingual teachers in the State of Michigan to increase fluency.  The academy is hopeful that the grant is approved to allow furthering the expertise of the instructional staff.
Stephanie Yassine provided staff and educational vendor updates.  The partnership with Futures will continue for special education services. The academy is currently at 395  student enrollment.
Sanga is excited to enter our 9th year managing Escuela Avancemos! Academy in partnership and under the leadership of our Board of Directors. The 4 classrooms modular will allow us to house K-8 in the short term with a long-term hope of having a K-3 and 4-8 building. 
The 4 classroom modular unit is currently under construction and we expect it to be complete and ready by October. Delays in construction are due to delays in obtaining the building permits provided by the BCC. Due to the delay in modular installation and being mindful of the upcoming kindergarten students’ limited exposure to in-person learning (in preschool), the academy has decided to begin kindergarten as a ½ day program for the first month. Our kindergarten teachers, with guidance from Mrs. McClintic, will provide individualized and targeted instruction to these small groups of students with intentional time spent in reading, math, SEL (Social and Emotional Learning), and teaching school and classroom expectations and routines. Escuela Avancemos! was selected as a finalist at CMU’s annual conference for CMU's Innovation and Vision Award. We won 2nd place, voted by attendees, for our unique and individualized approach to working with our families. The academy is honored to have earned this distinction and will receive $3,000 that we will allocate to our family and parenting department.
The building has been deep cleaned, sanitized, and furnished to properly welcome staff and student return with safety as a top priority. 
As an additional COVID prevention measure, ventilation systems have been installed in each classroom to support our high-quality HVAC system and the building has up-to-date PPE to ensure our staff and school safety. This is an additional measure of protection and is based on teacher feedback. 

 

No extended public comments at this time.
 

The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools Central Michigan University
Field Operations School Lead Jennifer Joubert shared information regarding the Charter Educator Award for employees that work at a CMU charter school for eligibility.  Applications will be dropped off at the academy soon.  Ms. Joubert thanked Stephanie Yassine for applying for the Innovation and Vision Award and rising to the occasion in such a short time frame. 

Each member of the Board of Directors thanked the management and school leadership team for the work that has been done in setting goals and strategies for student academic growth.  Congratulations to the team for winning the Innovation and Vision 2nd Place Award.  Madam Vice President Andreea Bordieanu informed the team that to seek another name for the position "Learning Loss Aides".  The position title needs to reflect a more positive role. Madam President Cristina Stamatin is very pleased with the team's proactive approach.  Tentatively the board retreat will be held in October and the President would like to ask Vanessa Gulley if she's available to attend and facilitate..

Tuesday, September 21, 2021, at 6:30 pm at Escuela Avancemos Academy; 2635
Howard St Detroit, MI 48216.