Dahime Gordon, Site Coordinator, and Michelle Kerry Khatib, Program Director presented the monthly programming and budget report to the Board of Directors.  Student registration is a bit slow due to some parents being reluctant to signup due to COVID.  Recruitment efforts are still onging.

An overview of the Charter School Program Grant data that is required to be presented monthly at each board meeting was provided to the Board of Directors. 

August 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. 

The Sanga Monthly Management Report was presented by Stephanie Yassine, Lyndsey McClintic, and Steven Ovares.  Teachers were welcomed back in late August with a promise of rigorous and joyful instruction, a focus on growth, and continual improvement for students, instructors,  and leaders, all under a strong foundation of safety.  This year's slogan created by and voted on by staff members is, "We are the EA in team". September’s focus is on creating a strong and supportive learning environment, building relationships, and on instructional preparation for lessons. We will use our CVT (Classroom Visit Tool) to determine look-for and monitor progress during our coaching sessions with instructional staff. The four indicators tied to this priority area consist of Behavior Expectations, Structured Learning Environment, Supportive Learning Environment, and Participation and Engagement.  The instructional leaders have made it a priority to get into every classroom and are excited to report positive findings from several of the focus indicators.  The team is excited to start official coaching cycles with teachers this week, and officially begin intellectual preparation through grade-level planning next week.  Students partook in their i-Ready math and reading beginning-of-the -year diagnostics.  These diagnostics will serve as a benchmark for evaluating future student growth and proficiency, as well as providing the school data on meeting our end-of-year i-Ready diagnostic goals.  As of 9/21/21, 97% of students have finished their reading diagnostic rushing rate of students is below 2%. Dr. Ovares introduced Ivannia Alvarez as the academy’s 4th - 8th-grade Spanish teacher.Ms. Alvarez brings Spanish educational experience from numerous schools and grade levels, most recently working with high school students.  Ms. Alvarez plans to use her experience working with high school students to set a high bar of excellence with her middle school students. She believes in providing students an immersive and engaging Spanish curriculum, to help support language and cultural growth.  Madam President Cristina Stamatin mentioned that "Bi-Literacy" needs to be renamed to a foreign language because it is not a biliteracy approach. Stephanie Yassine presented the staffing and educational vendor updates.  Currently, student enrollment is 376.  The academy will provide the board with COVID-related student updates in this section. As of 9/21, the academy has 0 positive COVID cases reported to the Detroit Health Department. A reporting process has been communicated to staff to prioritize classroom safety and prompt the removal of students for additional screening.  The modular units for grades K-1 have been further delayed due to errors made by Vesta Modular.  Sanga Management has been informed by Vesta Modular to anticipate for the modular to be installed by mid-October. Sanga remains vigilant and in communication with the president of Vesta Modular to resolve this issue and will continue to keep the Board updated. The academy is fully stocked with PPE safety precaution items.  Daily around-the-clock mitigation strategies are being done to reduce the spread of microscopic bacteria such as high touch points disinfecting and cleaning. The AHERA Surveillance Inspection was completed and has been reported as having no observed changes to known or assumed ACBM throughout the building. All materials were in good condition. Fire Sprinkler System inspection identified a deficiency with the sprinkler main drain valve and obstruction to the water flow system.  Both items have since been repaired.
Low voltage in the academy’s electricity resulted in the HVAC system not functioning properly and the elevator being out of service.  DTE has since repaired the cause for the low voltage, Bumbler Mechanical has replaced the tripped breakers caused by the electrical deficiency and the elevator is back up and running.

No extended public comments at this time.

Jennifer Joubert was unable to join the board meeting.
 

The Board of Trustees is looking forward to another great school year and is available to provide support in any way possible.  This year's academy slogan and the scope of instructional development four indicators set the tone and high bar for academic achievement. The team always hit the ground running with tons of traction.  Madam President requested for the Board of Trustees to keep a lookout for Board Retreat scheduling communication.  Tentatively the board retreat will be scheduled for mid-October or early November with Vanessa Gulley as the moderator.   

Tuesday, October 26, 2021, at 6:30 pm at Escuela Avancemos Academy; 2635 Howard St Detroit, MI 48216.