The Escuela Avancemos! Academy Board of Directors will hold a two-day Board Retreat for the purpose of discussing the Board Leadership and the topics as deemed appropriate.  Stephanie Yassine presented the board retreat lodging and meeting itinerary. 
 

The Escuela Avancemos Academy School Instructional Leaders Lyndsey McClintic (K-3) and Dr. Steven Ovares (4th-8th) reported the Public Act 48 of 2021, Section 98b, and Section 104a required accomplishments of established educational and academic goals.

Dahime Gordon, Site Program Director, presented the monthly programming activities and budget report. The 21st CCLC board report title "The Dearborn Academy Cohort" is the cohort title and is not directed to the school that is listed.  The report is for all four 21st CCLC sites. 

Madam President Cristina Stamatin suggested that the 21st CCLC should consider posting upcoming events flyers around the school.  This may increase student participation. Board Trustee Mariva Gonzalez suggested carpooling with other families to help with transportation barriers. 

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

January 2022 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 Lyndsey McClintic (K-3rd Instructional Leader), Dr. Steven Ovares (4th-8th Instructional Leader), and Stephanie Yassine (Sanga Consulting Executive Director).  The academics and assessment portion of the report was presented by the Instructional Leaders. The Academy has returned to in-person learning as of January 31, 2022.  Grade level planning, teacher observations, and weekly coaching sessions have resumed. One of the Instructional Leaders Team will provide teachers with written feedback within the School Mint teacher observation platform once a week. The Instructional and School Leadership Team will be diving into the Middle of Year (MOY) diagnostic data for NWEA and i-Ready and  Middle of Year (MOY) Data Collection on Wednesday, February 23, 2022.  As a result of the positive feedback received from Central Michigan University, the academy has been asked to present at their August Annual Charter Conference meeting.  

NWEA median conditional growth percentiles report was presented to the Board of Directors. The report highlighted each grade level as the median conditional growth percentile in the area of math and reading. MSTEP and PSAT projected proficiency data charts were shared with the Board of Directors.  Madam President Cristina Stamatin asked the Instructional Team,  how are we comparing to other surrounding charter and district schools in the area? Is there anything in place to push the margin and how can the board support it?  The Instructional Leaders commented, "We must continue to push students for academic growth."  I-Ready annual typical growth charts were also presented to the Board of Directors to outline the median percent progress towards "Typical Growth" for the school.

During Black History month, the Academy acknowledges & celebrates Black History Month. To honor Black contributions, history, excellence, and resilience all year, including February, a Black History Month committee is celebrating with the theme “I did it first”. 

Classes have chosen an individual who paved the way or set a record, and are researching and designing a poster board with their findings. On 3/4/22, the school will become a “mini-museum” and classes will walk the school halls to view everyone’s contributions.  Madam President Cristina Stamatin, requested for the mini-museum to be posted on social media and the school's website. The Academy is looking forward to celebrating International Mother Language Day throughout the building for the last week of February/the first week of March. 

Stephanie Yassine presented the management section of the report.  The Academy currently has 35 students receiving Special Education services, with a high percentage receiving speech and language and resource room. The Academy is actively seeking to hire a resource room teacher for our growing special education population.  The Academy is currently at 370        student enrollment. The Academy’s student enrollment for Spring Count is 366. A total of 7 positive student COVID cases were reported during January. As the academy was virtual for January, these cases were not contracted within the school building. A total of 2 positive COVID cases among staff were reported in February. Both cases were contracted outside of the school building.  Currently, the Detroit Health Department has not released information on the mask mandate within the City of Detroit. The academy expects to maintain our mask mandate until further notice and will seek to review policies in early April. A board policy regarding mask mandates may become necessary and Sanga will continue to update the board if required.

In partnership with our landlord, Archdiocese of Detroit (AOD), the school building’s HVAC rooftop unit will be replaced. The air filtration is properly working throughout the building.  The project is slated to be completed in Summer 2022. Per our lease agreement reviewed by Mr. Butler, the School Board is legally obligated to cover the cost of the unit. In good faith, the AOD has committed to supporting the cost and presented two options to the Academy: 

• Option 1: The School Board covers half the cost of the rooftop unit, for $75,000 paid at the start of the project. 
• Option 2: The School Board pays installments of $15,000 over 10 years or until the Board no longer occupies the property, which comes first. The school will not be obligated to continue the yearly installments if we vacate the premises before the 10 years. Additional information will be presented to the board as no decision is required at this time. 

Outside lighting electrical repair has been postponed until Spring break (due to holiday break inclement weather) to ensure that more time is allotted to this project while students and staff are not onsite. The repair will be completed at the cost of Vest Modulars.

No extended comments at this time. 
 

Jennifer Joubert was unable to join the board meeting due to a schedule conflict.

The Board of Directors is very pleased with how the Academy is traveling. The student academic growth margins are progressing well.  The Academy's Management, Instructional, and School Leadership team are doing a remarkable job with being proactive instead of reactive. Accolades were expressed to Dr. Coggins for a healthy budget and financial presentation.  The board is highly impressed with the 21st CCLC programming and activities for the students.  It's great to know that Escuela Avancemos celebrates diversity in our school community.  Madam President encouraged the Board of Trustees, Sanga Management, and Instructional Leaders to consider attending the National Charter Schools Conference in June. The NCSC is a great way to learn and connect with other charter schools to bridge the gap in education.  The Board of Directors is looking forward to the Board Retreat and collaborating together as a team.

Tuesday, March 22, 2022, at 6:30 pm at Escuela Avancemos! Academy; 2635 Howard St. Detroit, MI  48216.