Escuela Avancemos! Academy
Minutes
Escuela Avancemos Regular Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday March 22, 2022 at 6:30 PM
Location
Escuela Avancemos Academy
2635 Howard St
Detroit, MI 48216
Room# 302
Directors Present
A. Bordeianu, C. Stamatin, L. Chittum, M. Barbour, M. Gonzalez
Directors Absent
None
Guests Present
A. Ulloa (remote), Brennah Grace Donahue, Dahime Gordon, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Emilie Wetherington, J. Joubert, L. Coggins (remote), L. McClintic, Michelle- Kerry Khatib, S. Johnson, S. Ovares, S. Yassine
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
II. Approval of Agenda
A.
Approval of Agenda
Roll Call | |
---|---|
M. Barbour |
Aye
|
L. Chittum |
Aye
|
A. Bordeianu |
Aye
|
C. Stamatin |
Aye
|
M. Gonzalez |
Aye
|
III. Consent Agenda Item
A.
Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes
Roll Call | |
---|---|
M. Gonzalez |
Aye
|
L. Chittum |
Aye
|
C. Stamatin |
Aye
|
M. Barbour |
Aye
|
A. Bordeianu |
Aye
|
IV. New Business
A.
HVAC Replacement Authorization Resolution
Roll Call | |
---|---|
M. Gonzalez |
Aye
|
M. Barbour |
Aye
|
L. Chittum |
Aye
|
C. Stamatin |
Aye
|
A. Bordeianu |
Aye
|
B.
Michigan Department of Education Section 31o Funds
V. Reports
A.
21st Century Community Learning Centers Monthly Report
Michelle-Kerry Khatib and Dahime Gordon presented the 21st Century Community Learning Centers monthly programming and budget report to the Board of Directors. The afterschool programming team was happy to report that enrollment has increased since reported last month. Ongoing efforts are in full swing to increase enrollment. Students and families enjoyed the recent field trips and are looking forward to upcoming events.
B.
Charter Schools Program Grant Monthly Report
Dr. Lorilyn Coggins presented the Charter School Program Grant current month and
cumulative amounts with the Board of Directors as required to be presented monthly at each
board meeting.
C.
February Financials
February 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.
D.
Sanga Monthly Management Report
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 Central Michigan University Educational (CMU) Program Review findings, elements and evidence from the observation were presented to the Board of Directors. The leadership team, in partnership with each grade level’s team, is closely monitoring identified students during lessons and through data to track progress. In addition to identifying and monitoring those specific students, the team is focusing on the delivery of grade-level content. One of the plans of action items is to spend additional instructional time during the core content blocks (reading and math), to provide students with exposure to sample items for the MSTEP/PSAT and support them in creating a reader’s and/or mathematician’s plan to tackle the text and questions they will likely see on the state test. Through modeling text analysis, teachers will coach and support all students and then provide them independent practice time, so that they are prepared for the type of content they will likely see in May. The plan will be rolled out right after spring break, and spend the four weeks ahead of state testing providing students with the skills and independent practice. Madam Vice President Andreea Bordeianu inquired if parents were aware of the achievement goals for students? How are parents involved in the process? Madam President Cristina Stamatin expressed a similar concern regarding the leadership team's plan to bridge the gap between parents and the school to keep students encouraged and set high expectations cohesively. Stephanie Yassine mentioned that parents are doing their absolute best. The pandemic has put a pulse on the academy's ability to host Cafecito meetings to build parent engagement and is looking forward to these meetings reconvening. Ana Ulloa pointed out to the Board of Directors the difficulties with translating how parents can support their students when literacy is an issue within most households. Parents are very eager to learn strategies to help support students.
WIDA testing for all present students during the testing window will be completed before Friday. The only students who may not have an opportunity to complete all parts are those with special circumstances: quarantines, extended absences due to travel, or
homebound learners (i.e. 504 plan for illness).
The leadership team is looking forward to continuing the push to certify as many teachers as possible through Wayne State’s TESOL program in order to ensure the academy is appropriately serving all learners, every day. Currently, a cohort of 6 teachers is slated to kick off the pilot program this summer.
The academy's re-enrollment period was held 02/28-3/18. A total of 330 K-7th graders have confirmed their re-enrollment for the next school year with a total of 13 sibling preferences for
kindergarteners who have submitted their intent to enroll next year.
Open enrollment is now open to the public. The academy is concentrating its efforts on recruiting kindergarten students for the 2022-23 school year through kindergarten round-ups and attending preschool events. The maximum total enrollment is 400 for the 2022-23 school year and the expectation is to maintain a consistent student enrollment of 375 students.
The Detroit Health Department has issued guidance for a post-surge COVID-19 that the Academy has adopted. The changes consist of quarantine for 5 days from the last exposure, contact tracing will not be conducted in lower-risk school settings including the classroom, KN95/N95 respirators are strongly encouraged. Surgical masks are deemed acceptable. The academy's mask policy will remain in effect and will be revisited at the end of April, as an additional precaution after Spring Break.
VI. Extended Public Comment:
A.
This public comment section is reserved for all remaining comments.
No extended public comments at this time.
VII. Board Comments
A.
Authorizer Comments
The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools Central Michigan University Field
Operations School Lead, Jennifer Joubert informed the Board of Directors of the upcoming Board Development Series: Good Governance County Assisting Your Boards to Identify Landmarks on April 20, 2022 - Detroit CMU Office and the 2022 Annual Conference on August 23, 2022- Novi Location. The CMU walkthrough observation overall feedback for the academy was very positive.
B.
Escuela Avancemos! Academy Board of Directors Comments
Escuela Avancemos Academy is very pleased in knowing that with all the challenges the academy has faced over the years, the team has always found a way to win. The team is always on top of everything and is happy to hear of the positive feedback from the academys' authorizer Central Michigan University. Madam Vice President Andreea Bordeianu is delighted to know that CMU conducts walkthroughs and furnishes meticulous feedback. This is a very remarkable tool for the leadership team to use for accountability and strategic planning. The academy will celebrate its 10-year anniversary this year. Madam President Cristina Stamatin is very pleased with the direction the school is going. It's important to plan a "Career Day" for additional student exposure to a variety of career fields. The recent board retreat was phenomenal and great team building. The Board of Directors welcomed Emilie Wetherington and other guests for attending the board meeting.
VIII. Closing Items
A.
Reconfirmation of Next Board Meeting
Tuesday, April 26, 2022, 6:30 p, at Escuela Avancemos! Academy; 2635 Howard St Detroit, MI 48216.
The Michigan Department of Education Section 31o funds correspondence required no action from the Board of Directors at this time. The informative correspondence highlighted Escuela Avancemos' eligibility possibilities to receive 31o funds. Dr. Coggins outlined the reporting requirements in order to receive the funds.