Rangel updated that the school will be closing interim assessments on 3.19. Previously there were grades 3-8 assessments, but now K-2 students have completed finalized middle of year (MOY) assessment data.

Kindergarten through second grade originally took an assessment called DIBELS. To help compare with other schools, the school purchased NWEA, a nationally normed assessment given nationwide, for K-2 students (for both math and reading).

Rangel shared the data dashboard. The norm mean RIT in mathematics for Kindergarten score is 150.1, the class average at Emma Donnan is 142.8. Therefore, it is 8 points lower than a normal (non-pandemic) score.

There is a discrepancy between the proficiency data of Clearsight and NWEA mean RIT scores. This is due to the urgency of catch-up in Kindergarten. 

Kindergarten reading average is on-par with national average. School has lower number of students in the lowest quartile of scores.

The biggest concern is the number of 2nd graders with low reading scores (having missed much of 1st grade due to the pandemic). This is a trend nationwide considering the amount of crucial reading instruction that occurs in the second half of 1st grade.

NWEA will continue to be used for K-2 and will likely expand to 3-8 so school data can be compared with national data.

Branson-Hutchison asked what the makeup of the data for normed RIT is, as well as whether there is historical Emma Donnan data to compare. For the normed RIT, the score includes all types of school settings nationwide (i.e. public charter, private, large urban traditional district, small rural, etc.). While School can't compare with historical data for Emma Donnan, comparisons can be made with IPS direct managed schools.

NWEA is typically administered at the beginning of the year to get comparative beginning to end of year data. However, due to the pandemic, this was not possible. In addition, NWEA is more predictive now of student success on state testing.

The committee's next step is to present to Angela Douglas, Director of Community Engagement and there is a plan to do this.

While on the minutes, there is no vote for the Development committee at this time.

Garcia added that Habayeb and Rangel will connect for meetings with any potential donor.

Brian Anderson from CIES joined to present the financials. Anderson went through the report document, outlining the most important line items and next steps for the initial years of operation.

Overall, the financial picture of Adelante Schools is strong, largely due to the additional funding support due to Covid 19-related one-time funding sources. The prediction is that the budget will exceed predicted outcome at the end of the year.

Remaining for fiscal year '20, we have more than $1 million in revenue that we have not begun to be reimbursed for. Some expenses will be associated with that, but prior to June 30th, we will have a large percentage of those funding sources reimbursed.

$2 million of additional CARES Act money of unanticipated funds is now present to support for the next two years. There is a third round of CARES Act funding that could be equivalent or exceeded the second round of CARES Act funding.

The additional funding resources will be wrapped into the budget planning for next year. Major expenditures should be tied to ongoing revenue first. The unique financial position of Adelante Schools in year 1 allows the School to create a solid and sounds 1 to 5 year plan.

Two important budget issues for next year:

- The state budget for next year (proposed) is roughly 2% increase of per-pupil funding.

- The Charter Innovation Grant may not return at the same amount (or potentially may go away) based on the actions of the legislature.

Burcope gave update that the Governance committee recently met to review the performance evaluation process, start the process of putting together a performance evaluation timeline, scheduling two additional checkins embedded in the agenda, have a formal evaluation memo, relook at Executive Director job description to identify key competencies for the 2122 school year, reevaluating the size of the board (min of 9, max of 11), putting together a skill matrix for current board members, ongoing learning for the board (including 30 min 1x per month sessions) and determining board terms for future board members.

February count day = 359 scholars. Currently, as of 3/18, the School is at 381 scholars. The School's biggest priority is to keep students from year-to-year to both stabilize enrollment, but push academic growth gains, which should result in stronger enrollment longer term.

The School launched an Intent to Return initiative to determine students who are planning to return next year. A portfolio of families was divided amongst all staff members to make direct contact with families, ask if scholars are planning to return (which resulted in a Spirit shirt), and field feedback for why families may/may not be returning.

Habayeb went through the Enrollment report (included in the document), including:

The Insight Survey data is a tool to gauge feedback from the staff on the School for the purposes of planning and implementing for next year.

The School will be releasing a Family Survey after Spring Break in order to not conflict with the surveys needed for the shift to Grades 7/8 5-day in-person instruction beginning April 5th.

Shifts in the calendar include added context to provide more information for families (like progress reports, e-learning days, etc.), increase professional development days (aligned with IPS), align with 180 days, and move the last day of school up to avoid additional days that do not push learning after the final round of interim assessments. Calendar is shared in board materials.

The Academic Committee must post a meeting open to the public with at least 48-hour notice in order for the committee to vote on the calendar approval.

Kainrath sent out the next steps for each board member/committee for the Strategic Planning retreat follow-up. Each committee will continue to checkpoint the follow-up from the retreat.

Kainrath asked the board to amend the vision statement to include the two additional committees.

The Diversity Committee has not yet begun due to a small number of board members.