Adelante Schools
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday January 20, 2022 at 6:00 PM
Location
Goals:
- Approve organizational foundational tools and policies to govern our school and operate effectively.
- Deepen our understanding of Adelante’s Emma Donnan operational state and provide any necessary support and guidance.
Directors Present
A. Smith (remote), B. Burcope (remote), K. Branson-Hutchison (remote), K. Kainrath (remote), M. Staten (remote), M. Whitley (remote)
Directors Absent
J. Garcia
Guests Present
Eddie Rangel (remote), Kendra Randle (remote), M. Rooney (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
K. Kainrath called a meeting of the board of directors of Adelante Schools to order on Thursday Jan 20, 2022 at 6:05 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
K. Branson-Hutchison made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 12-16-21.
M. Whitley seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Finance
A.
Financials
No update at this time.
III. Academic Excellence
A.
Academic Update
No updates at this time.
IV. Development
A.
Development and Community Engagement Update
No update at this time.
V. Governance
A.
Governance Update
Burcope updated the board on the diversity board recruitment plan. Burcope asked the board to volunteer for the following:
- Composition Matrix - There was a lack of participation from the last time and so one board member needs to own sending it out and following up with board members to complete it. Branson-Hutchison volunteered to lead it.
- OEI Board Recruitment Event - Burcope will be attending the event and needs the board members' names by February 1st of anyone interested in participating. The event is specific to charter school board recruitment. Wednesday, March 16 at 5:30pm is the time of the event and Kainrath is going to participate.
- Teacher Training Participation - Randle proposed the idea of having board members conduct an event in tandem with the summer Teacher Training Institute to connect with teachers and staff. Staten volunteered to lead the event.
- Networking Opportunities - By the March board meeting, each board member needs to bring a name or a network opportunity. Burcope asked that all board members do so.
- Kainrath asked that all board members reach out to one contact and discuss the experience of being on the board.
- Smith asked if parents or community members have been reached out to join the board. Rangel said that the organization is committed to inclusion of local voices.
- Randle suggested two members and Burcope stated she could connect with those contacts.
- Branson-Hutchison suggested that the IU Health and IU Foundation are hosting events that could provide networking opportunities.
- Branson-Hutchison asked if there was an established Parent-Teacher Organization to tap into getting more stakeholders involved in committees. Kainrath suggested that committee members do not have to be full-fledged members of the board. Rangel stated that the new director of community engagement and he are working on identifying families who may be a part of a parent advisory council for the executive director.
Burcope brought up the idea of doing a board retreat in February/March, either virtual or in-person, depending on preference, with the goal of connecting, reviewing goals, identifying wins and opportunities, assessing the board's impact on the school's growth, and evaluating the effectiveness of the board's communication, connected to members' engagement with the school and with one another.
Kainrath reflected on last board retreat's effectiveness to bond together outside of the normal business of the board. Branson-Hutchison suggested a Doodle poll for the board to identify common times when members can align on a time/date for the retreat.
Staten expressed concerns regarding Covid, so Kainrath reiterated that it will likely remain on Zoom, but could shift as the situation in the pandemic may shift.
Burcope revisited the Executive Director's mid-year review. An executive decision will be set-up after February's board meeting in order to facilitate that review.
VI. Board Chair Update
A.
Board Chair Update
No update at this time.
VII. Executive Director Update
A.
Executive Director Update
Ebullience
Rangel discussed that more than 150 families received holiday assistance. Brian Anderson from CIES visited the school as Santa to visit the school.
OEI Site Visit
The OEI Performance Framework evaluation report has arrived for each indicator based on a series of observations and interviews from the school review team.
Adelante Schools received an almost unprecedented Exceeds Standard in every standard. Rangel reiterated that it was not a mistake. A particular highlight is the work of the Special Education Director, Mr. Coogan, and English Language Learners Director, Ms. McCarroll, which exceeded standard.
OEI will make public the results of this evaluation on its website and could be used to promote the school while additional board members will be recruited.
Covid Updates
The focus is on maintaining in-person instruction while keeping students and staff safe. The school has not had to move to virtual instruction, but since January 3rd, there have been 30 reported positive cases for scholars and 5 for staff.
The response has been to suspend all sports activities through February 4th. In-person professional development has been suspended. The School has also opted into the federal pool testing for staff/scholars with signed permission. There is also a limit on in-person visitors.
Attendance
The year-to-date trends for attendance have seen a significant drop into the 70's prior to break, but has seen a spike up to 85% over the past weeks. Covid has significantly impacted daily attendance. Both office and teaching staff members are making daily calls to absent families, resulting in that uptick.
Mid-Year Data
Scholars took the NWEA Measure of Academic Progress (MAP). It is an adaptive assessment, getting more or less difficult depending on the level at which scholars are answering correctly. It can flexibly go above and below the grade level to identify which content/skills scholars are exceeding/struggling. 9,500 schools across the country take it, given three times throughout the year (in August, January, and May).
Bright spots in the data: 3rd, 6th grade ELA, as well as 7th grade high growth. Upper grade math classes and 5th grade math are bright spots as well.
Areas of Concern: Lack of overall ELA growth. K-2 math growth.
Kainrath asked what is expected for scholars to meet their MOY goals set by MAP.
Response to Data
- Academic Intervention Conferences - The school is conducting virtual parent-teacher conferences to share strengths and growth areas with families. The school is sharing explicit attendance, semester 1 grades, and specific NWEA growth and RIT scores. Each meeting will end with action steps to identify how to grow and progress. This effort is about uniting in solidarity with families in order to move the needle academically with students. We are seeing gaps in attendance which are having a direct effect on academic progress, so uniting with the families is crucial to move the needle as families are best positioned to support with attendance growth
- AYS After-School Tutoring - The school is identifying students based on NWEA data to target individual students for daily after-school tutoring, specifically targeted for 3rd-5th grade. Staten asked what the structure of these sessions were going to be: 1-hour at least once weekly in small groups.
- IXL and Zearn - The school uses two key digital tools to remediate foundational skills, practice new skills, and, in the case of Zearn, lead direct instruction in mathematics digitally.
VIII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:09 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
K. Branson-Hutchison