Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School
Minutes
Educational Excellence Committee Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday March 10, 2022 at 4:30 PM
Committee Members Present
Carla Wells (remote), Chuck Meadows (remote), Hanah Goldberg (remote), Jason Rhodes (remote), Lara Zelski (remote), Rhiannen Laurent (remote)
Committee Members Absent
Angela Christie, Pouya Dianat
Guests Present
Ellen Boundy (remote), Mark Sanders (remote), Ruth Link-Gelles (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve Minutes
II. Educational Excellence
A.
Overview of Lottery Results
B.
Assessment of DEAT's Lottery Outreach Efforts
Carla Wells provided an overview of DEAT's outreach efforts aimed at increasing lottery participation by economically disadvantaged families in the tier 1 attendance zone. These efforts included school literature distribution at the Martin Street Plaza community as well as at area pre-schools.
C.
2022-2023 Daily Schedule
Jason Rhodes reported that while the 2022-2023 school calendar will be voted on at the March board meeting, the daily schedule would be voted on in April, pending board approval to postpone this vote. Chuck and the Leadership Team discussed the need for more time to gather feedback from faculty, staff and the school community before presenting a proposed 2022-2023 daily schedule to the board for a vote.
D.
Assessment of Impact of Power 30 (MC) and Phonics Focus (EC) Initiatives
Rhiannen Laurent, Laura Zelski and Mark Sanders reported significant positive impacts of both the Power 30 (math fluency) program at the Middle Campus and the increased focus on phonics at the elementary campus, with improved learning outcomes reflected both on test scores and in teacher assessment of student progress.
E.
Summer Learning Opportunities
The committee discussed informing the school community of opportunities for online learning via the school's various paid subscriptions for a variety of educational programming.
Chuck Meadows gave an overview of the results of the registration lottery, and reported significant increases in the numbers of economically disadvantaged students who had been offered and accepted offers of admission, marking significant progress in the school's diversity efforts. This was the result of both increased lottery participation by economically disadvantaged families residing in the tier 1 attendance zone, as well as the school's ability, under the current charter, to include in the lottery students from the tiers 2 or 3 attendance zones for the purpose of achieving diversity goals.