Sankofa Montessori
Minutes
Academic Committee Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday February 24, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Location
Meeting ID 601 495 1069
Through a culturally responsive, child and family-centered Montessori education, Sankofa Montessori ensures that all of our students develop the knowledge, skill, and agency to have a life of purpose.
Committee Members Present
A. Allen-Thames (remote), S. Harvey (remote)
Committee Members Absent
E. Moore
Guests Present
M. Davis (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve Minutes
Monika Davis made the motion.
D.
Leadership Team Updates
E.
Special Education
B. Discussion of Special Education
• Discuss student enrollment #/% of student population with suspected and/or identified special needs - Total 15 (4 initials in progress)- 12.7% total population
5 ESOL students; 6 students with 504 plans; 13 students in MTSS (academics)
• Any updates on staffing for Special Needs and progress of Special Ed classroom-N/A
• Any updates on classroom integration of special needs and updates on external supports for special needs (ie Speech, ABA, OT/PT)-N/A
• Any updates on psycho-educational testing for students- plans/progress- N/A
F.
Gifted Student Services
C. Discussion of Gifted Services Discuss
Discuss student enrollment #/% of student population with suspected and/or identified for gifted services- Total 9 students- 7.6% student population
Discuss plans for data tracking/allocating #/% of students for appropriate funding per student for special services or gifted services
G.
SY 25-26 Goals
Any updates or changes to the short term and long term goals for next school year
Discussed short term goals for academic assessments
Any outstanding items or updates on grants/funding/external partnerships for next school year- N/A
II. Public Comments/Questions
A.
Public Comment
A. Public Comment
Speakers please limit questions/comments to 2 minute.
No Public Comment
D. Leadership Team Updates Discuss Presenter Sarah Harvey
1. Enrollment status- Current enrollment status and efforts for enrollment fundraising & School Attendance- Enrollment 118- K41; 1st 28; 2nd 19; 3rd 16; 4th 14 . Noted 24 withdrawals to date.
Attendance from Jan1-Jan30: K 93.7%, inc 5%; 1st 93.7% no change; 2nd 95.1% inc 1%; 3rd 93.2% dec 3%; 4th 94.5% dec 2%.
2. Personnel Updates- Updates on staffing and updates regarding professional development of staff. Staff Attendance
No changes in staff numbers. 8 Flight Captains, 3 Co-captains, 1 parttime CNA, 1 parttime Custodian, 2 Support staff, 4 Flight Control
Hiring for SY 26-27- Initial offers this week for all but 3 staff asking to return. School leader planning to attend hiring fair this Saturday. Board asked about teacher certifications- noted all teachers have the T4 minimum certification, a few teachers have T5 certification.
Staff Absences- overall decreased from previous months
3. Updates on school suspensions/expulsions by grade
Out of school suspensions- 2 in Kindergarten, both for physical assault of a student
4. Standardized Testing and Screening Data Updates- Any outstanding outcome data per grade from fall assessments if applicable. Updates/Preliminary Results if applicable (I.e. IXL and Lexia data; data on low performing 2nd-4th graders- Pending tests in Spring. Discussed and reviewed Academic Goals for the following assessments: 85% students grow at least total of RIT points and 60% students score in 41st percentile for Reading and Math for MAP NWEA; 85% students master at least 2 skills per week w/ SmartScore 80 or higher on IXL; 90% students meet usage target of at least 120 minutes per week and 85& students score at or above grade level for Lexia; 80% students meet or exceed grade level end of year DIBELS benchmarks; For 3rd and 4th graders, 60% of students outperform their zoned school district for GA milestones.
Board discussed the ideas of incentives to increase student engagement with Lexia and IXL usage. Leadership team to meet and discuss how to implement within current school reward system. Board mentioned the idea of student leaders to help peers to progress through lessons, etc.
5. Discuss School-Parent (PTO)-any updates for upcoming SY25-26 -N/A
6. SCSC Follow Ups- CCRPI data review; Title I meeting for parents (submission of parent/family engagement policies/plan and compacts)- Reviewed SCSC Comprehensive Framework from SY 24-25 where Academic performance "Does Not Meet Standards"- noted academic data needs to be strong across all grade levels. Board reviewed data from SY25-26 on the dashboard with an Academic Task Force meeting early February.