The Board made a motion to re-order the agenda.

A staff member, Brett Walter, spoke on agenda topic Section V. Item D, COVID Safety Protocols. Brett Walter opposed the current policy requiring anyone on campuses to wear masks at all times and spoke about making masking optional for all.

A staff member, Maria Contreras, spoke on agenda topic Section V. Item D, COVID Safety Protocols. Maria Contreras opposes the current policy requiring anyone on campuses to wear masks at all times and would like covers not to be required outside.

Christina Luc, a staff member, spoke on agenda topic Section V. Item D, COVID Safety Protocols. Christina Luc opposes the current policy requiring anyone on campuses to wear masks at all times and would like marks to be optional outside and inside.

A staff member, Kim Pistilli, spoke on agenda topic Section V. Item D, COVID Safety Protocols. Kim Pistilli opposes the current policy requiring anyone on campuses to wear masks at all times and would like not to have masking.

Jose Sepulveda, a staff member, spoke on agenda topic Section V. Item D, COVID Safety Protocols. Jose Sepulveda opposes the current policy requiring anyone on campuses to wear masks at all times and favors making masks optional for all outside.

Mireya Hernandez, a parent, spoke on agenda topic Section V. Item D, COVID Safety Protocols. Mireya Hernandez opposes the current policy requiring anyone on campuses to wear masks at all times and would like not to have masking.

Maribel Chairez, a parent, spoke on agenda topic Section V. Item D, COVID Safety Protocols. Mireya Hernandez opposes the current policy requiring anyone on campuses to wear masks at all times and would like masks to be optional.

A staff member, Berenice Vidana, spoke on agenda topic Section V. Item D, COVID Safety Protocols. Berenice Vidana opposes the current policy requiring anyone on campuses to wear masks at all times and would like masks to be required at the schools.

Board Chair Keipp directed the Executive Director to complete the survey of all schools and all stakeholders; she made it clear that she wanted to hear from all stakeholders, not just one, and provide that data, along with h LA County Department of Public Health  & CA Department of Public Health updated guidance for the regularly scheduled board meeting in April.   

Each month school council and committee meeting minutes are provided for the board to review. Board members will direct senior staff regarding any minutes or committee concerns that may arise.

Academic Excellence Committee
Academic Chair, Board Vice-Chair Lopez reminded the board that at the November Board retreat that in addition to equity for all students, "every day, every student access to grade level work and assignments," the data indicated that YPICS needs to focus on ensuring that Math and EL data is targeted and tracked.  In January, we were able to review action steps taken before the mid-year assessments and results.  Action taken: students were provided and reviewed their BOY test results and were directed and coached to set a goal for the mid-year assessments. In the second semester, the schools created support and acceleration blocks during, before, and after school. The high school purchased additional support materials to build the necessary foundation in math to succeed in math achievement.  Impact: Upon reviewing the mid-year assessment results, all three schools are on track to meet the 50% of students increased by a year of instruction based on i-Ready and NWEA Maps verifiable data.
 

Finance Committee
Finance Committee Chair, Board Treasurer Michael Green reported that the committee met on March 20th.  The committee reviewed the current financials for the entire board meeting on March 27th.  Additionally, the committee reviewed the tax return form 990. The committee's focus is planning and preparing for next year's budget.  Staff will begin to engage all stakeholders in the process.  The committee plans to meet in May after the school's oversight visits in April.

Technology Committee
Technology Committee Chair Cho reported that the committee met and is working on the e-rate plan and other items focused on cyber-security.  There will be more to report at the next meeting in April.

In 2022 each YPICS school was awarded a California Community Schools Partnership Program Planning Grant. Total funding per school of $200,000 supported with hiring 3 Coordinators of Community Schools (CoCS), contract services for data analyses, teachers/staff stipends, parent capacity development, and teacher/staff professional development.

To address the needs of our community school, each school undertook a comprehensive community school planning process that included asset mapping, a needs assessment and gap analysis, and a heavy emphasis on engagement with and leadership by the school community, including students, families, staff, partners, and area residents. Upon being awarded the planning grant, each school site hired a Coordinator of Community School (CoCS); they quickly became essential to school operations and spearheaded planning activities. School Community engagement kicked off in August 2022 with an overview of the CA community school framework and the YPICS vision for its community school to teachers and staff during the beginning of the school year professional development days. They were followed by parent-teacher conferences, workshops, and community events during September - December 2022. CoCS introduced the community school framework to parents during parent-teacher meetings, providing an overview of the assets and needs assessment work ahead. In October and November, families were engaged via annual events like Trunk-or-Treat, Día De Los Muertos, and College & Career Parent workshops.

Community school needs assessment activities occurred throughout the year. These included YouthTruth Survey and Focus Groups with stakeholders. In-person focus groups were conducted with students, teachers, and families at each school across grade levels and positions (instructional and supportive staff) to gain a more holistic understanding of the strengths and challenges of our school. Key Informational Interviews with staff and teachers and in-person interviews were conducted with school administrators and teachers to assess successes and challenges with the school culture and the range of services offered. Focus groups explored what makes them feel welcome/unwelcome on campus, their vision for a "community school," if they feel engaged in decision-making, how the school can build more trusting relationships, and what support services are needed.

Community school needs assessment activities occurred throughout the year. These included YouthTruth Survey and Focus Groups with stakeholders. In-person focus groups were conducted with students, teachers, and families at each school across grade levels and positions (instructional and supportive staff) to gain a more holistic understanding of the strengths and challenges of our school. Key Informational Interviews with staff and teachers and in-person interviews were conducted with school administrators and teachers to assess successes and challenges with the school culture and the range of services offered. Focus groups explored what makes them feel welcome/unwelcome on campus, their vision for a "community school," if they feel engaged in decision-making, how the school can build more trusting relationships, and what support services are needed.

This planning process prepared YPICS to submit a comprehensive CCSPP implementation grant application on March 21, 2023. The application included our three schools: Bert Corona Charter School, Monsenor Oscar Romero Charter School, and Bert Corona Charter High School. If funded, we will be awarded $1,187,500 per school - $3,562,500 for five years. This funding will support improving internal systems and increase alignment to the four Pillars of Community Schools: Integrated Student Support, Family and Community Engagement, Collaborative Leadership and Practices for Educators and Administrators, and; Extended Learning Time and Opportunities. Will also improve Cornerstone Commitments of Community Schools: A commitment to assets-driven and strength-based practice; A commitment to racially just and restorative school climates; robust, culturally proficient, and relevant instruction; and a commitment to shared decision-making and participatory approaches.

 

Enrollment, Attendance, Homeless Youth: Currently, our enrollment is at 335. This year, we partnered with a local homeless shelter for women and children to enroll 10 homeless youth, and we are learning more and more about how to support this population. This population has been extremely transient, with several students enrolling and then disenrolling a few weeks later, and a few students enrolling, leaving, and coming back. However, the staff at Hope Gardens Shelter are extremely grateful for our partnership and support. We have been able to connect them with other services and partners that are helping to improve their quality of life and are helping meet their regular needs. We are currently over our enrollment goal by 14 students.

DEI Committee: In the early months of the school year, we had some pretty significant issues with cursing, demeaning language, and the use of racial slurs. While it is normal to hear this kind of language occasionally at a school, the use in our 8th grade class, in particular, was frequent, brash, and blatant. Over the course of the first semester we implemented many intervetiosn, lessons and supports to address this issue, including small group intervention, parent meetings, LAPD Diversion sessions, small group counseling, individual counseling, Ripple Effects lessons, and class presentations. Teachers taught the history of racial slurs and the current impact on our society, and retaught expectations. We came together frequently as a team to discuss our impact and how to continue working with our students. Although things are not perfect now, they have improved markedly and we are pleased with the impact we were able to have through our efforts.

We decided to call the committee SHIELD so we could also incorporate some of our YPICS values into our efforts. SHIELD (in addition to being a cool Mavel connection) stands for Serving Humanity (through) Inclusion, Equity, Leadership, and Diversity. Our committee just completed writing a series of lessons for advisory that our teachers will teach April 11 through 18; each lesson will focus on an element of SHIELD (e.g., service, leadership, equity, etc.) and the culminating project lesson will have students summarize what they have learned. Once the lessons have been taught, our next step will be to bring students and parents to join our meetings once per month. The intent is to make sure Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are a focus across the school and community

Current Areas of Focus and Updates: In January, our YPICS leadership team had the opportunity to participate in a facilitated data walk and discussion. This process was very helpful for our team in identifying key areas of strength and weakness and where we needed to focus as a school. At the end of the process, our team identified three YPICS-aligned areas of focus for BCCS: EL reclassification and performance, Restorative Practices as a Tier I approach, and Chronic Absenteeism. Our leadership team started a planning and monitoring cycle where we set small goals and reflect each week. Each team developed SMART goals that we could monitor along with action steps that would help them meet their goals. Each Monday we check in on progress, and I discuss these goals with admin/department leads at our weekly one-on-one meetings. Goals and areas of focus are listed below. For team accountability, we assess each week whether each team made progress, made a plan (documented), or did not address their goals

Overview:
MORCS is well into Semester 2, and our students and teachers have continued working hard to improve academic performance. Our teachers and students have worked hard to fill learning gaps and provide necessary interventions to help students meet their growth goals. Many supports and interventions are taking place in Support Classes where teachers can work with students identified as needing support in a specific content area. Based on diagnostic scores and teacher recommendations, students have been placed in support classes (ex., Math Support, English Support). As a result, we are seeing growth in all grade levels and content areas. Some grade levels have seen faster growth, while others are only seeing slight growth. Still, our team continues to work hard to provide the necessary academic interventions to help students progress to reach grade-level mastery. Here are some updates regarding our academic growth: 

Academic Focus 

i-iReady Diagnostic Growth Our team has been working on improving our diagnostic scores. Efforts include Goal Setting and Planning (PD in January) to target specific students; Increased usage of the iReady Personalized Instruction component to help close student gaps in learning; Incentives to increase use and engagement of iReady (field trips); Data Protocols to share and discuss what teachers are doing with students to help improve in academic areas. Our following diagnostic will take place when we return from Spring Break. This will wrap up our third and final diagnostic of the year. We aim to have at least 51% of our students meet their typical growth goals in each subject area. 

Students meeting Typical Growth Goal 
The following data points outline the number of students who have met their Typical Growth goal. Typical Growth is the average annual growth for a student at this grade and baseline placement level. 

Reading
● 6th Reading - 49% of students have met their typical growth; 43% of students have improved at least 1 level in the placement band (ex. Moving from level 5 to level 6) 
● 7th Reading - 37% of students have met their typical growth; 42% of students have improved at least 1 level in the placement band (ex. Moving from level 5 to level 6) 
● 8th Reading - 44% of students have met their typical growth; 47% of students have improved at least 1 level in the placement band (ex. Moving from level 5 to level 6)

Math
● 6th Math - 32% of students have met their typical growth; 40% of students have improved at least 1 level in the placement band (ex. Moving from level 5 to level 6) 
● 7th Math - 38% of students have met their typical growth; 48% of students have improved at least 1 level in the placement band (ex. Moving from level 5 to level 6) 
● 8th Math - 42% of students have met their typical growth; 46% of students have improved at least 1 level in the placement band (ex. Moving from level 5 to level 6)

Diagnostic Growth 
The following data sets outline the growth we have seen as measured by the iReady diagnostic. 

Schoolwide Reading - we have seen improvement across the different placement distribution bands in Reading. Growth and improvement can be seen on the different placement levels as follows: 
● At or above grade level: Start of the year - 12%; Current - 17% 
● Three or more grade levels below: Start of the year - 61%; Current - 48%

Schoolwide Math - We have seen similar growth in Mathematics. Growth and improvement can be seen on the different placement levels as follows: 
● At or above grade level: Start of the year - 5%; Current - 10% 
● Three or more grade levels below: Start of the year - 54%; Current - 44% 
● One grade level below: Start of the year - 21%; Current - 27%

Interim Executive Administrator- Bert Corona Charter High School Instruction
Staff is exploring a new bell schedule for the 23-24 school year which would reduce the length of our block periods from 80 minutes to 70 minutes and passing periods from 10 minutes to 5 minutes. By making these changes, the schedule would allow for an additional period to be added for 55 to 60 minutes at the end of the day. This additional period would allow more options and flexibility in programming student schedules. Additional offerings include sports and electives like yearbook, dance, and music. Seniors (12 Graders) could also participate in semester-long internships with local businesses, schools, and community-based organizations.

College Ready College Visits 

10th graders visited UC Santa Barbara on March 2, 2023. Students were taken on a campus tour, walked on the beach, and had lunch at Woodstock's Pizza. Staff is planning a trip for 9th graders to visit UC Irvine. 11th graders will be taking a three-day trip to visit colleges in Northern California on April 12 - April 14, 2023. 

College Application Process 
Thirty-three seniors have applied to 4 year public and private colleges and universities. Thirty-three seniors completed the FAFSA. Students are receiving acceptance letters, and we will report more details next month. We have acceptance letters from all the CSUs, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, and UC Davis. 

Operations Facilities 
On March 2, 2023, the LA County Office of Education staff conducted the Williams Facility Inspection. The school received a score of 90.74 which is rated as good. Staff pointed out corrections/repairs that need to be made to the County Representative. 

Outreach and Recruitment 
On August 9, 2022, we expected to have 207 students enrolled on the first day of school. We had budgeted for 214 students. By October 26, 2023, our enrollment dropped to 200 or 14 students below our budgeted enrollment. Today we have 209 students enrolled, five below our target enrollment. Current outreach for students continues, and we are getting better numbers out of our work with Schola, a company supporting YPICS doing outreach. The HS operation team works hard and collaborates well with the Schola Team. Schola came out to BCCHS and made a video about the school. We are still waiting for a final copy of the video. We currently have 171 students registered for the 23-24 school year. Typically more students enroll at BCCHS between April and July. 11 students came to BCCHS through Schola. Last year, we only had 1 student enroll at BCCHS because of Schola Outreach.

Culture and Climate 
Senior activities are expensive. However, BCCHS prices are not as expensive as other schools around us. Staff is working to minimize costs and fundraise as much as possible.

Community Schools 

BCCHS submitted the California Community Schools Partnership Program Implementation Grant with YPICS. The grant focuses on: 
● Integrated support services; 
● Family and community engagement; 
● Collaborative leadership and practices for educators and administrators; and 
● Extended learning time and opportunities. 

Based on the work supported by the planning grant. BCCHS staff, parents, and students will work on the following goals by supporting and enhancing the school's Multi-Tiered System of Support: 1: Increase student achievement and engagement 2: Increase Work readiness/job training 3: Increase College awareness and college visits for students and parents 4: Increase Mental health services and social-emotional and behavioral support 5: Reduce absenteeism and chronic absenteeism 

Chief Operations Officer Community Schools 

YPICS submitted the California Community Schools Partnership Program Implementation Grant as one entity with three sites. Based on the grant guidelines, We request $750,000 in total or $250,000 per site. Each school has different goals based on each community's specific needs. However, each school will address the stated needs by supporting and enhancing the school's Multi-Tiered System of Support. Professional Development 11 YPICS staff members attended the California Charter School Conference in Sacramento from March 13 to March 16. The diversity of workshops was much greater than in the past few years. One of the keynote speakers, José M. Hernández, an American engineer and former NASA astronaut, impacted staff. His story of perseverance and family was highly motivating.

State Revenues Shy of Governor's January Estimates 
From School Services of California 
Posted February 22, 2023 

In its latest monthly revenue bulletin, the Department of Finance (DOF) reports that state revenues for the 2022-23 fiscal year are currently $3.3 billion below Governor Gavin Newsom's estimates from just a month ago when he released his 2023-24 State Budget proposal. The DOF explains that poor revenue performance is due to unexpected shortfalls in cash collections for the last two months, with January 2023 revenues coming in $2 billion below estimates and December 2022 cash receipts $1.3 billion below projections. Both corporation tax (CT) and personal income tax (PIT) revenues for January fell below the Governor's Budget estimates, while sales and use tax revenues performed modestly better than expected last month. Weaknesses in PIT and CT collections resulted from the confluence of tax policies affecting anticipated payments paid by businesses that individual filers could then use as personal tax credits and the timing of Internal Revenue Service filing deadlines.

Proposition 98 Minimum Guarantee and Reserve This acknowledgment lends credence to the Legislative Analyst's Office projection that there is an 80% chance that revenues for the fiscal year 2022-23 will be approximately $5 billion lower than the Governor's January estimates by the time the Legislature adopts the 2023-24 State Budget. The fiscal year-to-date shortfall would result in an approximate $1.3 billion reduction in the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee, while a $5 billion shortfall would further reduce K-14 funding by another $700 million. The prospect of further reductions to the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee raises questions about the ability of state lawmakers to use the Proposition 98 reserve to maintain current education investments and pay for additional costs associated with a cost-of-living adjustment. Currently, the reserve balance is estimated to be $8.5 billion. This means that the constitutional condition for a reserve withdrawal is not met. If the Governor declares a budget emergency, the Legislature is authorized to withdraw from the Proposition 98 reserve and allocate those resources for any educational priority. The Governor has not signaled his willingness to declare a budget emergency, and it may be too soon to tell if his January estimates will uphold, given tax collection uncertainties from the extended tax filing deadlines.

Personnel COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Policy Expiration Throughout the pandemic, YPI Charter Public Schools has aligned its policies with local and state regulations to comply with the law and to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 among students, staff, and surrounding communities. On December 31, 2022, California's COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SPSL) ended. The 2022 COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave provided for two separate banks of leaves, each of up to 40 hours. The first bank of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, up to 40 hours, was available to covered employees unable to work to 1) care for themselves due to quarantine, isolation, or symptoms of COVID-19, 2) care for a family member quarantine isolation, or symptoms of COVID-19 3) care for themselves due to vaccine-related side effects. The second bank of COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave, up to 40 hours, was available only if an employee or a family member for whom they are providing care tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, California Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) adopted new COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Regulations on February 3, 2023, which eliminated the employer mandate to provide COVID-19 exclusion pay to employees as stipulated in the Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). Similarly, COVID-19 State of Emergency declarations for California and for the City.

Effective March 27, 2023, YPI Charter Schools employees will use paid sick leave (for part-time or temporary employees), accrued sick leave, or vacation time (regular and probationary full-time employees) for illnesses. The policy (ratified on February 6, 2023) that granted paid time off up to 10 days for quarantine or isolation due to the COVID-19 global pandemic will expire on March 27, 2023, and will not be extended. Please see the YPICS Employee Handbook for more information on sick leave. The Executive Director and COO will continue to monitor this closely.

Compliance Statement of Interest - Form 700 Document A statement of Economic Interest (Form 700) is a state form on which state and local government officials publicly disclose their assets and income that may be materially affected by their official acts. Agency employees, including some public officials designated in a conflict-of-interest code, must disclose particular financial interests according to the disclosure categories assigned to that position in their agency's conflict-of-interest code. Certain public officials, including public officials who manage public investments, must disclose all financial interests. These officials make full economic disclosure by state law rather than their agency's conflict of interest code. Members of Charter Schools are public officials and must file form 700. Initially, YPICS required all staff actively participating in the school's governance and leadership structure to complete Form 700. All other personnel needed will receive an email from DocuSign to complete the form on Friday, March 3, 2023. Form 700 documents must be completed and returned by March 24, 2023.

Expanded Learning The Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) funds after-school and summer enrichment programs for transitional kindergarten (TK) through sixth grade. "Expanded learning" means before-school, after-school, summer, or intersession learning programs that focus on developing pupils' academic, social, emotional, and physical needs and interests through hands-on, engaging learning experiences. Expanded learning programs are pupil-centered; results-driven; include community partners; and complement, but do not replicate, learning activities in the regular school day and school year. Next year, schools will receive an audit finding if the ELO-P is not implemented and if funds are not spent. The proposed legislation contains dozens of other changes. Most are technical, but more substantive ones of interest to charter schools include the following: 
 

• Clarifies penalties for not offering Expanded Learning under the state's new Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELOP). 

• It would clarify the interaction of penalties for (1) failing to serve eligible students and (2) failing to operate the program for all the required hours or days. The law would call for pro-rata penalties based on the proportion of eligible students not served. Any additional penalties for failing to operate the program for the required number of hours or days would be assessed after the first type of penalty is set (if any) and would reduce funding by 0.0049 times the number of days a charter school failed to meet the daily/hourly offering requirement.

YPICS provides students various engaging programs, clubs, field trips, assemblies, and special events. We are excited to provide our students with multiple possibilities and exciting opportunities.

Charter Renewals 
Under Education Code Section 47607.4, all charter schools whose term expires on or between January 1, 2022, and June 30, 2025, shall have their term extended by two years. Given this extension, Monseñor Oscar Romero Charter School is up for the renewal of its petition. YPICS is working with Janelle Ruley of Young, Minney & Corr to ensure our charter petition complies and is ready for submission in July. As of March 23, 2023, LAUSD has not released guidelines for submitting charter renewals.

LAUSD Oversight Visits
LAUSD Oversight visits are scheduled for the dates listed below:

Monseñor Oscar Romero Charter School - Thursday, April 13, 2023

Bert Corona Charter School - Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Bert Corona Charter High School - Friday, April 28, 2023.

The next regular board meeting will be held at the Learning and Support Center on April 24, 2023.