There were no additions or corrections to the agenda.

There were no presentations from the Public.

Board member Dean Cho will present a report at the upcoming board meeting.

Board vice chair, Cesar Lopez reported he is looking forward to testing and year end data. The next meeting will be in June to review test results in May.

Board Treasurer Michael Green reported the next scheduled finance meeting is June 3rd from 5:00pm to 7:00pm to review the budget.

Instruction & Performance Data Our focus for instruction this semester has been on writing across the curriculum and co-planning to ensure supports and structures are in place for all students. Each week, our teachers have time to work together on planning lessons that are two weeks out, giving them time to collaborate across their grade level and with support teachers/staff. With this new practice, resource teachers, EL teachers, and paraprofessionals are more in tune with what is going on daily in the gen ed classrooms, and they have a plan for how they will support students for each of those classes. We are currently administering the iReady exam. As of Friday, April 19th, at 10:45 am, 94% of our students had completed their reading diagnostic, and 78% had completed their math diagnostic. Preliminary (incomplete) reading results look strong, with all grade levels currently exceeding expected progress.

Instruction & Performance Data Throughout the second semester, our academic team has focused on preparing students for the SBAC by continuing their use of tools for teachers and using release items to help students perform to the rigor of the SBAC test. Our PD focus for the second semester has allowed teachers the time to co-plan and strategize how they will provide opportunities for students to engage with rigorous content aligned with the SBAC. Students will work on their final iReady diagnostic between April 30 - May 10.

COMPLIANCE MONITORING Neither of the three YPICS schools will participate in the District Validation Review this school year. We anticipate at least one school will be selected next year. Compliance monitoring is conducted by the Director of Special Education and school site leads.

Some key findings from the Needs and Assets Assessment facilitated during Parent/Teacher Conferences: 

BCCS: 

• 4% of respondents would benefit from a clothing bank on campus 
• 17% of respondents say their child has trouble getting up in the morning to make it to school on time 
• 43% of respondents say their child has experienced a significant loss of a family member due to divorce, immigration, abandonment, or death. Of those, 28% have experienced it within the last six months

MORCS:

• 8% of respondents would benefit from a clothing bank on campus 
• 28% of respondents say their child has trouble getting up in the morning to make it to school on time 
• 58% of respondents say their child has experienced a significant loss of a family member due to divorce, immigration, abandonment, or death. Of those, 51% have experienced it within the last six months

BCCHS: 

• 7% of respondents would benefit from a clothing bank on campus 
• 38% of respondents say their child has trouble getting up in the morning to make it to school on time 
• 53% of respondents say their child has experienced a significant loss of a family member due to divorce, immigration, abandonment, or death. Of those, 16% have experienced it within the last six months.

AB 1505 Charter Renewal Tracks 

Charter renewals are governed by the standards and criteria described in EC Section 47607. Pursuant to EC Section 47607(b), charter renewals are governed by the standards and criteria described in EC Section 47605. These shall include, but not be limited to, a reasonably comprehensive description of any new requirement of charter schools enacted into law after the charter was originally granted or last renewed. Performance Categories: Pursuant to EC Section 47607(c), the chartering authority shall consider a charter school’s placement under the performance categories, which are based on its performance under the California School Dashboard (Dashboard), as an additional criterion for determining whether to grant a charter renewal. On March 12th, the CDE released the renewal tracks based on the 2023 CA Dashboard. All three YPICS schools have been identified as “Middle Performing”. Under this standard, a renewing charter is eligible for a five-year renewal term. It is important to note that the Renewal Tracks are updated each year to align with the release of new data on the dashboard.

SB 1380: 

This is a bill introduced by California State Senator Bill Dodd (D - Napa), which, if approved, would change the criteria and hearing process for new charter petitions and material revisions. Dodd represents the painfully mismanaged Vallejo Unified School District and Napa Valley Unified School District, which have been fighting dirty to prevent the establishment of the Mayacamas Charter School. Dodd claims that the bill is intended to protect districts like Vallejo and Napa, and the impact would be narrow.

The impact would be devastatingly broad, affecting nearly all charter schools and districts.

AB 2254: 
Blanca Rubio (D - Baldwin Park) aims to preserve an important component of the charter school’s renewal process in California by removing the sunset clause for using "verified data," which is shorthand for student academic achievement data from testing companies approved by the CA State Board of Education, such as iReady or NWEA Map. This bill also clarifies that charter schools can provide specific local data to support their renewal but are not obligated to do so. This bill is sponsored by the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA). 

While the CA School Dashboard is the primary tool for renewal evaluation, supplemental assessment data is allowed to be presented during the charter school renewal process. However, verifying data from additional providers will sunset beginning June 30, 2025, making the Dashboard the only data available for charter renewal as we advance. In many cases, the Dashboard alone will be insufficient for the purpose of a high-stakes charter renewal evaluation. The Dashboard does not measure individual student’s academic growth over time, which puts schools serving high proportions of historically underserved students at risk. 

AB 1917: 
California State Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D - Torrance) introduced AB 1917, which, if approved, will mandate specific training for school board members, including charter school board members. In its current form, the bill includes charter schools in the definition of LEAs, identifies areas of law foundational for K-12 education governance, requires training for all LEA board members, and describes the requirements for offering training, frequency of training, and record-keeping. Muratsuchi’s office indicated that he is open to discussing some amendments, and CSDC enthusiastically supports the idea of training for board members.We look forward to working with Assemblymember Muratsuchi to fine-tune the bill. Strong board governance is essential to well-run and transparent public schools.

No Williams complaints were filed against the schools during quarter 3.

The Board moved into Closed Session at 7:40 P.M.

The Board reconvened Open Session at 7:57 P.M.

Board Chair Mary Keipp reported out the following action was taken during Closed Session:

Approval of the stipulated suspended expulsion at Bert Corona Charter School. 

Roll call:

Mary Keipp - Aye

Cesar Lopez - Aye

Sandra Mendoza - Aye

Michael Green - Aye

Walter Njboke - Aye

Dean Cho - Aye

The next regular board meeting will be held on Monday, May 20, 2024.