The order of the agenda was altered to accommodate the Brown Act/ Ethics training with a time certain of 6:30pm. The Consent and Action Item sections were moved to be addressed first after the Communications. 

There were no presentations from the Public.

The Second Interim Financial Reports are due for Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) by March 21, 2025 for the period ending January 31, 2025. These reports certify the financial health of the schools.

Form 990 is the IRS form for gathering information about tax-exempt organizations such as YPICS.

The FY23-24 oversight reports for the three YPICS schools were updated by the LAUSD Charter School Division per YPICS' request and returned to the Board for review to receive and file.

The Finance Committee reviewed the list of submitted vendor contracts to ratify and recommended only ratifying the vendors not yet approved this fiscal year.  

With the passage of AB2158 at the beginning of 2025, the legal requirement of two hours of ethics training has become applicable to charter school board members. Board members have until December 31, 2025, to fulfill this requirement, which will continue to be fulfilled every two years thereafter.  

YMC partner Janelle Ruley, Esq., presented one hour of the Brown Act and Ethics training to the Board of Directors and will provide the second hour of training by the December 31, 2025, deadline.

Ms. King-Berg acknowledged Ena LaVan, Chief Accountability Officer, for her tireless work on the federal monitoring audits. YPICS is happy to report no findings. Additionally, it has been a hectic year for MORCS, Charter Renewal, DVR in process, and the Federal Progam Monitoring Review.

January was a busy month, and many new laws were passed; we will review these further as we bring you new areas of compliance timely to meet the deadlines.

Ms. King-Berg reminded the Board to fill out their Form 700 forms.  Emails were individually sent to Board Members from the county and if any board members need assistance, they were directed to reach out to Elida Gachuzo for assistance. 

The Finance Committee met today; Mary Keipp chaired the meeting in Mr. Green's absence. The entire board will vote on the committee recommendations today. All other Board committee updates will be given at the next board meeting.

The Director of Special Education's report was made available to the Board in the board packet for review.

Report Highlight is the Legal Update, which provides essential guidance on special education practices we regularly encounter.

These updates serve to inform our understanding and application of special education law. In this month's board report, I highlighted a case specifically addressing Prior Written Notices (PWN) and the critical need to follow through with the specific actions outlined within those notices.

We are legally obligated to provide parents with consistent updates via PWN whenever an evaluation is requested. This obligation extends beyond the initial data-gathering phase; we must also issue a subsequent PWN to clearly communicate our final decision regarding the evaluation, regardless of whether we choose to proceed or not. This practice safeguards parental rights and prevents potential legal concerns for the schools.

The Executive Administrator's report was made available to the Board in the board packet for review.

At Monseñor Oscar Romero Charter School, our mission to support student growth academically, socially, and emotionally continues to guide our efforts as we move through the school year. This month’s board report highlights key areas of progress and reflection as we review recent data and our ongoing work to meet the needs of all students.

 In academics, our focus has been on English Learner support, with the ELPAC testing window now open and a goal to complete all testing by the end of April. Our educators have been integrating Ellevation Strategies into instruction to enhance language acquisition, ensuring that students receive the targeted support they need to succeed.

In attendance, we have seen a slight dip in Average Daily Attendance (ADA) due to external factors, but we remain committed to reinforcing the importance of regular attendance.

 In culture and climate, we have made strides in fostering a positive school environment. Our emotion meter results show improvement, with fewer students reporting negative feelings.

The following updates demonstrate the collective efforts of our staff, students, and families in advancing our mission. While there is still work to be done, we are encouraged by the progress made and remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting the success and well-being of every student.

The Executive Administrator/ Chief Operations Officer's report was made available to the Board in the board packet for review.

NWEA MAPs Student Growth Summary Report Mathematics Fall to Winter In mathematics, 114 of the 203 students school-wide (56%) met their projected growth goals between the fall and winter assessments. Here is a breakdown by grade level: 9th Grade: 39 out of 52 students (75%) met their growth goal. 10th Grade: 25 out of 48 students (52%) met their growth goal. 11th Grade: 21 out of 47 students (45%) met their growth goal. 12th Grade: 29 out of 56 students (52%) met their growth goal.

NWEA MAPs Student Growth Summary Report Reading Fall to Winter In reading, 113 of the 201 students school-wide (56%) met their projected growth goals between the fall and winter assessments. Here is a breakdown by grade level: 9th Grade: 29 out of 51 students (57%) met their growth goal. 10th Grade: 30 out of 47 students (64%) met their growth goal. 11th Grade: 25 out of 48 students (52%) met their growth goal. 12th Grade: 29 out of 55 students (53%) met their growth goal.

Professional Development Our current professional development focus is centered on enhancing academic monitoring practices. We are working on strengthening teachers’ ability to circulate the classroom purposefully to provide targeted support and guidance to students. We are emphasizing the importance of asking probing questions that check for understanding and also stimulate critical thinking. The planning time is shifting to developing effective questioning strategies, differentiating questions to meet diverse student needs, and creating a classroom culture where students feel comfortable making mistakes in the process of learning. This focus on consistently using probing questions is expected to increase student comprehension of content, increase learning from peers through discussion, and the ability to gauge student understanding and misconceptions for immediate feedback and guidance.
 

The Chief Accountability Officer's report was made available to the Board in the board packet for review.

Federal Program Monitoring of Monseñor Oscar Romero Charter Middle 

The three-day CDE review of CA and SSAE program instruments concluded on Thursday, February 20th. MORCS had zero findings in the two programs that were under review (ESSER/GEER, Title IV).

LCAP Midyear Progress Report 

The Governor’s Executive Order in response to the fires, extends the deadline for presentation of the Midyear Progress Report to March 31, 2025. The YPICS Executive Administrators will be completing their LCAP implementation status in Document Tracking Service (DTS). They will present to the YPICS Board at its next meeting on March 24th. 2024-25 

LAUSD Oversight Visits 

Schools are currently gathering an extensive amount of documentation for their Annual Performance-Based Oversight Visits. The visit schedule is as follows: 

● March 25 - Monseñor Oscar Romero 
● April 03 - Bert Corona Middle 
● April 25 - Bert Corona Charter High

The next regular board meeting will be Monday, March 24, 2025 at the YPICS Learning and Support Center. 

● March 25 - Monseñor Oscar Romero 
● April 03 - Bert Corona Middle 
● April 25 - Bert Corona Charter High