Jordan Pina, Chief of Staff, shared that the TNTP Insight Survey is a nationally-normed survey that charter networks and traditional public schools use to collect data to compare with school peers. She shared that it is a tool used twice a year (in the Fall and Spring) and the information is leveraged to create several measures. of City on a Hill's Accountability Plan and COAH Effect, a snapshot of school data shared at every Board meeting.

Pina also shared that City on a Hill will be using the platform Panorama moving forward as a survey tool. In viewing comparison data from School Year 2019-2020, she shared that the Committee should consider that the TNTP survey was administered last year before City on a Hill campuses consolidated. 

Pina highlighted trends in the survey, including affirming trends of teacher compensation, leadership, learning environment and workload. She also shared areas of adjustment for City on a Hill, including instructional planning, and a shared understanding of evaluation and teaching metrics. 

Sonya Pratt, Chief of School, shared what key levers have been in planning Professional Development sessions for all staff this School Year 2020-2021. She shared that the frequency of teacher observation cycles has increased, a full professional development calendar was built out, as well as connections to relevant, personalized development sessions after teacher observations cycles were put in place.

The Committee discussed the frequency of the survey, which is administered twice a year, as well as the amount of charters that take the survey, which is around 30.

Sonya Pratt, Chief of School, opened the discussion by sharing the trends in the Quarter 2 data, including slight increases and slight decreases from Quarter 1, 9th and 12th grade having the largest growth, and students with 8+ absences from class not passing their courses. She shared that in City on a Hill's remote school model, students did not score as well on their oral midterm presentations, as there are not as many opportunities to practice as an in-person school model.  

The Committee discussed the amount of class absences per school day and the implications that has on student academics. Pratt shared that Massachusetts has mandated that if a student attends more three or more class periods in a remote school day, they are considered present for the day. She also shared that outreach for frequently absent students include morning, afternoon, and evening automated calls to notify students about classes, grade-level meetings, and daily check-ins with a City on a Hill staff member. 

Referring to action steps, Pratt also shared that she is continuing to meet with other charter partners who are operating in a remote model to gather ongoing feedback. She shared that City on a Hill will be using data from the NWEA MAP test, a nationally normed growth-gauging exam, to implement academic supports in Quarter 3. City on a Hill is also requiring students whose grades dropped to meet with teachers, as well as adding more targeted 1st year professional development to new teachers. 

The Committee asked about a senior and freshman mentoring program to encourage student academic progress. Pratt shared that a program is in place at City on a Hill that allows 12th grade students to earn their capstone volunteer hours by tutoring younger students as well as mentoring them. 

The discussion concluded by the Committee asking about any preliminary planning in place for returning to an in-person hybrid model. Pratt shared that the Leadership Team has been meeting weekly for preliminary planning and has sent out a Parent/Family survey to gauge interest in returning to school in a hybrid model.