Sonya Pratt, Executive Director, reviewed her goals with the Committee in addition to the measures added to track each goal. Pratt shared that these measures included, but were not limited to, turning in all probation-related deliverables, surveying staff regarding professional development opportunities, adjusting staffing needs for School Year 2022-2023, and actively participating in the Massachusetts New Charter Leader cohort. Pratt reminded the Committee that these measures are all aligned with measures in City on a Hill's Academic Action Plan and Accountability Plan. 
 

The Committee probed on the measures for goal number one, asking what the timeline was for probation materials to be submitted. Pratt shared that these deliverables are ongoing submissions and all data that is required to formulate the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) report of how COAH is fulfilling probationary conditions. This measure would hold Pratt accountable for ensuring all deliverables, submissions and deadlines are met and tracked throughout the school year (attendance, enrollment, etc). 

The Committee asked for more specifics around the measures for Goal #3. Specially, how many teachers had been hired at the beginning of this school year (school year 2021-2022). Jordan Pina, Chief of Staff, shared that last year COAH was tracking teacher retention. Pratt's goal of starting SY23 will 75% of all staff positions filled is based on what the Leadership Team has decided would be effective to operate COAH after considering staffing this school year (21-22).

The Committee asked if the school could operate at 75% hired. Pratt shared that the goal is always to be 100 percent hired, but the measure for Goal #3 allows for consideration of the challenging hiring market that City on a Hill has faced this year if it were to continue into SY23.

The discussion concluded with the Committee asking if more broadly, the exercise was helpful for Pratt to go through the measures in addition to her goals. Pratt shared that these measures have already been in place, as they align with the measures in COAH's Action Plan and Accountability Plan. 

The Committee shared that they could measure Pratt's performance as Executive Director with these proposed goals and measures. 

Kevin Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, reminded the Committee that in June 2021, 50% of the CEO bonus was paid based on his SY20 CEO Goals. Taylor shared that this half of the bonus would be according to the academic performance of COAH in SY20. Taylor shared metrics of academic data including SY20 MCAS scores, MAP data, and metrics published on the DESE website.

Taylor shared MCAS metrics, noting that the administration of the MCAS was not certain for most of SY20 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and remote learning. The Committee asked if the MCAS was optional in SY20.

Sonya Pratt, Executive Director, shared that the MCAS was not optional for students who were enrolled, however, because the test needed to be administered in person, many families were not comfortable with sending their students into the building to take the exam in the midst of a global pandemic. In addition to that, attendance was down in SY20 because of the pandemic as well, also affecting the amount of students who took the exam.

Taylor shared that in addition to MCAS data, City on a Hill students were required to take the MAP test, a nationally-normed growth base exam, to track academic growth in SY20. Pratt shared that students had the opportunity to take a baseline exam and one growth exam last school year for MAP.

The Committee asked more specifically about the comparative MAP data. Pratt shared that the numbers are RIT scores, which show both the average RIT score of the section who took the MAP exam compared to the national average RIT. Pratt noted that this MAP data should be considered pilot data, as it was the first year for students to take the test and it was only administered twice - once remotely and in once person due to COVID-19. Pratt shared that this school year (SY21) students will be taking the MAP test three times.

The Committee asked, considering the COVID-19 global pandemic, remote learning and its effect on academic achievement, what data would be the most helpful to judge academic performance. Taylor shared that it is important consider that City on a Hill students even took the MCAS in the midst of a global pandemic, and that Taylor spent SY20 advocating for DESE to allow for other metrics to measure academic achievement such as MAP data. 

Taylor then shared each of his nine metrics that are published on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's website. Through year over year data, comparing SY19 and SY20, these nine data points were considered: Enrollment, Attendance, Selected Populations, Mobility, Attrition, Teacher Data, Staffing Data, Staffing Retention, and Retention.

The Committee agreed that all of these measures are impacted by the effect the pandemic had on students (engagement, achievement, etc.) and agreed that is is reasonable to gather that because of the pandemic, these measures are unprecedented. 

The Committee reviewed the minutes from the December 2020 CEO Support Committee Meeting to note what measures were used then. The Committee asked more specifically about the MAP results in SY20. Pratt broke down the data, sharing the it showed the results from the baseline test and one growth test. The Committee determine that the data showed consistency in reading and language RIT scores. Pratt noted that the achievement on the MAP test aligned closely with COAH internal academic data.

The Committee acknowledged that there was a need for more performance data to award the full bonus, which might not be available due to COVID-19. With the data provided, the Committee agreed that Taylor's performance has shown stability in a school year that was unprecedented, voting to award 95% of Taylor's bonus.

The discussion concluded with the Committee committing to discussing what metrics will be used to measure academic achievement at the next meeting when considering Pratt's bonus next December.