Jordan Pina, Chief of Staff, shared an update around enrollment at City on a Hill. Pina shared that City on a Hill's new Student Recruitment Coordinator has been onboarded and has already started to engage in enrollment initiatives for the current school year and school year 2022-2023.

Pina shared that the Leadership Team is already planning for enrollment next school year and creating an enrollment plan to turn into the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The COAH team has met to talk through current enrollment trends, churn rates, attrition rates, etc. in order to come to a projected enrollment number for next school year (2022-2023). This initial number is submitted to the Department in Winter 2022. 

The Committee asked management to what extent the pre-enrollment estimate has on the budget. Pina clarified that this number is a pre-enrollment number as a snapshot before City on a Hill's initial lottery, with another number submitted to DESE after that lottery. This number will be what DESE uses to create COAH's tuition payment for the first half of the school year. 

Pratt shared that the team looked at historical data from the last few years to create a pre-enrollment number for COAH, and the school will continue to budget conservatively using this enrollment number.

The discussion concluded with Pina sharing that at the upcoming Governance Committee meetings the Committee will dig deeper in overviewing a chart of projected enrollment for City on a Hill in the upcoming school years.

Pina shared with the Committee that the new Director of Teacher Development and Compliance has been fully trained on compliance work and submissions. Pina will support the Director of TD and Compliance with this work as City on a Hill continues to work towards fulfilling all probationary conditions. 

Pina shared all ongoing compliance updates, including but not limited to, all Board minute submissions, updates to COAH's Academic Action Plan, and attendance and enrollment submissions. Pina shared that in June 2022, the Leadership team will put together outcomes of the Academic Action Plan to submit to DESE.

Pratt shared that MAP testing, a component of the Academic Action Plan, will be administered to students for the second time in February 2022. COAH students will take the nationally normed assessment three times this school year to track growth and allow for targeted intervention. Pratt shared that the results of MAP are shared with DESE each time it is administered to students. 

The Committee asked for more specific information about how the MAP test went in September 2021. Pratt shared that the test was a baseline, and because it was the first time by students, it did not show growth. Pratt said that the COAH staff learned a lot about best practices for administering the MAP test, which will be carried into the second administration in February 2022.

The Committee asked if the MAP test is taken online. Pratt shared that last year it was taken online at home, as students were learning remotely for half of the year due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. However, this school year (2021-2022), the MAP test is planned to be administered fully in person at all three administrations.

The Committee asked about the requirements for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, MCAS, and MAP. Pratt shared that she sits on a Committee that has worked with the Department to use other nationally normed tests, such as MAP, for academic measures. Pratt shared that this Committee met with the Commissioner recently to share this proposal. Pratt shared that this decision has not yet been made, and COAH administers MAP as a supplementary measure for academic achievement. 

The Committee asked what is done with the MAP data on a staffing level after it is released. Pratt shared that COAH has a holistic approach with the data when received. The Leadership team looks at trends in the data on a school level, class level, standard level, etc. Staff evaluators at COAH also analyze the data for action steps on each of those levels.

Pratt shared that all data at City on a Hill is a part of data driven instruction, a practice that uses data trends to inform action plans and interventions. The Committee asked if the students receive the results of the MAP test. The discussion concluded with Pratt sharing that students did not receive their baseline scores for MAP, however, they will receive their individual growth scores and RIT after the second administration.

Jessica Yang, Committee Chair, shared that the Board is currently at eleven Board members, with the goal of the Board growing to thirteen Board members. 

The Committee asked about any other candidates that might be in the pipeline for the Board.

Jordan Pina, Chief of Staff, shared that the Board could benefit from an incoming Board member with an education background. Sonya Pratt, Executive Director, shared that she has a few candidates in mind that could be a great fit with. Pratt shared that this candidate would potentially have capacity to commit to the Board in the coming months.

The Committee discussed who might have a former teacher in their network that would be a good fit. Pratt shared that being upfront about the time commitment of the Board is very important. The Committee talked about the Board's growth that would allow for committees to be more evenly placed. 

The Committee asked if there might be a current parent or connection who would be interested. Pina shared that the two parent contacts Pratt shared with her she had not heard from. Pina shared that at the next COAH Senior Leadership Team meeting, there can be a discussion about who can have another touchpoint with these parents.

The Committee clarified with management that a candidate with a teacher background for the Board would be a teacher from City on a Hill. Pina shared that she would have to check with COAH's legal counsel to make sure that a COAH teacher on the Board was not a conflict of interest. The Committee clarified that this candidate could be a former teacher as well. 

The discussion concluded with the Committee committing to reach out to contacts that have been considered as potential candidates. 

Pina shared that in an effort to aid quorum, it might be helpful to re-evaluate some Committee assignments, as there are a few Committees that have conflicting schedules. The Committee asked to see the current Committee structures. 

Pina also shared that during the Open Meeting Law Refresher at the December 2020 Board of Trustees meeting, she will highlight the responsibility of Board members to submit their regulatory documents to DESE. The discussion concluded with the Committee committing to meeting with Board members to discuss current Committee structures and responsibilities.