City on a Hill Charter Public School
Minutes
December 2023 Academic Excellence Committee Meeting
Date and Time
Monday December 11, 2023 at 5:00 PM
This meeting took place remotely pursuant to a supplemental budget bill which, among other things, extends the temporary provisions pertaining to the Open Meeting Law to March 31, 2025 signed into law by Governor Healey on March 29, 2023. The meeting was held via Zoom at https://cityonahill-org.zoom.us/j/86514691965.
Committee Members Present
Alekz Hirschmann (remote), Danielle Canty (remote), Edelyn Contreras (remote)
Committee Members Absent
None
Guests Present
Michael McGean (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
Alekz Hirschmann called a meeting of the Academic Excellence Committee of City on a Hill Charter Public School to order on Monday Dec 11, 2023 at 5:13 PM.
C.
Approve October 2023 Meeting Minutes
Danielle Canty made a motion to approve the minutes from October 2023. October 2023 Academic Excellence Committee Meeting on 10-23-23.
Edelyn Contreras seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Edelyn Contreras |
Aye
|
| Danielle Canty |
Aye
|
| Alekz Hirschmann |
Aye
|
II. SY2022-23 School Updates
A.
SY2023-24 Q1 Academic Data Review & School Updates
III. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 5:58 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Alekz Hirschmann
Documents used during the meeting
- CoaH Academic Data 2023-2024_Dec23.pdf
Michael McGean, Chief Academic Officer, welcomed the Committee and shared that he would be presenting the School's updates for this meeting. McGean noted his presentation would begin with school-wide academic updates before transitioning to discussing the Schools Action Plan.
McGean began by providing updates on academic performance and grading policy, highlighting the new focus on content mastery, with the calculation of grades based on both mastery assignments and effort. McGean noted the School's passing rates are trending upwards across grade levels and subjects. He mentioned the School's efforts to improve academic performance through various interventions including implementing a universal system to support student organization and preparedness, with color-coded binders required for every class, improving English Language Development (ELD) curriculum to better support recent immigrants and bilingual students, and implementing attendance success plans. The Committee inquired about how the School can continue to hire and retain high-quality teachers and support staff. McGean noted School is providing differentiated professional development to meet the needs of both new and veteran teachers. He also noted the School is taking steps to improve academic performance by focusing on lesson planning and classroom management with teachers.
The Committee inquired about what interventions are in place to support chronic absenteeism. McGean noted the School has put into place as apart of their Action Plan a Buy Back Plan for students who are chronically absent. The Buy Back Plan would allow students to buy back attendance by attending two hour learning sessions after school on Fridays. McGean then discussed the other two parts of the Schools Action Plan including more teacher support and Saturday Practice Testing. McGean noted the School has recently hired a new English teacher to support English Language Arts (ELA) skills classes and is in the process of hiring a behavior specialist for the Dean's office. The Committee appreciated the School's commitment to improving academic performance and the various strategies being employed to achieve this goal.