Arco Iris Spanish Immersion School
Minutes
Board Special Session
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A REMOTE MEETING ON ZOOM
** All attendees that are not board members need to remain muted. There is no public comment for this meeting. **
** All attendees that are not board members need to remain muted. There is no public comment for this meeting. **
Directors Present
C. Billings (remote), L. Anderson (remote), M. Barron (remote), R. Christopherson (remote), R. Timmons (remote), S. Stevens (remote)
Directors Absent
S. Marx, S. Trivedi
Directors who arrived after the meeting opened
S. Stevens
Ex Officio Members Present
M. Ston (remote)
Non Voting Members Present
M. Ston (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C. Billings called a meeting of the board of directors of Arco Iris Spanish Immersion School to order on Thursday Mar 19, 2020 at 6:03 PM.
S. Stevens arrived.
II. COVID-19 Closure
A.
Staff Hourly Pay During Closure
- Need cost of hourly employee schedule
- Rob outlined a list of requirements needed
R. Timmons made a motion to Approve continuation of existing salary for all fixed scheduled employees through April 28th.
S. Stevens seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| S. Marx |
Absent
|
| S. Stevens |
Aye
|
| M. Barron |
Aye
|
| C. Billings |
Aye
|
| R. Christopherson |
Aye
|
| S. Trivedi |
Absent
|
| R. Timmons |
Aye
|
| L. Anderson |
Aye
|
B.
COVID-19
Student Achievement
- We are waiting for information from the state about our required annual assessments. The testing window opened in January, but we weren’t planning to start until late April.
Climate and Culture
- Teachers are working hard to provide online lessons. They have some anxiety about having to do the extra work to prepare these lessons and then also having to make up the instructional time in the summer. Unfortunately, we don’t have any answers yet from the state. ODE is suggesting that schools wait to request instructional time waivers until we have a clearer sense of how long the closure will last.
- People have been great about supporting one another as we figure out online learning.
Professional Development
- There won’t be any more PD opportunities this year. I will reallocate some of the PD money in our expansion grant to pay for furniture and curriculum for the new section of first grade next year. We will also shift money to plan for the replacement of 25% of our loaner Chromebooks and for additional subscriptions to support families with online learning.
Hot Topics
- Regular hiring - teachers need to notify me by April 1 if they are not coming back. We will send letters of intent next week.
- SIA approval may be pushed back, which means that we might have a chance to revise the budget. It also means I’ll need to hold off on hiring for the new positions.
- We are offering parents credit for pre-paid lunches and childcare. If we have any 8th graders who will not be able to use their credit this year, we’ll issue checks.
- There is a strong possibility that schools will close for the rest of the year. One parent has already asked if her daughter could repeat kindergarten if that happens. My suggestion is to start next year by having teachers do a review of the prior year to identify gaps. The decision to retain a student has lasting impacts and it is not something we should do lightly, even in these extraordinary circumstances.
Seeking Input
Access to and care of the building during the closure.
- I’m concerned about damage and/or vandalism when no one is here.
- We are in preliminary conversations with our new custodial team about cleaning projects that could happen while we are closed. We’ll hold off on a decision until we know how long the closure will last.
How I can best support teachers and parents during closure
2. Providing distance learning
Here is the direction from ODE regarding distance learning. It conflicts a bit with the highlighted section above about funding.
Districts or schools in some areas may have the capacity to explore expanding or offering online learning. If a district or school is seeking to build capacity for online learning, carefully consider the regulations that need to be met to replace your current in-person “brick and mortar” school with an online school:
- All students in the school or district have full access to the learning, the educators, and required materials (including technology). - We’ve done significant outreach to all families to make sure they have the required technology and we’ve loaned out Chromebooks to everyone who had a demonstrated need.
- The online learning system effectively supports the district’s different learning and teaching needs, including the ability to provide differentiated instruction as well as one- on-one support for students who need it. - We have not been providing differentiated instruction yet, but our platform has the capability to do this.
- Online instructional materials are aligned to Oregon State Standards. - We’ll be limiting instruction to English, Math (Common Core Aligned) and Spanish.
- Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) identified on a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) or required supports for a 504 plan must be provided if the district is operating school online. - This is the sticking point. We rely on BSD for IEP services.
- Support and instruction for emerging bilingual/English Learners must be provided if the district is operating school online. - Our intervention teacher can offer targeted lessons to students who receive these services.
- Supports for talented and gifted students must be provided if the district is operating school online. - This would be part of the differentiation required in the second bullet point.
- Ensuring equal student access to the instruction and assessments associated with dual credit courses. - Not applicable.
- Providing training to staff, students, and parents and guardians on how the online system works and the expectations of the district. - That’s what we’ve been doing this week. We plan to meet on Mar. 30 to review parent and teacher feedback, and to make adjustments.
- Attendance is tracked and reported for both students and staff. - I think we can do this by tracking logins.
- Online systems are secure and will not allow for the release of protected student or staff information. We have our Chromebooks set to only work with Arco Iris email addresses. We cannot control the settings on home computers, but nothing that we share on Google Classroom would be sensitive or confidential.
- Students have access to school meals. - Available through BSD
- Students have access to school counseling services. - Our counselor can be available via email, phone or by video conferencing.
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 6:30 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
C. Billings