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Arco Iris Spanish Immersion School

Minutes

Board Meeting

Date and Time

Thursday February 18, 2021 at 6:00 PM

Location

Join Zoom Meeting

Directors Present

C. Billings (remote), E. Hatch (remote), L. Anderson (remote), M. Barron, S. Marx (remote), S. Stevens (remote)

Directors Absent

S. Trivedi

Directors who arrived after the meeting opened

M. Barron

Ex Officio Members Present

M. Ston (remote)

Non Voting Members Present

M. Ston (remote)

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance and Guests

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 Feb 18, 2021 at 6:01 PM.

C.

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

D.

Approve Meeting Minutes - January 2021

S. Marx made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 01-21-21.
S. Stevens seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Stevens
Aye
C. Billings
Aye
E. Hatch
Aye
M. Barron
Absent
L. Anderson
Aye
S. Marx
Aye
S. Trivedi
Absent

E.

Approve Meeting Minutes - 1/30/21 Special Session Board Meeting

S. Marx made a motion to approve the minutes from Special Session Board Meeting on 01-30-21.
S. Stevens seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
C. Billings
Aye
S. Marx
Aye
E. Hatch
Aye
S. Stevens
Aye
M. Barron
Absent
L. Anderson
Aye
S. Trivedi
Absent

II. New Business

A.

Spanish Proficiency Testing for Re-enrollment

Executive Director Michelle Herron revisited the policy for Spanish proficiency testing for re-enrollment. 
M. Barron arrived at 6:04 PM.

B.

Executive Search

Executive Director Michelle Herron presented the draft calendar for the Assistant Director Search.
S. Marx made a motion to approve the Assistant Director search calendar as presented.
M. Barron seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
L. Anderson
Aye
S. Stevens
Aye
C. Billings
Aye
S. Marx
Aye
E. Hatch
Aye
M. Barron
Aye
S. Trivedi
Absent
E. Hatch made a motion to increase the salary range for the Assistant Director position from $80,000 to $95,000.
S. Stevens seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
E. Hatch
Aye
M. Barron
Aye
C. Billings
Aye
S. Marx
Aye
S. Stevens
Aye
L. Anderson
Aye
S. Trivedi
Absent

C.

School Uniforms 2020-2021

Executive Director Michelle Herron addressed the school uniform policy for the remainder of the school year. 
S. Stevens made a motion to waive the dress code for the rest of the 2020-21 academic year and communicate to families that the waiver allows them to adopt any plain clothes or small logo clothes that closely mimic the school uniform as possible.
L. Anderson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Marx
Aye
E. Hatch
Aye
M. Barron
Aye
C. Billings
Aye
S. Stevens
Aye
S. Trivedi
Absent
L. Anderson
Aye

III. Academic Excellence

A.

Executive Director's Report

Executive Director Michelle Herron shared her report:
 
Information to Share
 
Student Achievement
  • We finished the second round of EasyCBM testing and will analyze the results during our next professional development day.
Climate and Culture
  • Teachers and parents have some anxiety about new staffing assignments and safety protocols when students return to school, which is to be expected.  But overall, the reopening plans are moving ahead nicely.
  • I sent out Intent to Return letters to staff and we have 3 teachers so far who are not returning.  We also have an Instructional Assistant who gave his 2 week notice last week.
Professional Development
  • The majority of the staff was able to attend the BSD Equity Summit on Feb. 10
  • Our next professional development day is Feb. 26. We will focus on data teams and on sharing professional learning from everyone’s recent trainings.
Hot Topics
  • We are offering a series of art workshops next week and a few parents have voiced concerns because the artist is non-binary.  I shared some resources for talking about gender identity in the last newsletter and I will offer follow up conversations at the Families Unidas meetings this month.  The Equity Advisory Council and ODE have been great about helping me with resources and talking points.  A key idea that we need to communicate is that gender identity is a protected class, just like race, sex and religion.  It is not a sex education topic, but rather an important part of providing representation and teaching about diversity and acceptance.
The Board discussed the performance, content, and policies.
  • We need to revisit the pay scale before I start advertising our open positions.  As it stands now, I’m concerned that we will have a hard time attracting quality candidates.  I will bring this to the next finance committee meeting.
Seeking Input
  • We found out that we will get an additional $207,000 in ESSER II funding to spend over the next 1 ½ years. Great news! This is in addition to the $42,000 we received in the Fall.  I will present a more formal proposal for how to spend these funds as we get into the budgeting cycle, but here is what we need right now:
    • HVAC upgrades - Approximately $36K
    • Additional custodial services - I don’t have an estimate for this yet
    • PPE, safety equipment and signage - price TBD
    • An additional Instructional Assistant to help with supervision and coverage when we return to in-person learning.
  • Reopening plan
    • As of Tuesday at noon, 56.8% of students are returning to school for hybrid instruction. We are doing follow up phone calls so that we can hear from everyone.  If we don’t hear back from a family, we are letting them know that they will stay in CDL.
    • If there are no big changes in the metrics, our return dates are:
      • April 5 - grades K & 1
      • April 12 - grades 2 - 5
      • April 20 - grades 6-8 pending board approval
    • I still have to reconvene the blueprint committee to work through the details in the requirements and recommendations from ODE.
Decisions Needed
  • Approve employment agreement for Ruth Arrazattee as an instructional assistant.
  • Do we want to require uniforms when students return to school?  My suggestion is that we do not because this would be an added expense for families and they will use the uniforms for a very short time.
  • Should we bring middle school students back on April 20?  
    • I checked with ODE about whether we have to follow the middle school guidance in RSSL since our numbers are so low and they said yes, which technically means middle school can’t come back until we get to >50 cases per 100,000.  We are at 140 right now and trending down.
    • There is additional wording in the metrics explainer which makes this guidance a little more vague. When counties are between 50-100 cases per 100K, they say, “Middle school and high school primarily Comprehensive Distance Learning with Limited InPerson Instruction. Over time, if elementary schools can demonstrate the ability to limit transmission in the school environment, transition to On-Site or Hybrid.”
    • ODE also reiterated their stance that the guidance is a recommendation, not a requirement.  
    • OSBA is recommending caution
    • If we bring middle school back before our county hits the metrics listed in the guidance, we have to offer an onsite testing plan.  This is something that I would like to do anyway, so I do not see it as a big barrier.  
The Board discussed the return dates and reviewed BSD's plan.

IV. Development

A.

PTO Report

Ms. Yessenia Jones presented the PTO report, including collecting funds, Greater Giving training, Stripe account, and Lima Peru restaurant night. Ms. Christa Billings provided updates on the auction.

B.

Development & Community Relations Committee

There was no Development & Community Relations Committee update.

V. Finance

A.

Treasurer's Report

There was no Treasurer's Report.

B.

Staff Agreement

M. Barron made a motion to approve the employment agreement for Ruth Arrazattee as presented.
S. Marx seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Marx
Aye
M. Barron
Aye
L. Anderson
Aye
S. Trivedi
Absent
S. Stevens
Aye
E. Hatch
Aye
C. Billings
Aye

VI. Governance

A.

Governance Committee

Ms. Christa Billings is researching the Charter Renewal Committee process. She has also received a Board application and is expecting a couple others. 

VII. Closing Items

A.

Closing Comments and Action Items

B.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:52 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
S. Marx