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Arco Iris Spanish Immersion School

Minutes

Board Meeting

Date and Time

Thursday March 18, 2021 at 6:00 PM

Location

Join Zoom Meeting

Directors Present

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

Directors Absent

None

Directors who arrived after the meeting opened

S. Stevens, S. Trivedi

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 Mar 18, 2021 at 6:04 PM.
S. Stevens arrived.

C.

Public Comment

There was public comment about the lottery and Arco Iris program.

D.

Approve Meeting Minutes - February 2021

S. Marx made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 02-18-21.
M. Barron seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
E. Hatch
Aye
C. Billings
Aye
S. Trivedi
Absent
L. Anderson
Aye
S. Marx
Aye
S. Stevens
Aye
M. Barron
Aye

E.

Approve Meeting Minutes - 3/10/21 Special Session Board Meeting

S. Marx made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Special Session on 03-10-21.
E. Hatch seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Trivedi
Absent
S. Stevens
Aye
L. Anderson
Aye
M. Barron
Aye
C. Billings
Aye
S. Marx
Aye
E. Hatch
Aye
S. Trivedi arrived.

II. New Business

A.

Approve Staff Agreement

M. Barron made a motion to approve the Employment Agreement for Zhenia Brannon as Instructional Assistant.
S. Stevens seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Stevens
Aye
E. Hatch
Aye
S. Marx
Aye
M. Barron
Aye
L. Anderson
Aye
C. Billings
Aye
S. Trivedi
Aye

B.

Executive Search Updates

Ms. Christa Billings shared the search timeline and that applications have started coming in.
  Ms. Christa Billings shared the search timeline and that applications have started coming in.

III. Academic Excellence

A.

Executive Director's Report

Executive Director Michelle Herron shared the following report:

 

Information to Share
 
Student Achievement
  • State testing is still in limbo, ELPA testing will happen onsite (this is a test for English Language Learners) and we are waiting on BSD for more details about TAG testing.  They were going to do TAG testing at a central location, but this may change now that schools are reopening.
 
Climate and Culture
  • Teaching loads and schedules are not going to be balanced when we shift from CDL to a combination of hybrid and CDL, which is causing stress for some teachers.  We are trying to equalize workloads, but it is not possible to make everything equitable with the number of different instructional models we have to accommodate.
  • A few of our teachers are out of the areas and are not planning to return this year, so they will continue to work remotely.  They are not sure if they will come back to Oregon.  Not counting the out of state people, four teachers have said they are not coming back next year, and I’ve received reference checks from other districts for two more teachers in addition to those four. At this point, it looks like we may need to hire as many as nine or ten new teachers next year. I’m recommending a significant overhaul of our salary scale to make us more competitive so that we can both keep and recruit teachers more successfully.
  • We are thinking of ways to make the first week back feel celebratory for students.  It’s going to be really nice to have them back in the building!

 

The Board asked about staff retention, trends, funding. 

 

Professional Development
  • We’ll be doing lots of safety and procedural training during the week of March 29.  Teachers will also use this time to collaborate with each other to help with student transitions to new teachers. Students will get asynchronous, non-graded review assignments to work on during this week. 
 
Hot Topics - so many this month!
  • Executive Order Highlights
    • No sanctions for elementary schools who start by April 5 if they use the week of March 29 to prepare for hybrid instruction.  Middle school return date is still April 19.
    • No requirement to pay teachers who refuse to return
    • Parents can choose to stay in CDL for the rest of this year
  • Changes to ODE guidance
    • Eliminated the 100 person weekly cohort limit, but 36 or less is still recommended
    • Graduation ceremony guidelines should be out soon
    • Spacing requirement for students is still 6 feet, but there is research suggesting that 3 feet is enough, so we may see a change by Fall
  • BSD schedule change for K-8 middle school students - They will come back the same week as elementary students, but Jon Bridges said it is fine for us to stick to our current timeline.
  • SIA and ESSER funds
    • We don’t have exact SIA numbers yet because there is a discrepancy between the amounts the state put out for charter schools who apply on their own vs. those who go through their districts.  Jon Bridges is trying to get clarification.  If we go through BSD, we will probably get $123,992 in 21-22 and $129,053 in 22-23, less a 3-4% admin fee.
    • ESSER allocation comparisons (I believe these funds must be spent by June 2023)
      • Spring 2020 - State grant = $109 million, Arco grant = $42K
      • Fall 2020 - State grant = $450 million, Arco grant = $207K
      • Winter 2021 - State grant = $1.1 billion, Arco grant estimate = ~ $500K (should be available by mid-April)
  • We have a selection team selected for the Assistant Director position and will start reviewing applications at the end of the month. The team includes:
    • Staff - Perla Murphy, Pedro Miletti, Lacy Giering
    • Parents - Lea Villalaz, Julia Crown, Becky Schiefelbein
    • Board - Christa, Erin, Shagun
  • We have roof leaks and we’ve been getting disappointing service from our roofing contractor.  The owner of the company sent a completely inappropriate email to the front office and I’m planning to file a complaint with the Oregon Contractor’s Board once things settle.  I spoke with Dave Dahl from P & C about the issue and asked not to use this company again unless we have to.  Dave recommended that we hire a building envelope specialist to assess our issues to determine the cause of the leaks and suggest options for fixing them.
 
Seeking Input
  • 21-22 BSD calendar (Note - Sept. 8 is Rosh Hashanah).  Do we want to adopt their whole calendar?  One omission I see is no conference dates, but they may be adding those later.
 
Decision Needed
  • New IA employment agreement - Zhenia Brannon
  • Operational Blueprint - We need to send this to BSD, to the Washington County Health Department and to ODE.  I know it is too much to read right now.  Is it possible to give conditional approval pending review and give me permission to send it by tomorrow afternoon if I don’t hear back from anyone?  I made it possible for viewers to comment on the form, but not edit, so you can send me feedback on specific sections if you have questions.
  • Staying with BSD for SIA funding or applying on our own
Executive Director Michelle Herron presented the following report:
Information to Share
Student Achievement
  • State testing is still in limbo, ELPA testing will happen onsite (this is a test for English Language Learners) and we are waiting on BSD for more details about TAG testing. They were going to do TAG testing at a central location, but this may change now that schools are reopening.
Climate and Culture
  • Teaching loads and schedules are not going to be balanced when we shift from CDL to a combination of hybrid and CDL, which is causing stress for some teachers. We are trying to equalize workloads, but it is not possible to make everything equitable with the number of different instructional models we have to accommodate.
  • A few of our teachers are out of the areas and are not planning to return this year, so they will continue to work remotely. They are not sure if they will come back to Oregon. Not counting the out of state people, four teachers have said they are not coming back next year, and I’ve received reference checks from other districts for two more teachers in addition to those four. At this point, it looks like we may need to hire as many as nine or ten new teachers next year. I’m recommending a significant overhaul of our salary scale to make us more competitive so that we can both keep and recruit teachers more successfully.
  • We are thinking of ways to make the first week back feel celebratory for students. It’s going to be really nice to have them back in the building!
Professional Development
  • We’ll be doing lots of safety and procedural training during the week of March 29. Teachers will also use this time to collaborate with each other to help with student transitions to new teachers. Students will get asynchronous, non-graded review assignments to work on during this week.
Hot Topics - so many this month!
  • Executive Order Highlights
    • No sanctions for elementary schools who start by April 5 if they use the week of March 29 to prepare for hybrid instruction. Middle school return date is still April 19.
    • No requirement to pay teachers who refuse to return
    • Parents can choose to stay in CDL for the rest of this year
  • Changes to ODE guidance
    • New metrics
    • Eliminated the 100 person weekly cohort limit, but 36 or less is still recommended
    • Graduation ceremony guidelines should be out soon
    • Spacing requirement for students is still 6 feet, but there is research suggesting that 3 feet is enough, so we may see a change by Fall
  • BSD schedule change for K-8 middle school students - They will come back the same week as elementary students, but Jon Bridges said it is fine for us to stick to our current timeline.
  • SIA and ESSER funds
    • We don’t have exact SIA numbers yet because there is a discrepancy between the amounts the state put out for charter schools who apply on their own vs. those who go through their districts. Jon Bridges is trying to get clarification. If we go through BSD, we will probably get $123,992 in 21-22 and $129,053 in 22-23, less a 3-4% admin fee.
    • ESSER allocation comparisons (I believe these funds must be spent by June 2023)
      • Spring 2020 - State grant = $109 million, Arco grant = $42K
      • Fall 2020 - State grant = $450 million, Arco grant = $207K
      • Winter 2021 - State grant = $1.1 billion, Arco grant estimate = ~ $500K (should be available by mid-April)
  • We have a selection team selected for the Assistant Director position and will start reviewing applications at the end of the month. The team includes:
    • Staff - Perla Murphy, Pedro Miletti, Lacy Giering
    • Parents - Lea Villalaz, Julia Crown, Becky Schiefelbein
    • Board - Christa, Erin, Shagun
  • We have roof leaks and we’ve been getting disappointing service from our roofing contractor. The owner of the company sent a completely inappropriate email to the front office and I’m planning to file a complaint with the Oregon Contractor’s Board once things settle. I spoke with Dave Dahl from P & C about the issue and asked not to use this company again unless we have to. Dave recommended that we hire a building envelope specialist to assess our issues to determine the cause of the leaks and suggest options for fixing them.
Seeking Input
  • 21-22 BSD calendar (Note - Sept. 8 is Rosh Hashanah). Do we want to adopt their whole calendar? One omission I see is no conference dates, but they may be adding those later.
Decision Needed
  • New IA employment agreement - Zhenia Brannon
  • Operational Blueprint - We need to send this to BSD, to the Washington County Health Department and to ODE. I know it is too much to read right now. Is it possible to give conditional approval pending review and give me permission to send it by tomorrow afternoon if I don’t hear back from anyone? I made it possible for viewers to comment on the form, but not edit, so you can send me feedback on specific sections if you have questions.
  • Staying with BSD for SIA funding or applying on our own
E. Hatch made a motion to adopt the 2021-2022 school calendar starting September 9, 2021 ending June 21, 2022 and follow the Beaverton School District vacation dates.
S. Trivedi seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Marx
Aye
S. Trivedi
Aye
S. Stevens
Aye
E. Hatch
Aye
L. Anderson
Aye
C. Billings
Aye
M. Barron
Aye
S. Marx made a motion to conditionally approve the Operational Blueprint, pending any material changes suggested by the Board before 12 noon tomorrow, March 19, 2021.
S. Trivedi seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Stevens
Aye
E. Hatch
Aye
M. Barron
Aye
C. Billings
Aye
L. Anderson
Aye
S. Trivedi
Aye
S. Marx
Aye
S. Marx made a motion to apply for SIA funding through the Beaverton School District.
E. Hatch seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Stevens
Aye
C. Billings
Aye
S. Trivedi
Aye
S. Marx
Aye
E. Hatch
Aye
M. Barron
Aye
L. Anderson
Aye
ACTION ITEM: Executive Director Michelle Herron to remind families about the Nut Policy.

IV. Development

A.

PTO Report

PTO President Yessenia Jones presented the PTO Report, including sock fundraiser; Lima Peru Restaurant Night next week; Greater Giving link for Teacher Appreciation; virtual clubs on hold Spring Break week to re-evaluate availability after Hybrid schedule starts; three officers have rolled-off roster. 

B.

Development & Community Relations Committee

No Development & Community Relations Committee update today.
Ms. Christa Billings updated the Board on Auction progress; it will be a 1 hour live event on May 20th following a week of silent auction.

V. Finance

A.

Treasurer's Report

Ms. Shagun Trivedi presented the Treasurer's Report:

 

  • ADMw received for (Month):    $ 269,572
  • Total income for (Month):         $ 711,848
  • Cash balance for (Month):       $ 2,011,354
  • Accts Receivable for (Month): $ 148,776
  • Net gain/loss for (Month):        $ 45,505

 

VI. Governance

A.

Governance Committee

Ms. Christa Billings presented the Governance Committee report, summarizing applicant qualifications for the Board Educator role.
S. Marx made a motion to elect Ms. Tessa McCoy to the Board Educator role for a three year term, starting in April 2021.
S. Trivedi seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
S. Trivedi
Aye
S. Stevens
Aye
M. Barron
Aye
L. Anderson
Aye
E. Hatch
Aye
C. Billings
Aye
S. Marx
Aye

VII. Closing Items

A.

Closing Comments and Action Items

Ms. Sara Marx read the action item.

B.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:25 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
S. Marx