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• Yessenia and Christa shared information and takeaways from the conference they attended in Boston.  Attended many sessions on growing your charter school, leadership topics, and removing barriers for Latino/e/x families to attend charter schools.  
• Christa to scan and share some helpful documents with the Board.

Melina and Jillian meeting regularly with outgoing PTO President and VP about needs to consider for start of the school year. 

Academic Excellence

• Jesús shared results of 2023-2024 state testing (OSAS) in math and reading
  • Two of our student cohorts/classes (4th and 8th grade)  going up in both ELA and Math when comparing the results of these specific cohorts from SY 22-23 to SY 23-24. 
  • It also shows a decline in both Math and ELA scores for our graduating 5th graders.
  • These results are providing opportunities, and our work is to prepare a more thorough analysis by comparing (individual) student growth over the years, and following their trajectory at Arco, paying closer attention to our 3rd grade cohort (current 4th grade) in the area of Math.
• When looking at the data, it is important to note that the total number of students assessed this year (SY 23-24) is 179-180.  
  • Out of this number, 114 students who took OSAS this year were also at AISIS during the school year 22-23, and out of that number 54 students were at AISIS in school year 21-22 (which makes sense as this was the year our 3rd graders took OSAS for the 1st time).
  • Important also to notice that last year’s 3rd and 4th graders were in Kinder and 1st grade during COVID school closures, respectively. 
  • Why are we sharing this?  
    • To recognize that we are not comparing results from the same students every year and that can be due to the following: graduation, attrition, and/or less classes in each grade level in the past, as the school was growing, or in fluctuation (due to COVID 19).  
    • In addition, to recognize that it is important to focus on individual student growth as this is a more realistic and intentional way of looking at data.
• To summarize (reflection) and next steps:
  • It is important to recognize that we want our school as a whole to perform at its highest level and provide the best opportunities for our students. Equally important is to focus our efforts on data that is current and relevant, so that we increase student support in targeted ways. It is crucial to acknowledge that we are not assessing the same students every year.
  • It is also important to recognize and celebrate areas where we are doing well, such as last year’s 4th grade cohort (current 5th grade cohort going into SY 24-25), and also how we are still meeting and/or outperforming BSD and state results by 8-20+% (school-wide) in ELA. We are also facing opportunities for growth in Math.
  • Lastly, it is also fair to acknowledge that the percentages (or academic goal) in our SLP was not met (95%), and we will be using current data to adjust our plan and have more realistic goals moving forward. As a result, we are working on revisions to our School Learning Plan, and we are planning on sharing this prior, or during,  our August 2024 Board meeting. (We will also make sure there is alignment between the SLP and SIA grant agreement.)
    • For ways we will be addressing students not meeting standards, we now have more detailed data that we will utilize to provide interventions and ensure that we are providing targeted support for students who are not meeting state standards. 

Empowerment (Staff Training and Retention)

• We have been analyzing our end of year (EOY) team survey results.
  • We shared with our team an anonymous feedback form at the EOY. The form contained 4 questions:
    • What went well this year? Team responded:  “Collaboration and (having) more opportunities for teachers to be heard.”
    • Some areas we can improve? Team responded: “More training and PD opportunities.”
    • Current work environment supportive?  (Do you feel supported?) 
    • What are some areas you are interested in continuing exploring next year? Team responded: “Opportunities for growth, more training.”
  • As a result of this survey (and student test scores), we are working on providing intentional teacher training before school starts. Training will include:
    • SLA/ELA/Math:
      • Training on new ELA and SLA curriculum
      • More intentional Singapore Math training to be able to maximize and utilize all resources purchased
    • Data analysis:
      • Training on data analysis and focused student interventions based on assessment results
      • Training on Responsive Classroom approach to continue creating a positive and joyful learning environment
    • School-wide teacher communication. More specifically:
      • Find ways to increase family awareness around their student’s progress throughout the year. 
        • Provide support and clarity for teachers to commit connecting with families via newsletters.
        • Define how student progress can be shared more frequently (more frequent cadence than just sharing student growth during progress reports, and/or conferences.)  This was a need expressed in the Family Survey data. 
        • Share DEIB and SEL resources in advance via our newsletters - to raise awareness and provide tools around student or school-related topics
  • An important aspect to celebrate that is not reflected in the survey is that we had the highest team retention rate in the past five years!
• Hiring
  • We are bringing in two new homeroom teachers and 1 new IA:
    • Offers to teaching candidates from Spain have been sent and accepted.

Engagement and Equity

• Areas to celebrate:
  1. Fundraising efforts for SY 23-24. 
     • AFG Totals for this year: $240,835.00
  2. Community Engagement: various cultural and student celebrations were put together by students, school, and our PTO this past year! There is summer planning currently underway to bring more cultural celebrations and/or other opportunities to celebrate learning during SY 24-25.
  3. We are exploring opening another elementary school. 
     • The ideal outcome would be to provide a continuous bilingual/biliterate educational experience for our students, that can be sustained with a robust enrollment provided by two schools.
• Reflections around School Culture and Family Survey Results. 
  1. Our community engagement goal for SY 23-24 is highlighted in our School Learning Plan.
     • Our plan states that “at least 80% of families will report feeling that their children feel represented, included, and respected at school as indicated by the annual family survey.” (Please see the two questions below that are related to this.)
  2. Our family survey addressed the Community Engagement goal with two specific questions. 
     • Page 9 has the following question: *My child feels welcome and accepted at school / Mi hijo se siente bienvenido y aceptada en la escuela.  – 82.91% of families answered that they strongly agree or that they agree. MET
     • Page 12 has the question: *The school has a positive culture and community/La escuela tiene una cultura y una comunidad positivas.  – 80.7% of families answered that they strongly agree or that they agree. MET
  3. Based on these two questions pulled from our survey, 80% + families seem to report that their children feel represented, included, and respected at school.
• Survey’s Comments:
  1. Part of the Family Survey also provided opportunities to share comments. The comments shared by our families indicate other areas of growth. As a result, we have more reflections  or takeaways below. (The bullet points below also share ways we are thinking of meeting our community’s needs, while still in alignment with our values.)
     • Provide more clarity and transparency regarding who to contact for questions about academics, behaviors, attendance, etc. Also, more communication from school regarding student progress.
       • We are working on putting together an organizational chart to provide more guidance regarding who to contact at school. 
       • We are putting together more training and guidance (for teachers) regarding family connections, as part of our summer work. 
       • We are compiling resources regarding our mission and values to be shared via our monthly newsletters.
     • More schoolwide and school leader’s communication.
       • We are opening ParentSquare for administrators to be contacted through that platform, too.
       • We are working on creative ways to engage more family participation in Coffee with the Principal - zoom meetings, etc.
         • Board member requested we explore ways to engage with families who prefer to communicate in a language other than English
       • Include in newsletters more information about our values, including more DEIB and SEL resources. As a way to share valuable resources with families and  elicit more home-school partnerships in these non-academic areas.
       • Create more opportunities to stay connected. Plan ahead year-round events and celebrations, as well as SDW. Share with families in advance. 
       • In the case of new families, provide more resources: orientation, handbooks, explore new parent mentors, etc.
       • We are strategizing on other opportunities to guide and/or partner families throughout the year. 
     • Teacher communication. More specifically around classroom learning and their student’s progress throughout the year. 
       • Provide support and clarity for teachers to commit connecting with families via newsletters on a regular and consistent basis.
       • Define how student progress can be shared more frequently (more frequent cadence than just sharing student growth during progress reports, and/or conferences.)
         • Board member asked if it is possible to include all families in spring conferences, not just for students where there is an area of concern.  Board is open to reviewing the school calendar if additional time is needed.  Jesús will discuss this request with leadership team.

Financial Responsibility

• Grant opportunities - updates 
  1. Some reflections from last year:
     • During the past school year we secured the following grants:
       • Physical Education (funding one FT PE position for two years)
       • Early Literacy Gant which is funding a substantial amount for the purchase of an SLA and ELA curriculum. ($120k +)
       • Safe Schools Grant - around $16,000
     • Arco Iris partnered with FundEd for more grant opportunities this year. 
       • There have been grant deadlines met and grants we have applied for.  Unfortunately, we have not been selected yet.
     • SIA grant continues SY 24-25
• Enrollment for 23-24
  1. Total enrollment for the year and current projections:
     • 2023-24: 405 (419)
     • 2024-25: 439
       • Based on these numbers, adjustments to our budget have been made and we are still at or above the 1:10 ratio,  We will continue to explore other non-essential items in our budget to adjust for real-time enrollment numbers.
       • Working on keeping our new families informed about upcoming school events and dates through July and August.  Information will be going out this week.

• Yessenia and Christa met with the bond underwriters and financial planner, and with BSD contact regarding possible charter expansion.  BSD deciding if we can just expand our enrollment cap in our current charter agreement, or if we need to submit a new charter application.  Should have this information by October.
• Realtor is exploring possible properties.
• Board will need an answer from BSD, and info on property costs, in order to make an informed decision on if we agree to an expansion.

▪ ADMw received for (Month):    $315,746.00
▪ Total income for (Month): $506,633.73
▪ Cash balance for (Month): $3,100,011.94
▪ Accts Receivable for (Month): $158,015.97
▪ Net gain/loss for (Month):   $-124,308.65

• Final CD of our ladder now complete.  Andrew has meeting scheduled with Heritage bank in August to discuss next steps.

• Move this agenda item to August meeting

• Andrew sent lead to Erin on a possible grant.  Sarah Z to review info as possible ask for math training money
• Got an extension from Marie Lanform for the final grant report
• Adreana emailed Erin a report she created from last 5 years of family survey data.  Erin will share this with the Board.
• Christa met with FundEd rep in Boston.  FundEd learned more about why we did not receive the Nike grant.  FundEd to make sure to highlight in future grants how our school supports underserved populations.

• Sarah to add employment agreements to August Board meeting
• Erin to email 5 year survey data to Board
• Sarah to look at potential grant for math training money (lead from Andrew).  Jesús will send Sarah info on our math training budget.
• Sarah to make note on Development Committee meeting agenda for us to consider background info on companies we accept money from.