Mission: The Academy of Alameda equitably develops students into critical thinkers
and life-long learners who navigate the world with integrity, and who apply their learning
to empower themselves and their communities.

Envisioned Future: 
We envision a future where all of our students are successful,
and their destinies are not determined by their demographics.
 

Both Summer and I worked collaboratively on the Food Services document with AUSD administrators. We have a good working relationship with AUSD's Food Services Department who are responsive to the needs of our students and families. We recommend approval of this annual MOU with AUSD which has updated language due to Covid-19.

Every three years, the Sonoma SELPA is required to submit a Local Plan Governance and Administration Section B document to the state. Please read the Charter Local Plan letter to LEAs as it has a good explanation of the Local Plan. I was on the committee that reviewed Section B and the committee members including myself highly recommend its approval.

The Consolidated Application (ConApp) is used by the California Department of Education (CDE) to distribute categorical funds (Title I-V) from various federal programs to county offices, school districts, and direct-funded charter schools throughout California. The Academy of Alameda Middle and Elementary School will be applying for Title I, Title II, Title III, and Title IV funding during the 2020-21 school year.

As part of our continued receipt of Title funding from the federal government, we are obligated to approve our Consolidated Application Assurances, and to approve the accompanying three policies on an annual basis.  They are complementary to other policies on record, and are intended to make our compliance for federal funding explicit.  No changes have been made since the last annual update on the following: 
1) Protected Prayer Certification;
2) Parent Involvement Policy;
3) Support for Education of Homeless Students

All local educational agencies (LEAs) that generate a formula subgrant of less than $10,000 in any school year must apply for and participate in the Title III English Learner (EL) student program as a member of a consortium. The Academy of Alameda Middle School & Elementary School do meet the minimum $10,000 threshold to qualify for the subgrant and have developed a consortium in order to access Title III funds. AoA is projecting to have approximately 105 English Learners in the 20-21 school year, which will generate a Title III subgrant of approximately $12,180 for the Consortium.
The Academy of Alameda will be the Consortium Lead and will administer the subgrant on behalf of both the Elementary and Middle School. The Academy of Alameda will be responsible for acting as the fiscal and program agent for the consortium and will file the required expenditure reports via the Consolidated Application and Reporting System (CARS) and maintain fiscal records. This includes reporting cash balances quarterly during the Federal Cash Management Data Collection window.

Education Protect Account (EPA) funds must be board approved and designated for eligible expense purposes. The Academy of Alameda will use these funds for teacher salaries during the 2020-21 school year.

The Academy of Alameda is eligible to apply for FEMA's Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Grant to request assistance with emergency protective measures. The school has 60 days after the disaster has ended to complete the grant. COVID-19 is still considered an active disaster. FEMA's grant covers 75% of the expenses of responding to keeping the school, students, and staff physically safe and digitally connected during the pandemic. The attached documents allow key employees at AoA to work with FEMA during this process to complete the requirements of the grant.

Due to Covid-19, the California Department of Education extended the LCAP deadline to December 15, 2020. In its place, the state is requiring an Operations Written Report. Below is the Executive Order that outlines the requirements for that report. Because each of our schools is a Local Education Area (LEA), we submitted one for AoA Elementary and another for AoA Middle School.

Overview of Executive Order N-56-20 (4) Establishes a reporting requirement to provide an overview of changes to program offerings LEAs are making in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the major impacts on students and families and how the LEA is meeting the needs of unduplicated students. The reporting will be made through an Operations Written Report and must include steps LEAs have taken to:

◦ Deliver high-quality distance learning opportunities

◦ Provide school meals in a non-congregate setting

◦ Arrange for the supervision of students during ordinary school hours

Please review the Board meeting/retreat dates for 2020/21. We have two scheduled retreats and the majority of Board meetings are on the 4th Thursday of each month.

Principals, Nora Bullock and Miranda Thorman, will present the successes and challenges related to student outcomes that both schools experienced specific to distance learning in the Spring, and their plans to effectively address them beginning this summer.

Executive Director, Matt Huxley will review the framework to be used to design and implement AoA's 2020/21 Reopening Schools Plan.  

The uniform policy has been a source of contention for the past two years. The uniform "loosened" so that students could wear logos, non-AoA sweatshirts to cover their uniform shirts,  students could wear different pants, including leggings, etc. As a result, enforcement became more difficult and some teachers gave up while others imposed tighter restrictions. In addition, new staff members were not here when uniforms were introduced so there was less buy-in to a degree. The Organizational Leadership Team thinks that this is the wrong year to have strong enforcement of the uniform policy - especially as it would not be appropriate to hand out school-issued "loaned" uniforms to students if they are out of uniform.

As a result, the Executive Director is proposing a one-year moratorium so that the organization can do a thorough study to determine if the vast majority of the staff, students, and families want uniforms to be reintroduced in 2021/22. This will be a Board topic at a meeting in the Fall. 

The Inclusion and Equity Board Committee will meet annually to determine and then monitor and support the areas of focus that AoA takes each year to change specific policies, practices, and cultural attributes that have been institutionalized that disadvantage certain racial or ethnic student groups.

Board President, David Forbes, asked three Board members, Amy Price, Regina Brown, and Ron Whittaker to serve on the committee as Board representatives.

The Board of Directors nominated the following Board members to serve in the officer positions for the 2020/21 school year (at its May 28, 2020 meeting). The Board will vote on those nominations.

Board members serve 3-year terms. Carole Robie (3 terms) and Que Chu (1st term) are serving the third year of their terms. They were nominated at the May 28 Board meeting to serve a new 3-year term. The Board will vote on those nominations.

• Reopening Schools Plan Update
• Aligning Our Program to Our Mission and Envisioned Future
• 2020/21 AoA Board Development Plan