G. Fortes shared about the importance of encouraging folks to vote and making sure everyone is registered and able to vote through a variety of public awareness campaigns both at the YWCA and at Alma. 

G. Fortes suggested a survey be conducted to identify what trustees are interested in focusing on this year. 

Priority 2, Goal A - D. Prentiss noted that it is similar to Priority 3 Goal A and Goal B, and that the trainings needed by the board may overlap and be able to both be addressed in a combined training. 

G. Fortes recommended that committees have their goals set for the year by November and that those goals include a REDI-focused goal.

C. Bator noted that the committees being made up not entirely of trustees means that we have another opportunity to include a diverse set of voices. 

T. DeLoach shared updates to Alma's accountability data from DESE:

- DESE measures Alma cumulatively, meaning they are combining our progress towards target from 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 to give us our overall rating

- DESE takes an average instead of a yearly snapshot to give schools the chance to demonstrate progress over time

- the data is weighted by year, the theory being that data will be lower the closer you are to the pandemic and should increase year on year

Headlines: 

• Highlights are our English language proficiency total, where we earned 3 out of 4 points, and our lowest performing students whose results are improving at a higher rate than our overall population. Our lowest performing students currently outperform their peers city- and state-wide, but we still have lots of work to do. 
• 2024-2025 Target Areas for Improvement
• Achievement/Growth - hoping to make incremental progress this year with more robust improvement in the future driven by our strategic plan
• English language proficiency - tracking progress of students throughout the year through ELLevation targets and progress monitoring in order update services and supports accordingly; SEI certification for staff
• Chronic absenteeism - revised tracking and intervention protocol

T. DeLoach shared analysis of the 2024 MCAS results

• Statewide Math: results are identical to 2023-2024
• Statewide ELA: results declined by 2% (Alma: -5%)
• 3-5 Math: Alma is 5th out of 18 public elementary schools in New Bedford 
• 6-8 Math: Alma is 1st out of 5 public middle schools
• 6-8 ELA: Alma is 1st out of 5 public middle schools
• Alma is performing similarly to other charter school peers across the state
• Alma outperforms New Bedford and Fall River school districts but underperforms as compared to wealthier surrounding districts

Trustees asked questions about a variety of factors that could be influencing performance, including the number of new sixth grade scholars as well as new vs experienced teachers.

T. DeLoach shared an update on Alma's Strategic Plan process with Bellwether:

Summary: The conversations and data highlight the following strengths and opportunities 

Strengths: 

Asset-based and mission-aligned adult culture and values

• Positive relationships across scholars and staff 
• Strong progress and buy-in of curriculum resources
• Smooth and effective network and back-office supports (e.g., family engagement, operations, finance, advancement) 

Opportunities:

• Development and retention of teachers and staff, including:
  • Structure for supporting new and/or struggling teachers
  • Supports for leaders/managers
  • Opportunities to engage and maximize impact of skilled teachers
• Clarity of roles across school and network leadership
• Academic coherence, ensuring vertical and horizontal alignment across resources and expectations

The Steering Committee reviewed the strengths and opportunities and discussed key themes that informed draft strategic priorities:

Agreement on the importance of talent development as a key priority

• Interest in examining internal structures to support staff and scholar success
• Recognition of the need for network-wide alignment
• Desire to balance concrete, measurable goals with broader visions of scholar and staff success
• Need for explicit programing and practices in character development (soft skills) 

Priority #1: Educator Excellence

Develop and retain top talent (educators and leaders) by strengthening professional development and supports.

Priority #2: Cohesive K-8 Instruction

Establish a unified academic and character development approach with aligned frameworks, resources, and tools.

Priority #3: Network Clarity

Optimize organizational structure by defining clear roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes across the network and campuses.
 

C. Bator raised the priority of educator excellence and how Alma is recruiting teachers.  

covered within Executive Director's Report

Fundraising progress is on track. Annual Report mailing will go out in early November. All trustees should coordinate with B. Kurie to turn in their assigned notes as soon as possible.

G. Fortes reported that we are still looking for additional trustee prospects with strong experience in academics, governance and development. 

All committees should finalize goals to present at the next board meeting