Per our sole statutory member structure which will be ending in June, the MWF Board appointed Margaret Watson to fulfill the remainder of Eric Abram's 3-year term through December 2020. 

Board adjourned to closed session, no action was taken. 

Speaker 1: Legal advocate that partners with community-based organizations and communities thanked the board and MWA for the response to the letter that was sent to the board. 
Speaker 2: Radio Free Richmond applauded MWA for making meetings open and transparent; requested presentation documents from the prior meeting and suggested adding changes to name placards. 
Speaker 3: Member of the community acknowledged a lot of changes and thanked board for translation and the public advocates office for their work in supporting parent voice. 
Speaker 4: Parent asked for implementation of more engaging and competitive technology. 
Speaker 5: Staff member commented on the board book discussion from the March meeting, saying that teaching grit to students is counter-intuitive to what our community is doing and she would like to share resources related to this topic. 
 

A. Klein discussed: 

• Welcomed M. Watson to the board, she has a long-standing commitment to MWA and is excited to join the board. 
• Discussed a new candidate for the board. The candidate is a first-generation college student who currently works with underrepresented communities in particular with DREAMERS. Two board additional board members interviewed her adhering to our recruitment process:
  • D. Morgan shared the enthusiasm for new candidate because of her lived and learned experience. 
  • E. Hugo also shared the enthusiasm and believes that she could contribute positively.

E. Martinez announced changes to board meeting structures to remain in compliance and better support public involvement in board meetings. 

J. Siapno shared highlights from our 17th Wave College Tour and C. Dougan shared objectives of trip and an overview of the campus visits. 

• Objective of the trip was to diversify college application pools and to differentiate the approach for the  most high-achieving students. 
• Students visited seven Southern California colleges that exemplify the variety of the colleges that were attended. 
• Board engaged in Q & A with the students. The students shared how this trip has influence them in their college considerations and what they learned.

Activity: College and Case Study Activity 
Objective: To understand the college admissions process and the different items considered by colleges. 

Board members engaged in an activity where they played the role of a college admissions group considering three mock applicants and weighed them against the profile of a mock college. In their role, the board members had to determine who would be admitted, waitlisted, or rejected. 

This activity is an integral part of the annual Case Study and College Fair (not held in 2019 due to construction). 

Key Takeaways:

• This is a difficult decision for admission officers to make. 
• This is a valuable activity for our students so that they can understand the process.

Board asked questions of the CEO regarding MWA's support of students as they engage in the college application process.

Middle School

• Board engaged the MS Division Director with questions. 
  • Board inquired about the changes to SPED testing scores and asked for further clarification on the charts showed in the report. 
  • Board acknowledged that there has been great progress on ELD re-classification rates.

Upper School

• Board engaged the US Division Director with questions. 
  • Board praised the transparency of the data presented in the report. 
  • Board asked how faculty have responded to input provided by the Student Consultant Group. US Division Director offered that:
    • Students were recommended by faculty. 
    • There are 10-15 students consistently attending. 
    • The faculty are aware that the recommendations are coming. 
  • Board asked about an end-of-the-year reflection/survey from the Student Consultant Group. 
  • D. Morgan asked if there is an opportunity to replicate the Student Consulting Group in the MS. 
  • D. Morgan asked for the school to reach out if they need support taking care of the deans and social worker because the work they do is so heavy.

Board asked questions regarding the CEO's report.
Board acknowledged Top Bay Area school ranking, recommends that it is added into the WASC self-study. 

M. Navarro reported out on the SSC March Meeting primarily focusing on the LCAP development process. 
E. Ward-Jackson reported out on elections of new officers. 
V. Caigoy reported out on discussion regarding the governor's proposals. 

J. Wind reported out on behalf of the Diversity and Inclusion (D & I) meeting. ​​​​​​Items covered during April 11th meeting included:

• Discussion about current state of the community in relation to the D & I statement that was shared at the March meeting. 
• Discussion about End of the Year Awards and next steps at MWA. The committee asked the school leaders to consider: How can we bring the question of all awards not just EOY awards? Can we pose the question directly to students? 
• They provided feedback on Director of Diversity & Inclusion specifically, the person in the position should be able to positively influence discourse and culture around this topic. 
• In their follow up meetings, the committee will discuss:
  • How do we incorporate leadership positions for students about this discussion?
  • How can we start to lay the ground work for the upcoming work that has to be done in the  next school year?
  • They will seek bids from outside service providers to kick off D & I initiatives. 

Dr. R. Fisher presented to the board about work to date and collected input about progress to inform next steps. 

• Students were acknowledged by the board based on their awards in four areas by African American Regional Educational Alliances and the Contra Costa County Office of Education. 
• Initiative addresses academic, socio-emotional, and culture/climate challenges for Black and African-American students. 
• Board considered RT Fisher recommendations in the context of priorities related to budgets. 
• Board considered that there is a Diversity and Inclusion Director that can support some of these recommendations. 

The board praised the presentation and information; it was easy to follow and clear and demonstrated the impact of the work. 

This item was postponed to the June board meeting. 

A. Nelson announced that WCCUSD notified MWA that they will no longer provide SPED services effective July 1, 2019. We are applying for El Dorado SELPA to remain compliant. 

Speaker 1: Has attended several IEP meetings and is sharing that it is very overwhelming. 
Speaker 2: Not present. 

A. Nelson provided clarification on difference between El Dorado SELPA  and WCCUSD. 

A. Klein addressed the feedback they received about the staff survey presentation at the last board meeting. She acknowledged openly that the board did read the full survey data packet and looks forward to future recommendations. She also asked board member M. Watson to build a Culture and Climate Committee of the board.  

E. Hugo appreciated A. Klein's leadership and the MWA leadership for their effort in making space for meaningful discussion. 
D. Morgan appreciated the clarity of the materials provided. 
E. Ward-Jackson thanks the board for their acknowledgement of Black and African-American students. 

• June 13, 2019 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.