Soleil Academy
Minutes
Soleil Academy Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday May 21, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Location
12315 Thorson Ave Lynwood, CA. 90262 (Satellite Option: 3900 Agnes Ave. Lynwood, CA 90262)
OR
Join Zoom Meeting
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NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Board Meeting will be held at 12315 Thorson Ave Lynwood, CA. 90262 and on zoom on the above date and time. During the meeting, the Board will consider, discuss, and may take action upon any of the agenda items listed below.
PUBLIC COMMENT – Members of the public calling in or participating via Zoom will be given the opportunity to address the Board during the meeting. Members of the public who wish to comment during the Board meeting may use the “raise hand” function on the Zoom platform to indicate their desire to speak at the beginning of consideration of that agenda item or during the period provided for comments from the public on non-agenda items. Members of the public who wish to speak on any item are requested (but not required) to identify themselves and indicate on which agenda item they wish to speak. The Board will provide an opportunity for the public to speak on each agenda item for a maximum of three (3) minutes per person or six (6) minutes if a translation is required.
ACCESSIBILITY – If you need special assistance, disability-related modifications, translation, or other reasonable accommodations in order to participate in this meeting, please contact Gricelda Ramirez at (323) 409-0801. Notification at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting will enable Soleil Academy to make arrangements that will ensure accessibility.
Directors Present
J. Noel, K. Armstrong, S. Johnson, V. Gonzalez-Diaz, V. Reynolds
Directors Absent
L. Safa
Directors who arrived after the meeting opened
S. Johnson
Ex Officio Members Present
B. Gutierrez, J. Kinoshita
Non Voting Members Present
B. Gutierrez, J. Kinoshita
Guests Present
M. Serrano, R. Avilez
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Record Attendance
II. Closed Session
A.
Closed Session Summary
III. Consent Agenda
A.
Minutes from 4/23/25 Soleil Academy Board Meeting
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| L. Safa |
Absent
|
| S. Johnson |
Absent
|
B.
Multi-Year Facilities Use Agreement w/ Lynwood Unified School District
Approved pending minor correction of identified typo.
C.
Soleil Student Technology Policy
D.
Soleil Promotion & Retention Policy
E.
Soleil Title IX Policy
F.
Soleil Policy for Education for Homeless and Foster Youth
G.
ExEd Contracts for 25-26 SY
H.
LaTechnet Contract for 25-26 SY
I.
Harbor Building Maintenance Contract for 25-26 SY
J.
Total Education Solution Contract for 25-26 SY
K.
Row Contract for 25-26 SY
L.
Kira Nashed Psychological & Educational Consult Corporation for 25-26 SY
M.
Lingual Tree Contract for 25-26 SY
IV. Management Update
A.
Soleil Management Updates
New actions related to LCAP Goals
- Goal 1: Cafecitos, Soleil Store, Bee a STAR Program
- Goal 2: SBAC Testing
- Goal 3: Know Your Rights Workshop, Community Schools Committee
Operations
- Schoolwide attendance: 92.10% ADA for Month 10
- Attendance recovery
- Soleil will be implementing attendance recovery as an added intervention strategy against chronic absenteeism for the year 25-26.
- Attendance recovery has been primarily available to District schools, but this year starting July 1, 2025 it will be made available to charter schools.
- We have identified 40 students who over the summer will be participating in summer school. These scholars were identified as chronically absent and needing academic supports.
- Generate ADA funding for the school and supports our Chronic Absenteeism rate/ Alternative rate will be published
- Current enrollment is 373
- 2025-26 New Student Enrollment
- 147 interest forms received
- 52 seats offered and accepted
- 2025-26 New Student Registration
- 9 fully completed
- 37 pending additional documents
- 8 not started
- 25-26 Student Re-enrollment
- 296 complete
- 17 not submitted
- 8 not returning
- Re-enrollment strategies: Instagram, ParentSquare, Individual Calls
- Parent Engagement
- 5,287 hours of parent engagement for the school year!
- Star Parent Celebration for 151 families who reach their goal of 20 hours or more.
- Community Engagement Initiative (CEI Grant)
- We were selected for cohort 6
- This initiative provides training opportunities throughout 2 years and also provides schools with a total of 140k of unrestricted funds
- Upcoming Events: Know Your Rights. Resource Fair, Kinder Culmination Ceremony, 5th Grade Culmination Ceremony, EOY Field Day
- Attendance recovery
V. Governance Committee
A.
Updates
- 2024-25 Financial Audit Timeline
- As part of our required audit procedures, our auditor is required to communicate the scope and timing of this year’s engagement to Soleil management and our board.
- Important Deadlines:
- Final Field Work Due 10/31
- Financial Information Due 9/15
- State Deadline for Filing 12/15
- Form 700 (Conflict of Interest disclosure) - Extended due date: June 2.
- 50% board completion rate
- Prospective Board Member - Completed on-campus tour with Executive Director, upcoming conversation with Board Chair
- Potential vote in June
B.
Declaration of Need
C.
2025-26 Board Meeting Calendar
D.
Board Self Evaluation
The board received a survey via Board On Track. Due Date is June 16
E.
Executive Director Evaluation
Will be completed at June Board Meeting
VI. Finance Committee
A.
Updates
B.
April Financials
Enrollment is currently six students below the budgeted target, while Average Daily Attendance (ADA) is 11.33 above the budget. The increase in LCFF Revenue is attributed to a higher In-Lieu of property tax rate.
The forecast includes restricted one-time funds, with a portion remaining available for use through fiscal year 2027–28. These remaining funds consist of allocations from Educator Effectiveness and the Learning Recovery Block Grant.
We have reduced the amount of Learning Recovery Block Grant revenue applied in the current forecast to preserve these funds for future school years.
Net income is currently projected to be positive, and year-end cash is expected to remain strong.
C.
Draft 2025-26 Budget
This draft is based on the preliminary state budget, but will be updated based on the governor's revisions and be ready by the next board meeting.
We were able to bring up a positive net income for the 25-26 school year. The team prioritized items such as curriculum, student materials, and instructional software. We were especially mindful about the usage of grants. A buffer was built into the SPED budget based on this year's cost. We were also able to push off usage of the some of the Learning Recovery Grant to later years. Budgeted enrollment is being moderately increased based on trends that we are seeing.
VII. Academic Committee
A.
Updates
i-Ready Highlights
- 48% of scholars made Typical Growth (1 year of growth)
- 19% of students made 2 years’ growth (Stretch Growth)
- Grades K-3 outperformed Grades 4 & 5
- 72% of 3rd graders improved their tier placement from BOY to EOY
- 54% of students are one grade level below
Key Findings:
- Targeted Supports for grades 4 & 5
- Focus on moving students one level below to grade level.
- Push for greater stretch growth in Grades 2-5
Next year's priority plan will likely include development of content experts and responsive teaching
The board was given an update on existing litigation. Attorney Ted McNamara was present and no official actions were taken