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Excel Academy Rhode Island

Minutes

Board of Trustees - Academic Oversight Committee Meeting

Date and Time

Wednesday February 4, 2026 at 5:30 PM

Location

Excel Academy Rhode Island

622 Woonasquatucket Ave
North Providence, RI, 02911

Meeting Notice Posted Publicly: 1/30/26

 

Please note: All items listed on the agenda are subject to a possible vote by the Board of Trustees or its subcommittees.

Committee Members Present

A. Kaynor, A. Medeiros, F. Rojas, K. Cushing, M. Perry, O. Stearns, P. Santiago, S. Patton

Committee Members Absent

E. Matson, F. Reyes, I. Blake, K. Medina, K. Ring

Guests Present

Abeer Khatana, B. Smiley, C. Chhay, C. Heng, J. Greenthal, Nina Keough, Y. Dubon

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

F. Rojas called a meeting of the Academic Oversight Committee of Excel Academy Rhode Island to order on Wednesday Feb 4, 2026 at 5:38 PM.

C.

Public Comment

No members of the public provided comments at this meeting.

D.

Approve prior Academic Oversight Committee meeting minutes

A. Kaynor made a motion to approve the minutes from Board of Trustees - Academic Oversight Committee Meeting on 11-18-25.
M. Perry seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

II. Academic Oversight

A.

Update on State of the Schools, Academic Data, and Priorities

Members of the school and network academic teams provided updates on the middle school program. S. Patton presented Academic Update slides which were provided to the Committee, in addition to the quarterly board academic data dashboard.

 

K. Cushing provided additional context about attendance efforts and trends at the school.

 

S. Patton provided additional information about reasons for suspensions, many of which were due to vaping. K. Cushing added that we now have better structures in place to manage vaping challenges.

 

O. Stearns asked whether the increase in students in the building this year has resulted in increased behavior management challenges. S. Patton, M. Perry, and K. Cushing provided additional context and noted that this has not been a significant factor. Rather, we are observing normal challenges that happen as kids get older.

 

S. Patton added that we have been able to learn from best practices at Excel Academy Charter High School in MA – a school that is experienced in managing these types of challenges that are more common in older grade levels.

 

F. Rojas provided additional context about her visit to see Excel Academy Charter High School in MA.

 

J. Greenthal requested additional information about the culture of collaboration with and support from the curricular leadership team and staff at the CMO and in MA, which S. Patton provided.

 

M. Perry provided additional information about efforts she is taking to coach and support teachers at the school.

 

C. Heng requested clarification about the percentages of students partially meeting expectations, which S. Patton provided.

 

B. Smiley requested more information about Math exam score trending throughout the year, which M. Perry and S. Patton provided. The Math exams test cumulative knowledge and so cover a wider scope with each progressive exam. ELA exams spiral the same set of skills on different content for each exam. This variation results in different trending patterns.

 

C. Heng expressed interest in leaning more about the school's work related to Artificial Intelligence and offered to meet with F. Reyes to discuss this topic in more detail separately.

 

N. Keough provided additional context about the philosophy and culture of sharing practices between Excel's MA and RI schools and how we're applying learning to the development of the high school program.

K. Cushing made a motion to adjourn.
F. Rojas seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

III. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 6:02 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
F. Rojas

List of documents used in the meeting:

  • Agenda
  • Prior meeting minutes
  • Quarterly Board academic data dashboard
  • Academic Update slides

The public is welcome to attend any meeting of the Board of Trustees or its subcommittees. If communication assistance (readers/ interpreters/captions) or any other accommodations are needed to ensure equal participation, please contact Arthur Kaynor at akaynor@excelacademy.org at least two (2) business days prior to the meeting. Any changes in the agenda will be posted on Excel Academy Charter School’s website, Excel’s principal place of business, and will be electronically filed with the Secretary of State at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the meeting. If you would like to attend a Board meeting and provide public comment, please sign up 48 hours in advance here: https://forms.gle/7315BJ7v1bHGGh2Q9.

 

Excel Academy does not discriminate on the basis of race or color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, country of ancestral origin, or veteran status in administration of its admissions or educational policies, curricular programs, other school-administered programs, or in its hiring and employment practices in accordance with applicable federal, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island laws and regulations.