Mr. Santiago noted a change to the order of items in the agenda, saying that Closed Session would be moved up to occur just after the consent agenda.

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Mr. Boston noted that Da Vinci's Vitruvian Bots robotics team were at the Houston championship tournament and wished them well.

Brief clarifying discussion ensued regarding Chartwells' contract being tied to Wiseburn Unified School District, due to the use of the Wiseburn Middle School kitchen.

Brief discussion regarding allowing Dr. Wunder's team to complete any portion of a facility agreement remaining to be finalized; Dr. Wunder noted that Wiseburn has a facility that Da Vinci could operate rent-free.

Mr. Amato clarified that Da Vinci has been contributing to funding the program over the past two school years, at a rate of $175K per year, and he has been working on budgeting and final costs for the next school year with the goal of keeping the cost at that same level or lower.

Dr. Wunder noted that this is an important issue to the District and to Da Vinci regarding serving students.

The item was tabled for a later vote.

Entered at 7:50 a.m., just after the consent agenda items were approved.

Public session reconvened at 8:48 a.m.

Mr. Santiago stated that no action was taken in Closed Session.

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Ms. Rainey introduced the presentation.

Ms. Kaitlin Toon (current Principal of Connect TK-8 and future leader of the Levitt Lab) and Ms. Robin Brown (current Assistant Principal and future Principal of Connect TK-8) noted the features of the school program, including student demographics (large span of ages, from 4 to 14, higher SpEd population, growing free-and-reduced-lunch population, 11% Wiseburn residents; high levels of parent education).  A Parent Educator Support specialist is on staff to assist the parent educators, and about 30% of parents have availed themselves of her support.

3-8th graders take the MAP test every year. Current 8th graders' math scores over the last four years show growth over time. The current 5th grade math scores over time are indicative of some misalignment in instruction which the staff is addressing. Math interventions are being narrowed to really strong choices, and curriculum is accessible for parents regardless of education level. Having paraeducators assigned to the classroom all day has strengthened learning in the cohorts. Math instructor professional development has been increased through work with consultant Caline Smith. 

Current 8th graders' reading/ELA MAP score growth over the last four years are strong. The current 5th grade ELA scores are a bit more variable. Ms. Rainey commented that Connect sees some new students in 4th and 5th grades who perhaps don't have that historical background.

ELA interventions also flexible. There is targeted curriculum instruction and support for strong phonics and comprehension, and parent educator support specialist who has been trained in the Barton literacy-oriented approach to reading.

The State now requires use of an early-reader screening tool, which staff have implemented this year.

Connect TK-8 is seeing a slight upward trend in CAASPP scores over time, and students perform above State average. Connect's ELL level is low, at 14 students across the school.

The team will focus on finetuning math instruction on campus and in support of parent educators, with a specific focus on collecting data on subgroups and creating actionable changes. Staff will also continue using data to refine MTSS, with target outreach to parents.

Mr. Boston congratulated Ms. Toon and Ms. Brown regarding their future roles next year.

He asked the team why they think their scores buck national trends. Individualized one-on-one support has proven to be critical for strong growth, and Connect's small group program reinforces that. The school's socio-emotional learning supports students in being vulnerable and asking for help, and having dedicated teams of teacher and paraeducator in each classroom allows for individualized student support.

Mr. Amato shared a P2 attendance update, saying that there were small variances but that the funding will closely follow what he had predicted. The State implemented an ADA recovery program which allowed the classroom-based Da Vinci Schools to recover days to help stabilize the P2 funding. Ms. Rainey noted short-term independent study has allowed for a significant instructional day recovery.

Ms. Schaefer shared that parents receive emails when their student is out, but it's not clear what the parent are supposed to do. The student is supposed to complete the action. She suggested that the message to parents should be "please encourage your student to complete the attendance task." Ms. Rainey noted that there is a limited number of characters allowed in the attendance messages.

Mr. Amato continued with the Balance Sheet, saying that the cash balance is very positive. Receivables are fewer than this time last year, another positive. Deferred revenue is always the largest portion on the balance sheet. 

Ms. Schaefer requested putting last year's figures as a comparative column in the balance sheet, which Mr. Amato said he would do.

One piece of new information on restricted lottery funds is that the State is taking back a portion of the funds ($47K) promised at year end last year. Mr. Amato awaits further clarification from the State. Brief discussion on the State retroactively changing their funding formula ensued.

Building maintenance costs have trended higher over the past three years. A lot of work is constantly being done on the HVAC, plumbing, and other internal systems. Mr. Amato will adjust his projections to account for the higher cost.

Mr. Amato noted ERC program funds are partially due to RISE employees, two of the three timeframes have passed, so funds have been transferred to RISE as planned $459,785. These funds were designated to be held for RISE, and do not have an impact on Da Vinci's reserves. 

Ms. Schaefer inquired if the ERC funds are in addition to the $900K in RISE reserves, which Mr. Amato confirmed it is. He went on to say that RISE will use a portion of the ERC funds in their budget this year. RISE is in a good position with a stable budget. The reserves, ERC funds, and grant funds, etc. transfer to Da Vinci if the Connect charter material revision is approved. If RISE is authorized by Acton Agua Dulce, the funds will remain with RISE.

Da Vinci is doing better than the budget with the cafe, no contingencies have been triggered.

In the interest of time, Mr. Bravo agreed to send his update in a memo to the Board.