Dr. Wunder shared a bit about Ms. Karen Latuner, the newest Da Vinci Schools Board Member.

Ms. Latuner gave the Oath of Office, and was sworn in as a member of the Board of Trustees.

None

Dr. Brann spoke of the passing of Mr. Steve Anderson, Da Vinci Science History teacher, and a moment of silence was observed.

Dr. Wunder read a letter that Mr. Anderson had written to himself ten years ago.  

Ms. Morgan spoke of the previous year's graduating class and their sadness at hearing of Mr. Anderson's passing.

Mr. Bañuelos also spoke of Mr. Anderson's impact on not just his sons, but on the many students who had the benefit of his teaching.

Dr. Wunder spoke of the Da Vinci Connect Charter revision and the altered timeline for submission and process.  The purpose of the material revision is to extend the grade levels at Da Vinci Connect and embed Da Vinci Extension in Connect.

Dr. Wunder also spoke of the Institute's work in presenting the Incubator and the Transforming Learning Collaborative (TLC) Conference held at Da Vinci on October 16 through 18.

He also spoke of Ms. Noel Ingram, Da Vinci Communications History teacher, and the Pepperdine University award she won for her history lesson, "The Untold Stories of the West."  Additionally, Dr. Wunder described the Career Technical Education (CTE) grant opportunity for a robotics arena and build-site in the back yard of the 201 N. Douglas campus.  As a charter school, Da Vinci Schools cannot apply for the grant, so the proposal is being advanced to the Wiseburn Unified School District for their consideration of the grant application.  Mr. Brent Freeby, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Architecture professor and professional partner in the design of the Da Vinci Science Tiny House projects, is creating plans for submission with the grant.

Ms. Gloria White, Da Vinci's Data and Accountability Coordinator, presented the California Schools Dashboard Local Indicators for Da Vinci Schools. As Da Vinci Schools consists of 4 separate LEAs, this report covers all four.  Da Vinci Schools is scoring consistently well.

State Indicators:  test scores, suspension rates, etc.
Local Indicators:  data not collected at the state level; LEAs measure and report on locally collected data

The state-approved standards require the LEA to 1) annually measure progress, 2) report the results at a regular governing board meeting, and 3) report results to the public through the Dashboard.  

Local Indicators:
Basic Services (LCFF Priority 1)

•     Recruit, develop & retain highly qualified teachers and administrators (100% highly qualified at Connect and DVS,     91% at DVC with 2 teacher misassignments, and 88% at DVD with 3 teacher misassignments)
•     Access to curriculum-aligned instructional materials (100% compliant at all schools)
•     Safe, clean, and functional school facilities (all rated as excellent, except for Connect, which had 6 fair and 1 poor rating)

Implementation of State Academic Standards (LCFF Priority 2)

•     Alignment of State standards & curriculum framework (ELA, ELD, Math, History, Science)
•     Implementation of State standards and curriculum
•     Engaging with teachers and administrators

Parent Engagement (LCFF Priority 3)
    The State does not require public reporting of parent survey results, as last year, the State determined that the lack of alignment in surveys across all LEAs prevented clarity.  This year, the State has created a rubric to cover the following:

•     Building relationships
•     Building partnerships for student outcomes
•     Seeking input for decision making

School Climate (LCFF Priority 6)
    Annual Student Survey Indicators (Science has lower numbers due in part to low survey completion)

•     Creating a compassionate and caring learning community (near or above 90% at all sites except for 73% at     Science)
•     Relationship with teachers overall (97% at Connect, 85-90% at all Da Vinci high school sites)
•     Creating an environment of high integrity, respect, and trust (91% at Connect, 80-85% at DVC/DVD, 71% at DVS)
•     Feeling safe on campus (98%+ at all sites)

Access to a Broad Course of Study (LCFF Priority 7)

•     Grades 1-8: all Connect students from all significant subgroups are enrolled in a comprehensive program of study
•     Grades 7-12:  All high school students from all subgroups are enrolled in an A-G graduation track except for students with exceptional needs.  A-G course completion rates are near or above 95%.  Da Vinci students with exceptional needs are supported in many ways, and are arguably enrolled in a broad course of study.

The data for the Annual Scorecard will be presented at the Joint Board meeting in December, 2019.

Dr. Wunder asked Ms. White to share her workload for data reporting.  Due to the number of LEAs she has to cover (seven, including Wiseburn), Ms. White's workload is excessive for the return.  She gathered data from four different locations in order to generate the report she gave on this evening.  The State has changed reporting formats and coding, and the transition to make the required changes has been difficult.

Dr. Wunder spoke of the Del Aire campus construction work, which is on schedule, and the plan to move in during Winter Break (the first or second week of January).
Dr. Brann and Dr. Wunder praised Facilities Director Mr. John Fernandez' work and cost savings he has been able to accomplish.

Dr. Wunder, Ms. Rainey, Ms. White, and Dr. Hawn gave a presentation on the Da Vinci Connect Charter revision. 

Ms. Rainey spoke of the ultimately unsatisfactory nature of dual enrollment courses in high school, which are often filled with the upper tier of students, are piecemeal, and do not provide much advantage in college.  Families have told her they want more.

Ms. White explained that DVX and its current position as a program within Da Vinci high schools makes compliance reporting inefficient, and budget allocations more complicated.

Dr. Hawn addressed the High School + College + Career model, where students would be able to blend high school and college competencies with career competencies.  Each competency becomes an assignment used for both high school and college credit in a unique model.  This model would enable students to earn a high school diploma and a college degree at the same time, while building both life skills and career readiness skills.

Ms. Rainey spoke of leveraging people (teachers work with small cohorts of students, mentoring them, exploring field experiences and meetups, and deploying a social-emotional and workforce skills curriculum) and technology (self-paced, competency-based curriculum, early college, virtual tutoring and collaboration, and flexibility in schedules and courses) to improve the student experience.  

Ms. Rainey's pilot program contains 9th and 10th graders, although there is interest from all high school grades.

Ms. Rainey also presented a sample weekly schedule for Da Vinci Connect High School, to show that the students are participating in active field learning, seminars, and teacher-led courses as well as online instruction.

Dr. Wunder spoke of the benefits to the Wiseburn community:  reduction in college cost and completion time; no impact to Wiseburn facilities; admissions priority for Wiseburn residents; significant improvement over current early college programs; and revenue sharing.

Dr. Wunder shared the conversations with Beach Cities Montessori School on opportunities for a facilities arrangement that would allow Connect to increase the number of students on campus on various days.

Ms. Morgan asked how the new model will change the DVX applicant process.  Ms. Rainey responded that as long as Da Vinci students have been continually enrolled, and have not graduated out, they may continue on at DVX.  Many Connect students are expected to continue on to DVX.  Students from one of the Da Vinci high schools would be transferred to Connect to attend DVX.  Any student who wanted to ultimately attend DVX would have to enroll in one of the Da Vinci Schools in 9th through 12th grades. 

Dr. Wunder spoke of the waitlist of students who could be enrolled into Da Vinci Connect, and then continue on to DVX.  Ms. White explained that adding the Connect high school would allow more students to access the DVX experience, as previously, the capacity of DVC, DVD, and DVS limited the number of students who could move on to DVX.

Mr. Bañuelos asked about the in-class and at-home ratio (40% in class, 60% at home).
Dr. Wunder added that if the Montessori School facility is used, there would be space to have students at school more often.
Ms. Rainey spoke of the social-emotional learning necessary for all students to be successful in their careers.  But adolescents need to know that learning doesn't happen because an adult is telling them what to learn and how to learn it; adults in the work world have to rely on themselves to know where to go for learning and problem solving.  Ms. Rainey wants students to intentionally be exposed to different places, people, and resources so the transition to the work world is not so difficult for them.

Mr. Mayotte gave the financial update, speaking of the check register presented for the evening, and the delay in invoice submissions from vendors or internal staff that makes it very difficult to forecast.  Mr. Mayotte and his team are working on a solution.

He also spoke of the Banc of California $1.5MM line of credit for short term cash flow during capital project work. Loan covenants may require sites to tighten budgets in order to show a minimum profit.

Solar Roof and projects:  there are two options:  1) Tax Exempt Lease Purchase ($3.5MM loan with WUSD as a guarantor, 20-year loan at 4%, $2.65MM Net Present Value over 38 years with ownership at end of term) and 2) Purchase Power Agreement (no upfront cost, 28-year term, estimated Net Present Value is $1.97MM, not including purchase price at the end of the term).  Mr. Mayotte is applying for the no-interest loan again (no schools were given the loan last year).

Unaudited actuals that were previously approved had an error:  the beginning reserve balance was incorrect, although the ending balance did not change. Mr. Mayotte is working with CSMC to stop them from adjusting the unaudited actuals after closing.

Beginning last year, Da Vinci has only 90 days to collect a school meal debt.  Due to the lunch shaming laws, not much in lunch debt can be collected.  Debt started at $30-40K last year, and Ms. Sara Deulofeu reduced that to $10K; however, with a reduced time frame to collect, this will be a much larger impact on the budget.

Mr. Mayotte also discussed an accounting issue with CSMC, which incorrectly double-booked STRS.  Mr. Mayotte is auditing the situation to discover the extent of the error.

Main Organizational issues:  DV has a high use of consultants (including special education), and higher certificated staff than the state average, and higher percentage of LCFF spend on Administrators and Classified staff than the state average (about 6% higher). 

Next Steps:
While many people would say to cut staff and curb spending, Mr. Mayotte believes it's too early to say if that is necessary.  Instead, he is working on increasing efficiency and improving systems (using Amazon Business, Concur and Concur Travel, BlackBaud). Switching to Concur helped save manpower hours, as did putting all shared costs into one bucket instead of assigning allocations as they occur.

The focus should be on important deliverables, not perfection. "We should only be great in the classroom. If we are great anywhere else, then we are spending too much money,"

Mr. Bañuelos asked for clarification on the first line item, which listed Dr. Chris Jones, a former employee of Da Vinci and Wiseburn Unified School District.  Mr. Mayotte explained that Wiseburn does not bill shared staffing services to Da Vinci until the end of the year; WUSD gave Da Vinci the invoice in August, and it was paid in September.

Mr. Bañuelos also asked for clarification on the Northrop Cal Poly $124K and $13K payments.  Cal Poly students who are Da Vinci alumni can work at Da Vinci as interns during their winter break, and the $13K funds are sent to the Cal Poly Registrar to be applied toward their tuition.  The $123K is used for scholarships and for the Cal Poly faculty who work with Da Vinci staff - the funds are taken from Northrop Grumman's generous $200K donation. 

Last, Mr. Bañuelos inquired about the Southern California Edison late fee.  Mr. Mayotte is correcting the issue.

Ms. Morgan asked about the Centinela Valley Union High School District charges, which Dr. Ring responded are for Special Education transportation services.

Mr. Bañuelos asked whether or not the curriculum would be the same across all the high schools.  Dr. Ring responded that each school is using similar curriculum, and each school is reviewing all of the curriculum offerings with Ms. Green.  Ms. D'Souza added that currently, the schools are meeting their obligations.  Dr. Ring spoke of the three main curricula being used in the state, and the principals' desire to streamline the curriculum across all the schools so that the transition from the lower grades to the high schools is more integrated.

Mr. Bañuelos would like to have the discipline policy cross-referenced with the cell phone possession policy.

Mr. Banuelos asked about the 90-day advance request.
Dr. Wunder will revisit and re-present.

Item pulled.
 

Closed session entered at 7:39.

Open session reconvened at 8:40 p.m.
Dr. Brann reported that no action was taken.