Mr. Chet Pipkin, former Board Chair, thanked the Board, saying that it was a pleasure to have served with four of the members present, and thanking the new members for their work.  Mr. Pipkin expressed his appreciation for the Wiseburn Board and leadership as well.  He spoke of the need for communication to the community, although he feels the great work being done in the Da Vinci Schools speaks for itself.  He spoke of the Connect expansion being considered, and his opinion that it will help to serve more children.  He added that the efforts needed to give more students the benefit of a great public education are overwhelmingly worth it, and offered his assistance in executing the projects still in the pipeline, via gifts, loans, or loans and a payback model.  He would also like to be helpful in any future bond effort. 

Mr. Pipkin closed by saying that he misses being on the Board of Trustees, and hopes to work together on various projects in the future.

Dr. Brann thanked Mr. Pipkin for his leadership at Da Vinci, saying that he feels blessed to stand on Mr. Pipkin's shoulders.  

Mr. Mora expressed his pleasure at seeing Mr. Pipkin, and welcomed his assistance in completing campus projects.

Mr. Bañuelos thanked Mr. Pipkin for his leadership and his willingness to assist with various projects.  Mr. Bañuelos requested a deeper look at CAASPP testing at the next meeting.  He also mentioned Exhibitions underway, and spoke of the success of the first Da Vinci Homecoming dance.

Mr. Mora added that he spoke to a student who was very excited about the Homecoming Dance.

Mr. Brown expressed his pleasure at meeting Mr. Pipkin, whose reputation precedes him.  He also spoke of the El Camino College State of the College address, saying that he was happy to see Da Vinci Schools represented by Drs. Wunder and Brann at the event.  Additional El Camino event invitations will be forthcoming.  He added that Dr. Dena Maloney, President of El Camino College, is very happy with the partnership with Da Vinci Schools.  Mr. Brown also mentioned his son's happiness at the Homecoming dance.  

Ms. Latuner said that in the spirit of Thanksgiving, she is thankful for the work being done and the opportunity to meet Mr. Pipkin.

Ms. Morgan spoke of her gratitude for Mr. Pipkin's leadership and for his reminder that the Board's work is important for not only the students but the greater community.  She also requested a report on security measures at the schools.

Dr. Brann apologized for being so ill at the last board meeting, saying that he was diagnosed with pneumonia shortly thereafter.  He has completely recovered.  He is resigning from the El Segundo City Council effective after the December 2019 City Council meeting, and will focus his attention on Da Vinci Schools.

Dr. Wunder spoke of the Science Fair at Da Vinci Connect the previous week, and invited the board members to visit the school.  He also spoke of attending the meeting of the Wiseburn Education Foundation, and the need to work with WEF to coordinate the messages on fundraising.  He also spoke of the high student satisfaction at Connect and DVX, the high parent satisfaction at the Da Vinci high schools and sharing that information at WEF and PTA meetings. Ms. Levenson is conducting outreach to the Wiseburn schools to coordinate visits to Da Vinci Schools.

Based on the Board retreat, staff will be reviewing the mission, vision and guiding precepts of the schools.  Dr. Wunder mentioned Mr. Pipkin opinion that the mission should be reviewed every ten years.  The staff's review will result in a report and goals to be presented to the Board in the Spring.

Dr. Wunder, Dr. Hawn, and Ms. Rainey gave an update on the Connect charter petition.

Dr. Brann said the timeline is not as compressed as first believed, although Dr. Wunder added that it is to Da Vinci's benefit to get the work done before the Spring.

The CALPADs reporting window closes on December 20, but in order to report the current pilot high school students under Connect, the grade levels need to be updated prior to those deadlines.  The pilot students and the DVX students would be reported together as one site in CALPADs, removing complexity in compliance reporting.

Dr. Hawn added that much depends on the timeline, because of the timing required in serving the students and families.  
There is a deadline of December, but January is the last window of opportunity to revise the charter.

Discussion turned briefly to facilities opportunities.  

Ms. Rainey spoke of the continued work with Southern New Hampshire University to create A-G course descriptions.  All of the 12 pilot students met their first competency tests in the college coursework.  She spoke of the rigor of the college work, and the development of unique schedules for current students and more structured options for larger cohorts. She also touched on socio-emotional supports and the importance of financial literacy for students.  

Dr. Hawn spoke of the benefits for students and families, such as flexible student schedules, a safe and caring environment, and an educational program that addresses the problems of college costs and college completion.

Mr. Bañuelos asked about the number of sites.  Dr. Wunder explained that the charter revision included four locations to provide flexibility in locating a site without an additional (second) material revision.

The innovative model can attract potential funders, and also result in increased enrollment dollars.
Next steps include working with Wiseburn leadership, and presenting to the Da Vinci Board for approval in December.

Dr. Brann wants to understand Wiseburn Unified School District's challenges and how the Connect revision can help address those challenges, so that all boats rise.

Mr. Mora asked for clarification on the change in the Connect model.  Ms. Rainey said that the K-8 hybrid homeschool model at Connect has been successful because it is closely aligned with the at school program and great teachers supporting families.  

Mr. Bañuelos asked if all the Connect students would be taking El Camino College and Southern New Hampshire University courses, or if there would be students who would go through just the homeschool program.  Dr. Hawn pointed out that it is an integrated program of high school and college work.  Ms. Rainey responded that that would be a larger conversation with more than just herself.  There is a large range of reasons why students choose the independent study model.  

Mr. Brown asked what other schools in the area are doing this independent study model.  Dr. Wunder responded that no other school is doing what Da Vinci is doing, and added there is a moratorium on independent study schools as of January 1, 2020.

Mr. Pipkin commented that it was inspiring to watch the work, which reminded him of the early days of developing the breakthrough Da Vinci Schools program which is mainstream today.  

Mr. Steve Wallis introduced Ms. Grace Long, soon to join the Da Vinci Science team as Assistant Principal.  She expressed her excitement and appreciation of the work at Da Vinci Schools.  Dr. Brann welcomed Ms. Long.

Ms. Gloria White, Data & Accountability Coordinator, gave a presentation on Assessments.

She spoke of the differences between Summative vs. Formative Assessments, comparing them to an iceberg, where Summative Assessments are the tip of the iceberg above the water, and Formative/Interim Assessments are the larger body of the iceberg below the surface.

Summative Assessments are assessments of learning, evaluate proficiency at the end of a course or year(s), and are comprehensive but not actionable.  Examples are the ELPAC, SAT/ACT, CAASPP, and CAST (coming in January 2020).

Formative (Interim) Assessments are evaluations during a course or a year, and are actionable but not comprehensive, such as quizzes, exams, EOCs, projects, Exhibition, Presentations Of Learning (POLs), Mastery Grades, NWEA MAP, PSAT

In grades K-2, there are no summative assessments; in grades 3-8, students take the CAASPP; in grades 9-10, there are no summative assessments; 11th grade students take the CAASPP/SAT/ACT; and in 12th grade, students take the SAT/ACT.

Da Vinci Schools Summative Assessments show that 70% of Da Vinci English Learners have scored Moderately or Well Developed on the ELPAC.  88% were Proficient (about 10% EL across DV) in 2018, and 57% were Proficient in 2019, a drop that reflects the 20% of English Learners who were redesignated, moved out of the EL program, and therefore didn't take the Assessment.

Ms. White provided more data, as well as some context, saying that the first-level look at scores broken down by grade show school-level highs and lows, and are not a great metric for high schools, since only one grade is tested and there is no school-wide context on how anyone but current seniors did.  However, in K-8 schools where multiple grades are tested, the first-level data helps identify groups that might need attention in the current year.

The next-level look dives into how the results for each grade (grades 3-8) changed from the previous year, and can help reflect on grade-level instructional practices in the previous year.  However, high school instructional practices are more difficult to evaluate based on the fact that only 11th grade evaluations exist.

Enrollment makes a difference, as six different grade levels at Connect take the CAASPP, and only one grade level takes the test in high school.  The majority of the All Da Vinci data represent the elementary-age students, and Da Vinci Communications makes up only 12% of the All Da Vinci scores.

Continuous improvement in summative assessment lies in the Formative and Interim work that the schools do every day.

Dr. Brann requested another deeper dive into assessments and evaluations in the future.

Mr. Bravo gave a brief update on the Del Aire campus construction, and spoke of the interim security firm that has been hired.  A consultant is conducting a security review and needs assessment.  The lead safety officer will be in place beginning February 2020, and the security team will follow.  Discussion on costs ensued.  Mr. Bravo will give a presentation in a future meeting.

Several professional teams having rented the gym, and there has been interest from film crews in rental of other areas of the campus.

Mr. Bravo also briefly discussed the El Segundo Police Department's responsiveness in working with Da Vinci Schools, and of earthquake, fire, and shelter-in-place drills conducted at the schools.

The chillers were discussed.  Mr. Bravo explained that one of the two towers needs refurbishment at considerable cost.

Mr. Mayotte spoke of the National School Lunch Program, as well as Attendance, FARL eligibility.
He described the new restrictions on collecting lunch debt: Da Vinci now has a small window in which to collect on lunch debt, cannot serve a lesser-cost lunch to those with lunch debt, and ultimately, could face a $1.5MM impact if everyone eats and doesn't pay.

ADA is trending at 96.6%.

Free and Reduced Lunch (FARL) Eligibility determined by the Unduplicated Pupil Percentage (UPP) is reflecting a 3% improvement since 2017-18, which is more than $100K in additional funds per year.

1st Interim Financials are due December 15, 2019.  2018-19 Audited Financials will be returned by the auditor in December.

Mr. Mayotte is currently working on the status of Outside Services and Athletics.
Mr. Mayotte conservatively estimates net income will be about $1MM, after explaining net income forecasting issues such as NPS students and late (one year late) or possible denial of reimbursements for mental health.

Regarding utility costs, the gym represents about 43% of the schools' total electricity costs.  Further discussion on utilities costs, including summer demand pricing, and solar energy ensued. The 201 N. Douglas campus, and the gym, were utilized almost daily during the summer due to summer school, camps, facilities rentals, etc.  Mr. Mayotte has been checking on the governmental grants for solar energy. 

Mr. Mayotte spoke of the costs of instructional aides and academic coaches.  Dr. Wunder added that Dr. Hawn is conducting a staffing study, to be presented in the spring.  Mr. Mayotte also spoke of Da Vinci's higher costs of non-administrative office, technology staff, and higher than other districts' costs for certficated staff. This will become an issue in the next year, depending on how fast the salary tables are increased.

In summary, 2018-19 and 2019-20 are stable, and while there are potential long-term issues in staffing and utility costs in 2010-21, there is time to address them.

 

Mr. Bañuelos thanked Dr. Emily Green and Dr. Ring for their work on the policies.  He spoke of the epinephrine portion of the policy and the asked about the training of staff.  Ms. Green responded that she annually trains staff who volunteer for the training.  Some staff (office managers, administrators, etc.) are under mandatory obligation to receive the training.  

Dr. Ring commented that Da Vinci schools has been cooperating with law enforcement and DCFS, but this policy formalizes the procedures for interviews on campus.  

Discussion on process for appealing an expulsion resulted in Mr. Bañuelos requesting a revision making the Board the final decision maker on an expulsion appeal.

Ms. Morgan inquired about the funds and from which budget they would be taken.  Mr. Mayotte responded that the funds are accounted for in the Da Vinci Communications' budget, and a portion will be covered by CTEIG grant monies.  

Entered at 8:45 p.m.

Reconvene at 9:35 p.m.

Nothing to report