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Mr. Mora commented on the Joint Board meeting on Saturday, December 14, which he felt was a good meeting.

Mr. Bañuelos wished all students the best of luck on their POLs.  He wished everyone a happy holiday on this last meeting of the year.

Dr. Brann echoed Mr. Bañuelos' comments.

Dr. Wunder read a memo regarding the Audit performed by Christy White Associates.

Work to remedy the audit finding has begun.  Staff will meet on January 9, 2020 with the auditor Marcy Kearney regarding the remedy.

Dr. Brann spoke of the audit finding, saying independent study programs have been abused in California, and monitoring systems should be in place to prevent something like this.  

Dr. Wunder said that an individual has been identified to focus on compliance.  Ms. Rainey spoke of the complexity of compliance.

Mr. Bañuelos inquired about next steps.  A follow-up report written by the auditor will be submitted to LACOE.  Ms. Rainey explained that the auditor is familiar with the "high touch" aspect of Connect's program, and is therefore willing to create an exception to allow Connect to annotate the work study samples which could reduce the ADA penalty to approximately $25-50K.  Institutional memory will be used to have multiple pairs of eyes on compliance, and Connect will help DVX with this as well.

Dr. Brann spoke of the previous night's El Segundo City Council meeting where he stepped down from his seat on the council.  He mentioned the Greenway coalition, largely made up of Del Aire residents, including John Koppelman and Jessica Daugherty, who asked the City Council to apply for a grant to install a greenway on Aviation Blvd. from Imperial Highway to El Segundo Blvd.  

Principal Erin D'Souza, Assistant Principal Andrew Daramola, and Student Success Coordinator Chris Miller gave a presentation on the 2019 DVC Assessment Results

The team introduced some key terms:
California Assessment of Student Performance & Progress (CAASPP - end of year, 11th grade assessment)
Interim Assessment Blocks (IAB - practice tests for CAASPP)
Measures of Academic Progress (MAP - normed, national assessment)

The goal is for DVC to increase student outcomes on state assessments, particularly math and English Language Arts perfomance on the CAASPP.

To do this there are three parts to the solution:
Quarterly Data Review process
Student Support Plan Systems (SSPs)
CAASPP Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs)

Multi-tiered System of Support 2019-20 timeline:
August: 3 Math support seminar classes created; performed a whole school data dive; departments set annual priorities and objectives.
September - June:  Rollout of school-wide student support plan system (SSP)
October:  Math department reviews IAB assessments and selected tests; grade level teams engage in first Q1 data review.
December:  Math department administers IAB assessments to all 9th and 11th grade students
January:  Whole school Q2 data review; Math department analysis of IAB results
March:  3rd round whole school data review
April: MAP testing and ELA 9-11th grades
May:  Planned 10th grade summative ICA assessment; 11th grade students take CAASPP (Math & ELA).

Quarterly Data Review process:  teachers look at grade distribution data to find students who are struggling.  Those students' situations are then analyzed to find the appropriate supports and create the Student Support Plan (SSP) for each student.  Teachers provide input and teams communicate through the SSP.  Finally, Interim Assessment Blocks (IABs) were administered on December 18 and the previous week.  The team drills down to see specific math topics that are not being learned.  The key is to start in 9th grade to affect the later grade levels.

Mr. Bañuelos asked what data is available to the teachers from 8th grade to jump start the data.  
Dr. Brann asked what the percentage of students come into DVC from Dana.  Two thirds of students came from Dana this past year, so data on those students is easily obtained.  But CAASPP data cannot be obtained from the State for every student, like those coming from out of state or from private schools.  So DVC administered the math CAASPP to all incoming 9th grade students in Family Meetings in the summer.

Projected outcomes:  2020 CAASPP scores should be higher than the previous year.  PSAT data gives some indication for current 11th graders; this year's cohort's PSAT scores are better than the previous cohort.  Test scores should continue to improve due to the intervention systems, better predictive measures, and alignment with CAASPP standards.

Q&A:
How do we educate the parents on the importance of the CAASPP test?  Information will be communicated to students and parents through formal presentations, informal conversations, and digital means.  9th and 10th graders will be assessed (through IABs) even though the State doesn't required it, to prevent any drop off for 11th grade.  The State has created new assessments just for 9th and 10th grades. The CAASPP tests are directly aligned to college readiness; this is a free indicator of student performance on SATs.

The Board wants to know the current 11th grade composition (percentages from Dana, from outside, from private school vs. public, etc.).

Mr. Bañuelos asked that the Board may be kept apprised of the situation so that the Board can best support the teaching staff with resources.

Dr. Wunder spoke of the high number of Professional Development time that allows the teaching teams to work together on this issue.  He acknowledges that this assessment focus is a bit of a shift away from Da Vinci's project-based learning stance.

Mr. Brown reminded the Board that student success can be measured in more than one way.  The Da Vinci product is not just about high SAT scores and GPAs.  A lot of the work Da Vinci students do cannot be measured on standardized tests.  These students are doing things and gaining experience that students from other schools do not.  Industry is looking for people who are more than high test scores, people who can work with teams.

Dr. Wunder thanked the Board for discussing this issue at the Joint meeting, saying that the team gained greater clarity.  He is working with Dr. Silvers on a timeline. Director of External Relations Carla Levenson is working on a draft communication to the community regarding the move of Connect to the Del Aire campus.  Ms. Rainey will hold an open house for the community to visit the campus, and will announce a Town Hall/Public Hearing meeting (perhaps tagging onto the January Del Aire Homeowner's Assn meeting.  Ms. Jessica Daugherty will contact Mr. John Koppelman, head of the association.).  Dr. Wunder commented that Dr. Jo Webber, Del Aire resident, CEO of tech startups and Da Vinci Schools Fund Board member, offered an idea of how to communicate to the community.

Dr. Wunder reached out to Gensler architect David Herjeczki regarding specific costs for facilities work.  Dr. Brann would like to visit the Del Aire campus.  Ms. Rainey commented that her staff will be settling in during the week of January 6, and would love to entertain a visit from the Board.

Mr. Brown asked how the Board can support the RISE move, and feels the Board should anticipate community questions they may encounter, and know in advance how to respond.  Dr. Wunder spoke of the RISE move.  The timing is complex; Dr. Wunder is mindful of Wiseburn's Master Facilities Planning.  Costs will be studied and offered to Mr. Pipkin and the Board.  Mr. Brown would like to know the dates so that the Board can attend community involvement meetings, etc.

Mr. Bravo spoke of the move to Del Aire campus, saying that movers will shift all boxes and furniter on Friday January 3 so that staff can begin settling in the next day.  On Friday January 10, families will tour the campus.  In the evening of the same day, the Open House will welcome all community members.

Dr. Brann would like information communicated to the community regarding how many students will be on campus each day.  He encourages the Da Vinci team to contact John Koppelman for dissemination.  

Mr. Bravo spoke of conversing with the city on the possibility of installing speed bumps.  He has also worked with Principal Michelle Rainey and Assistant Principal Kaitlin Toon on a new drop off system to mitigate traffic issues.  The Park staff has been contacted, the local law enforcement has been contacted.

250 students will be on campus each day.
Mr. Bravo credited Facilities Director Mr. John Fernandez and IT Director Mr. Jesse Corral with managing the costs of the move.  

Mr. Mayotte gave the Financial update.  Regarding attendance this year, Da Vinci has gained 2 students and lost 10.6 ADA.  Traditionally, enrollment and ADA decline over the year.  The current improvement is due to Da Vinci Connect.  In looking at the current projection vs. historical trends, Mr. Mayotte believes a $450K income swing is possible.

FARL eligibility has improved; revenue will improve $90K this year, and more next year.

Mr. Bañuelos asked if vendors are sent year-end notices to send invoices in a timely manner.  Mr. Mayotte reminded the Board that he doesn't know who the vendors are, but that contracts have been signed.  Mr. Mora spoke of an internal communication system that should be instituted to allow the Business Office staff to know what expenses to expect.

COLA is currently projected to be 1.79% in 2020-21, but Da Vinci's staff, who are continuing to climb the salary step ladder, will necessitate greater efficiency every year going forward.

Regarding the Statement of Financial Position, net income was $707,669 (without RISE).  Dr. Wunder explained why RISE does not request more funds from the XQ grant, to avoid the 15% penalty under independent study rules.

Regarding Functional Expenses, personnel costs make up 85% of the budget (67% from internal personnel, and 18.7% from outside services).  

Regarding cash flow, there have been significant capital asset purchases, and significant prepaid purchases (paid in 2018-19 for 2019-20).  In addition, the old RISE LLC was transferred to the new entity, which affected the change in net assets line.  For these reasons, overall 2018-19 cash is less than in 2017-18.

CalSTRS contributions have been exponentially increasing, due to increased contributions and $1.4MM in on-behalf payments due to California Senate Bill 90.

Most of Da Vinci's funding is based on second quarter ADA numbers.

Interim Financials are being reported to the State, and are less conservative.  Projected Net Income for Da Vinci Communications is higher due to the CTEFP grant.

The CFO believes that net income will be between $500K and $1MM.  Unknown factors in the final figure are the impact of the audit finding; ADA trends; special education outside service costs; capitalizing CTEFP equipment purchases; and annual fund monies. 

Mr. Banuelos asked about the grant of $174K to fund the Dean of Student Success.  Is the position considered in the budget going forward?  Dr. Wunder:  each school has a Principal, Assistant Principal, and 3 counselors.  DVC has opted to use 2 counselors and 1 Student Success Coordinator.

7:39 p.m. - adjourn to Closed session