None.

Dr. Johnstone shared his appreciation for the efforts of Mr. Whalen and RISE staff during the past few months. Mrs. Morgan and Dr. Jennings agreed.

Dr. Jennings shared her appreciation for Mr. Whalen's support at TFA's recent recruitment event for incoming core members where he shared information about RISE.  She extended her gratitude to all staff for their continued efforts at the sites. 

None.

RISE 2021-22 Priorities: Data-driven, campus culture, college, and career.

March Data and Demographics Data Update
RISE serves 217 students, 42% of whom are opportunity youth. ADA from 2/21-3/11 was 56.48% at Richstone, 57.93% at APCH, and 62.35% at New Earth. School-wide ADA is 58.72%. Mr. Whalen shared a breakdown of the number of foster youth, probationary youth, housing unstable (which changes weekly), and parenting youth across the RISE sites.

Student Support Services Update
Mr. Whalen highlighted data pertaining to student support services provided from January through March from APCH and Richstone.

NWEA MAP Data
Mr. Whalen shared NWEA MAP Data and highlighted student growth from the Fall to Winter NWEA testing administrations. The Spring NWEA testing window will commence upon return from intersession, focusing on an increasing percentage of students tested. Chris Miller, DV Coordinator of Data & Equity, developed a staff-facing RISE Winter Map Performance Reports data hub and will support staff professional development in utilizing data to inform instruction and develop targeted interventions.

Partnership and RISE Updates
New Earth: 12 new students enrolled and attendance has increased by 11.23%. Staff and youth council met with CA State Senator Sydney Kamlager. Black History and Women History month celebrations happened on-site weekly during February and March. Young voices leadership council will be working with LA youth uprising coalition to start advocating with Youth Justice Imagine. Ten students have finished 12 courses this quarter. Yoga and tennis are new programming courses offered to students.

APCH: APCH will be facilitating weekly enrichment workshops in the areas of yoga, health and wellness, acting, basketball, cooking, music and more. These sessions will be provided during RISE’s regular bell schedule. The recurring COVID Vaccination clinic at APCH has provided services to almost 100 students, families, and stakeholders. Clinics will continue to be offered every other Tuesday, leading towards the end of the school year. RISE at APCH students are invited to participate in a free 10-day camping trip at Bob Waldorf. Nine new students have been welcomed to our RISE at APCH school community. Through mindfulness workshops, students participated in a Saturday field trip to the “Los Nietos” Horse Stables for fun animal therapy led by RISE Case Manager, Charlotte Andrade and USC Intern Katrina K. ELPAC 2022 Summative Testing and CORE surveys have launched. NWEA testing window closed Friday, March 11th. Individual progress reports will be shared with students and stakeholders. Teachers will lead a goals session during an upcoming Advisory session welcoming the opportunity to celebrate student achievement and NWEA growth targets.

Richstone: On March 10th, cooking classes with Lenora, owner of Barsha Restaurant in Hermosa Beach, officially launched. These classes are held in the Richstone teaching kitchen. On March 14th, Richstone therapists provided a Stress Management workshop to RISE students during Advisory as a universal holistic support. A RISE student will begin volunteering with Richstone Kid’s Club after-school programming. Richstone supports Intersession course offerings by coordinating for Hawthorne Police Department to provide CPR, first aid, and emergency preparedness training on April 12th. SSS Team launched a weekly Wellness & Life Skills Group and Advisory Workshops geared towards self-care and coping, time management and life skills, and college and career preparation. Education Specialist, Frankee Grove, established a partnership with the Department of Rehabilitation which provides weekly on-site career readiness sessions and paid internships for students with IEPs. Ten students are currently enrolled in the program.

Dr. Jennings asked for an update at the sites with staff and students fully back on campus and in person. Mr. Whalen shared that it differs per site. New Earth remains consistent with the challenge of many students in the building and reacclimatizing everyone to the flow and culture of being on-site. APCH has had trouble bringing students back on campus. Many new students are coming in, but re-engaging students that have completely disengaged due to the challenges of the vaccination mandate is taking time. Staff is working towards reinstating trust with families and bringing students back. Staff is conducting home visits and meetings to re-invite students to the community. Mrs. Lara shared that Richstone still has students participating virtually, but enrichment offerings encourage them to engage in person. She also shared that the cohort schedule piloted in December and fully launched in Q3 has been successful. The schedule and enrichment offerings support student engagement, culture, and relationship building. Mr. Whalen shared his enthusiasm in being able to engage in campus offerings such as sports and art in addition to academic support. 

Mrs. Montes-Rodriguez asked about the status of the Community Schools Grant. Mr. Whalen shared that an update will be provided by the next meeting. 

Mr. Taylor asked about staff and leadership feedback regarding return to school and financials. Mr. Whalen shared that regarding return-to-school, the transition has gone well. Learning lessons and challenges include virtual cohorts and splitting staff time. In terms of sustainability, staff has experienced burnout and exhausting quickly do to challenges from in-person and virtual learning, project based learning, and thinking of sustainability as educators. The current focus is finding compromise with what worked in the past and building new moving forward. 

Mr. Amato reviewed the Balance sheet through the end of February. Cash in bank remains healthy at $616,919. Accounts receivables at $201,522 with no concerns as recurring funds from LCFF and State cycle through. Accounts payable due to Da Vinci shows a higher balance than normal as it reflects two months' worth of payments which will be paid for in the coming month. 

Mr. Amato reviewed the P&L and noted that the 2nd interim and year-end projections are now reflected on monthly financials. New funding from XQ is being applied this year to support the budget overall. The net income for the year is projected at $11,996. There is a balanced budget for the year in the year-end projection.

Mr. Amato shared that the ECF (Electronic Connectivity Funding) Federal Grant was awarded to RISE at slightly under $61,000. The funds will cover technology and internet-related expenses such as Chromebooks and internet bills for hotspots and WiFi capabilities at the sites and individual students. These funds were not part of the monthly projections to remain conservative. Mr. Amato noted expense items above current projections for SPED. RISE has needed services in those areas above what was projected in the second interim. There are zero dollar commitments, and money will be spent as the needs arise, depending on the hours of services students need. With $61,000 extra in funding, it could potentially balance SPED expenses. 

Dr. Johnstone inquired if student services would be provided in-house or out-of-state. OT and Speech student services will be provided virtually for four students. Mr. Amato added that Psychology services are also included. Dr. McCullough asked if new students are covered under the contract, and Mr. Whalen and Mr. Amato verified that it does, as the agreements are written in a not-to-exceed format. 

None.