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Dr. McCullough shared information about her first independent feature film, College Reunion, which follows three women reconnecting for their 45th HBCU college reunion. As part of the film, nonprofit organizations that are doing great work in K-12 will be highlighted. A fundraising brunch will be held on August 28th, and RISE was invited to be a non-profit featured at the event.

Dr. Johnstone shared his appreciation for RISE staff on their work towards the comprehensive student and parent/guardian handbook, highlighting the connection between DV RISE and the XQ learning expectations. 

Dr. Jennings agreed with Dr. Johnstone and congratulated the RISE team for a wonderful commencement ceremony.

Mr. Whalen thanked Mrs. Naomi Lara and Ms. Elaine Salango for their work on the student and parent/guardian handbook. He highlighted Mrs. Lara's efforts towards building and sustaining relationships and working closely with XQ to bring alignment of their initiatives in developing curriculum and redesign project-based learning.

Mr. Whalen shared that RISE staff is currently participating in PD week. The current topics include trauma-informed care, curriculum, project-based learning and executing learning outcomes, and overarching RISE tenants and culture building. Mrs. Lara shared that Dr. Christopher Emdin, author of STEM, STEAM, Make, Dream: Reimagining the Culture of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, made a Zoom appearance at PD to thank and encourage teachers. He committed to engaging in book study learning with staff throughout the year. 

Mr. Whalen provided an update of leadership roles within the organization to support sustainability. Mrs. Lara is working closely with lead teachers, and Ms. Anna Marie Defelice is Coordinator of Student Support Services. 

Mr. Whalen thanked Dr. McCullough for inviting RISE to participate in the upcoming fundraising event. 

Mr. Amato provided a brief 2022-23 recap of the budget that was approved at the July Board meeting. The 2022-23 RISE budget was created in advance of the final CA governor’s budget, and projections regarding state funding were conservative based on the information provided. The state’s budget is now approved, and all funding programs and information has been released. The total additional revenue above the 22-23 budget is $437,109.

LCFF revenue, the primary source of funding from the state based on ADA, was initially budgeted for a 6.56% COLA increase. The final budget is 12.84% which is 6.28% above the original budget. This increase translates to almost $260,000 additional dollars above what was budgeted. Dollars will be spent in 2022-23. LCFF is often used on staffing costs.

The Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant is $200,630 and was not previously budgeted. This is a one-time grant that can be spent over the course of six years with minimal restrictions. Money can be used for learning loss credit recovery, summer school, tutoring, etc. Further discussions with staff will take place in the near future. Another unbudgeted, one-time grant is the Arts, Music, and Instructional Materials Block Grant for $76,694. The grant is named as such because the state encourages use in those areas, although its use is flexible with minimal restrictions. Money can be spent over the course of four years. These resources are around $437,109 of extra unbudgeted revenue to be determined on how it can be spent over a period of time.

Dr. Jennings asked for clarification on the timeframe money can be spent for the grants. Mr. Amato verified the maximum time frames.

Mr. Amato shared that there is another hold harmless program that will be helpful to RISE as it looks at pre-pandemic ADA percentages. More information will be provided in the future.
 

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