Mr. Robert Wong gave a comment on the investigative report of his complaint regarding the robotics team. He informed the Board of his family's intent to proceed with litigation.

Mr. Santiago spoke of visiting the Da Vinci Design Exhibition just before the meeting, saying that Da Vinci students and their work never cease to amaze him. 

Dr. Webber commented on the Real World Learning opportunity for students to visit Universal Studios and learn about movie and television production from a well-known film producer. She commended the Real World Learning Director, Crissel Rodriguez, for her work in providing the opportunity to students.

Carla Levenson shared a Community Initiatives update, speaking about the Spooktacular event at Wiseburn Middle School, where over 200 Da Vinci students volunteered (wearing blue volunteer shirts) and Da Vinci sponsored the Earle's on Crenshaw's hot dog booth. At the Día de los Muertos event at Hollyglen Elementary, 38 Da Vinci Design students volunteered to paint faces and help out at the event. The Da Vinci Schools Fund has donated $7,625 to support all the various events with food and supplies.

Dr. Webber thanked Ms. Levenson and consultant Ms. Christina Joubert for their work.  

Dr. Wunder thanked Mr. Santiago for volunteering at the Spooktacular event, as well.

Ms. Veronica Rodriguez shared that the Wellness and Sustainability initiative is underway. She and the team are planning a Health and Wellness Fair for staff on the return from Winter Break. She is also looking to organize meetings with the HR team to allow staff to get to know the team and obtain answers to any questions. Last, she is working on gathering data from staff with an eye toward creating an Educator Sustainability Plan.

Sydney Parsons shared the Science update, speaking about Spirit Week, Cal Poly SLO senior field trip, Beach Blitz Robotics competition, and Rock the Wall Street workshops, where students visited Cetera Financial Group to learn about women in finance. Finally, Youth and Government attended a training conference at Camp Roberts.

Isabella Dimeo gave the Communications update, sharing DVC November events like the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony, Community Dialogue with the DVC All Stars awards, UC Irvine tour for DVC seniors, led by a DVC alumnus, and the Senior Press Submit celebration, where seniors turn in their applications and celebrate together. 

Kaden Schneider shared the Design update, featuring an ArtCenter Pasadena field trip, Halloween Spirit Day, a field trip to an El Segundo glass blowing studio for Mr. Jason Kartez' students, the previously-mentioned Exhibition night, and the Diversity Council's Community Dialogue and mural painting event. The 10th grade had fun at the 2nd annual cardboard boat races at the Aquatic Center earlier in the day.

Liya Nartey, from Connect High School, shared the Día de los Muertos event, visits from college representatives, a new Peer Tutoring Club, a planned blood drive later in the month, and the introduction of financial literacy in advisory groups.

Olivia Griffin gave the Connect K8 update for Aaron Peters and Cecily Barnes, who could not attend. She noted that the Connect K8 students received their student IDs, held a makeup picture day, Reptile day, and that the Fall Festival planning committee will present the Fall Festival on November 15 on the Connect K8 campus.

Dr. Webber thanked the students, noting that when she was a student, her school didn't have anything like the fun events and activities that Da Vinci students enjoy.

Dr. Lynn Rodriguez, Director of Special Education, shared Da Vinci's program, saying that Da Vinci is committed to meeting the needs of all learners regardless of eligibility, in the least restrictive environment, leveraging student strengths, and partnering with the Department of Rehabilitation to support students even after they leave Da Vinci Schools.

Currently, 10% of Da Vinci's students have IEPs. In California as a whole, in the 2021-22 school year, 15% of students had an IEP. 

Child Find is a provision in the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA) which obligates all California school districts to locate, identify, and evaluate all children with a suspected disability from birth to 21 years old, and provide them with an education that meets their needs.

She also quoted data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey that showed that students' mental health was declining prior to the pandemic, and the pandemic exacerbated this decline. Da Vinci supports these students by encouraging special education assessments in order to provide a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

Referrals by the IEP teams for Alternative Placements (for example, residential treatment centers or non-public schools) are serious, last-resort efforts to support students, executed only after all other support avenues are exhausted, because they remove the students from their Least Restrictive Environment. Dr. Rodriguez shared the continuum of alternative placements.

Wiseburn and Da Vinci work together to transition students with IEPs from Wiseburn Middle School to Da Vinci. In the 2022-23 school year, 20 students with IEPs enrolled in Da Vinci from Wiseburn. 9 selected Science, 7 selected Communications, and 4 selected Design*. Of the four at Design, two already were enrolled in a non-public school (NPS); in other words, Da Vinci inherited those placements.

The Da Vinci Special Education team's goal is a smooth transition for the IEP student from middle school to high school.

The team is working with the Universal Design for Learning framework, and growing the FUTURES program (AB 181), and actively increasing support for student neurodiversity. For example, Community Dialogues will be livestreamed for neurodiverse students who might experience sensory overload attending in person.

Ms. Heimov shared that her daughter's IEP at Da Vinci Design was the first one in her school career that wholly supported her daughter and that she and her family felt good about. Ms. Heimov thanked the Da Vinci Special Education team.

Dr. Allegra Johnson gave the presentation, speaking about the struggles and trade offs with dual and concurrent enrollment, such as scheduling difficulties, affordability, transferability, teacher quality, etc..

Potential trade-offs with introducing AP courses include difficulty with curriculum design, displacement of current courses, and equity issues stemming from unintended negative consequences and disproportionate outcomes in standardized testing.

The Da Vinci team has undertaken the following evaluative process:  preliminary Cabinet discussion and creation of a memo regarding dual enrollment and Advanced Placement courses, and receiving feedback on the memo from the Leadership team, counselors, and the Board. The next step is to continue researching the impact on college admissions and enrollment (by interviewing Da Vinci's college counselors and visiting college recruiters on their school's approach to AP vs. dual enrollment credits in their college admissions process). The team will also survey staff regarding their perceptions, sharing the results with staff and the Board, and hold town hall-style meetings for staff and school stakeholders. After that, the team will continue to plan for the 2024-25 school year for maximizing dual enrollment opportunities and when and where to fold in some AP course offerings, should that be the direction decided upon.

Mr. Santiago inquired about the timeline. Dr. Johnson responded that the research would continue in 2023-24, with an eye to implement any changes in 2024-25. He requested the data be shared with the Board.

Dr. Webber inquired about how many students currently take advantage of dual enrollment. Dr. Johnson committed to sharing that information with the Board in the near future.

Mr. Bravo shared the options for the CTE Studio, saying that Ms. Levenson and Ms. Zamudio reached out to King Consulting. 

Option 1A is "As-Is" (all-in with Phase 1 and Phase 2). Ms. Zamudio asked for Phase 2 Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) at the same time as for Phase 1. Phase 2 is an outdoor shop space that could be further developed in the future. Funding is an issue with this option.

Option 1B is a Phase 2 Scope Change Request, going back to OPSC/CDE to remove Phase 2. This is not guaranteed, and could result in forfeiture of grant funds.

Option 2 is a Redesign (creating enclosed shops for Phase 2). This requires plans to be redesigned by the architects, would require new DSA approval, and would delay Phase 2 for approximately one and a half years, at double the cost.

Mr. Santiago inquired about meeting with the CTE committee. Brief discussion on an option replacing the hangar with shops ensued. Mr. Bravo indicated that that option would align with Option 1B, a Scope Change Request.

Ms. Heimov inquired about programmatic needs currently being met by the Sandbox/CTE Lab. Dr. Wunder responded that the robotics practice field is in that space. He will ask Dr. Steve Wallis to call the committee together when he returns from a conference, and gain a deeper understanding of the scope change option by talking to King Consulting.

Mr. Amato shared that December's agenda will contain the First Interims, therefore the update for this evening will be light.

He discussed the California Prop 28 Arts & Music Funding, a new, recurring source based on per pupil funding, not a one-time grant. The CDE just released the preliminary funding allocations for each school. Mr. Amato did not budget for this because of the uncertainty of the amount to be awarded to each school. Da Vinci has arts & music expenses above budget that this funding will help offset.  The amounts are:  Science $77,722, Design $81,956, Connect K-12 $116,532, and Communications $87,702, a total of just under $357K for all schools. 80% of the funding must be used for staffing. 20% may be used for other arts & music expenses.

Brief discussion on future budgeting ensued. Mr. Amato will include projections in the First Interims. The funding may be used retroactively for the full 2023-24 school year.

Mr. Amato discussed the payment register, saying that it includes any items over $10K. The items for this month totaled just under $1.7M. Recurring expenses such as building maintenance,  substitute teacher expenses, bus transportation, software licenses, health and retirement benefits, and utilities totaled $1.3M.  Mr. Amato went over the various items for the October, 2023 register, saying they are all within budget. 

Mr. Santiago inquired about the use of the three vans. Mr. Amato responded that he would be giving a report on the van use at the end of the year.

Mr. Bravo spoke of the various drills held on the campuses. Feedback is gathered from the staff and from fire and police departments after each drill.

He also clarified the Esports program approval item. This is not a pilot program, since it has been in existence for a year. He apologized for the confusion last month. The group will be a team similar to Archery, more than a club, but not a full-blown CIF sport.

Ms. Heimov inquired about the 60+ students in the club remaining a part of the team. Mr. Bravo responded that the club will still exist, as the competitive team comes from members of the club.

Mr. Santiago inquired about the funding threshold. The item is brought to the Board not for the funding amount, but because it will be a part of the athletics program.

Closed session entered at 7:39 p.m.

Public Session reconvened at 8:36 p.m.

Dr. Webber reported that no action had been taken in Closed Session.