None.

Dr. Jennings noted her excitement about the upcoming June graduation.

Dr. Johnstone shared that it is great to see everyone and feels confident in the decisions made for the next school year. 

None.

Mr. Whalen shared recent advancement news in which he attended various conferences and presented the RISE model. Conferences attended include the 2024 All Titles Conference to discuss empowering, systemic social emotional learning practices to support mental health needs amongst students. RISE staff also attended the ASU-GSV & AI Airshow Host: XQ SuperSchools and Mr. Whalen presented on the main stage at the CA Homeless Education Conference. 

Twenty school leaders  from Texas and New Mexico visited APCH and spent the morning learning about the RISE community. They shared feeling inspired and empowered to use innovative methods to better support their students. 

Mr. Whalen shared updates on Viewpoint with Dennis Quaid. He is crafting a blog post to RISE community, and working with XQ, Thrive Media, and Finn Partners. A release date for is set for June/July. There will be a viewing party with staff and supporters.

Mr. Whalen reported on school site visits with with Superintendent Duardo, Dr. Brown, and Dr. Hill. Superintendent Duardo visited Richstone and engaged with student leaders. Dr. Brown visited all sites for his annual visit.  Dr. Hill is a contracted advisor and supporter of RISE. He provided methods and feedback for fiscal and operational stabilization.

The New Earth Community Notice was sent on Tuesday, May 7th. Next steps include meeting with youth and families to designate new RISE campus and configure 2024-25 school schedule. Staff are awaiting notification regarding the CA Golden Pathways Grant - Digital Media in Partnership with New Earth.

Mr. Whalen shared information regarding the APCH MOU. Executive Director, Noryama Cabot, and her team have been incredibly supportive in seeking ways to expand APCH services to RISE students. A few suggestions include youth roundtables, co-presentations w/ Erin to external partners. Staff are currently negotiating a $20k cut, which will be a partnership cost of $180k to $200k for next year. 

The Richstone Facilities Agreement is almost complete. Richstone CEO/President, Roger van Remmen, Dr. Wunder, and Mr. Whalen have been in discussions about decreasing costs. RISE also looking at minimizing office space to fall within the budgeted figure. 
 

Mr. Whalen shared information regarding the Golden State Pathways Program. The purpose of the Golden State Pathways Program (GSPP) is to provide local educational agencies (LEAs) with the resources to promote pathways in high-wage, high-skill, high-growth areas. The planning grant awards up to $200,000 per application for new career pathways over 1 year Implementation, and up to $500,000 over 3 years. The announcement is scheduled for end of May.

Mr. Whalen discussed the Youth Peer-to-Peer Support Program . Mrs. Lara, staff Kiki Williams, Dr. Emily and Mr. Whalen participated in a interview this week to discuss the vision for RISE's proposed Peer-to-Peer support program. The Youth Peer-to-Peer Support Program is an innovative collaboration between the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and The Children’s Partnership (TCP), to initiate peer-to-peer support programs in up to eight high schools across diverse Californian communities. This pilot initiative focuses on grades 9-12, aiming to establish and standardize best practices for peer-to-peer mental and behavioral health support systems within the school environment. The grant is $450k over 3 years.

Mr. Whalen shared information regarding his new role as Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services. Leadership streams include support to Da Vinci RISE High School where he will continue to facilitate the overall advancement, stabilization and executive oversight of RISE, including Counseling, Discipline & Restoration, SEL, DEIB, EL & ELAC, Title I, II, II, Unduplicated populations, Performing Arts, Homeless & Foster Youth.

Principal Lara reviewed the 2023-24 RISE priorities: instruction, signature practices, and restorative practices.

May Demographics Update 
In May, RISE served 206 students, 42% of whom are opportunity youth. LP9 ADA 3/25/24 - 4/19/24 was 67.66% at Richstone, 64.07% at APCH, and 52.71% at New Earth. Schoolwide ADA is 62.16%. She shared a 6-year ADA Comparison sharing that the updates implemented during Month 5 show increasing ADA percentages compared to the beginning of the current schol year. 

Principal Lara shared photos and updates from the school-wide Leave to Learn field trip to Ocean Institute in Dana Point, CA. Sixty-seven students across all RISE sites engaged in hands on learning about sustainability, learning about renewable energy sources, solar power, and wind power circuitry. Students also went on a boat to learn about water power. She credited science teacher, Ary Ricardez, for planning and prepping the field trip and curriculum/projects. 

Students also attended the Kaiser Permanente Career Exposure Culminating event: CPR Certification Class. Students were able to experience hands on learning throughout the CPR training and walked away with a CPR certification. 

Principal Lara also shared photos of seniors attending Prom 2024. She noted that students had an incredible time. 

Principal Lara shared a short video of a student presentation from Belonging as Legacy, a program with USC that APCH students engaged in throughout the year. She shared the following quote from Jimmy Castaneda, teacher at APCH, “This program that our students were privileged to participate in was like a quilt, where each one of them stitched and sewed different threads that make up their stories and their legacies. ” 

Principal Lara invited trustees to upcoming events: RISE Exhibition on May 29th & May 30th, Community Exhibition on June 1st, and RISE Graduation June 5th.

Mr. Amato reviewed the March financials. He displayed the balance sheet and reported that cash was $756,954. Accounts receivable show a balance of $284,770, reflecting Federal and State funding we are awaiting. In liabilities and net assets, deferred revenue is $306,875, reflecting money that will be used next year to support expenses. Due to Da Vinci is a monthly amount due every month, which gets paid out of Da Vinci’s account. The amount reflected in the restricted and unrestricted net assets reflects the starting number at the beginning of the year, and the year-to-date increase/decrease in net assets is a temporary deficit through March. 

Mr. Amato reviewed the P&L through March. Two key variances are $11,000 from the SMAA funding program and salary costs in the expense section. Through March, there has been skewing from the 2nd interim projections. In the February 29th Board meeting, the 2nd interim year-end projections were presented as a net deficit of $342,000 at year-end, which would reduce the reserves. Since then, there have been changes that will worsen the projection, including a reduction to the mental health accountability grant due to a change in the timeframe of the grant. RISE could only apply expenses to the grant later in the year, on April 1st, versus what was originally applied for, causing a shift in revenue. RISE can only take about $66,000 this current school year versus the $165,000 projected in the 2ndinterim. The positive is that the grant revenue can support the 2024-25 budget, but unfortunately, there is a $97,000 reduction in current projections impacting the projected deficit. 

Mr. Amato noted positives that support such as SMAA funding, which is an extra $15,000 above what was projected, an additional $25,000 SPED funding from LACOE, and about $20,000 in reductions to expenses. There are also reductions to HopSkipDrive and personnel costs. The net deficit is now $450,000 versus the $342,000 projected in February. Mr. Taylor shared what he understood regarding what Mr. Amato was sharing and thanked Mr. Amato for his work. There was further discussion regarding salary changes for Mr. Whalen and Ms. Salango. Mr. Whalen’s salary will be paid out of Da Vinci starting July 1st, and Ms. Salango’s salary will stay 100% with RISE. 

Lastly, Mr. Amato shared information regarding the 2024-25 budget in relation to the Fiscal Stabilization Plan and the positive and negative changes to the estimates. The team is working diligently to balance next year’s budget. He also shared updates to the Governor’s May Revise. The state is planning a 1.07% COLA, which gives RISE about an extra $16,000 next year. 

Mr. Bravo detailed changes in the 2024 Senior Prom venue location due to escalating protests at nearby college campuses. After conferring with law enforcement agencies and receiving  information related to security, the decision has been made to move the Senior Prom to a location in El Segundo to ensure the safety of our students, staff and security team. The event was successful and students had a wonderful time. Staff received many positive comments from parents and community members. 

Mr. Bravo also shared updates regarding facility and tech support with the transition out of New Earth, summer sport programs offered to all students, the new soccer field being built at 201, and graduation logistics.