None

Mr. Santiago commented that he and Mr. Boston had just attended Da Vinci Communications' Exhibition, and enjoyed a tour by student ambassadors. The student work being showcased was impressive as always.

Mr. Boston seconded Mr. Santiago's comments, saying that it was fantastic to see Exhibition Night. He also noted Da Vinci hosted a FIRST LEGO League tournament a few weeks ago. About 20 teams of kids from ages 9-14 competed and showcased their work The first and second floors at the 201 N. Douglas campus were used, and everything at the event venue worked well, from parking to snacks. Mr. Boston thanked everyone involved.

Dr. Wunder thanked the Student board advisors for their presence. He commented that it is an important time to reiterate that one of Da Vinci's core values is that everyone here feel safe, welcome, and understood with no exceptions.

He then thanked Dr. Silvers for his leadership on the charter renewals for four of the five Da Vinci charters go before the Wiseburn Board for approval. A lot of work went into these important documents. Dr. Wunder thanked Ms. Rainey and the principals for their efforts in completing the work.

Ms. Rodriguez gave an update on Community Learning Days (CLDs), sharing that she has gathered feedback from staff, students, and families after each day, that changes were implemented based on that feedback, and that opportunities for students are expanding.

The first Educator Advisory Council (EAC) meeting held, comprised of a great team of educators from each site. The group discussed various issues of interest to staff such as expanding disability insurance (SDI) coverage, the social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum being more centralized and available to all staff, and ensuring all students are engaged in Advisory.  The team will meet again in January.

Dr. Wunder shared that compensation studies are underway, and he thanked Mr. Meath, Mr. Santiago, and Ms. Heimov for their work in supporting these studies.

Coordinators Sydney Parsons and William Bleier introduced the first Student Board Advisor update of the year. 

Angelina Fernandez Vidal gave the update for Da Vinci Communications, sharing the August through November events like the 9th Grade Overnighter trip, Club Fair, Hispanic Heritage Month Community Dialogue (CD), Student-Led Conferences (SLCs), Spirit Week, and Movie Nights. After presenting, Ms. Fernandez Vidal went back to her duties at the DVC Exhibition Night, which occurred concurrently with the Board meeting.

Benjamin Chan gave the Da Vinci Science update, commenting on the National Association for College Admission Counseling, or NACAC, conference which students attended, the Overnighter, which was delayed due to wildfires, Spirit Week, DaVincella, and the Youth & Government team's attendance at the Statewide Training and Elections Conference at Camp Roberts National Guard Base. One of the Da Vinci Science students won the State Debate 

Josiah Moody gave the Da Vinci Design update, speaking about the Overnighter, Club Fair, Seniors' Downtown L.A. Scavenger Hunt, Latinx/Hispanic Heritage month and Senior Food Fest CD, and a fun Halloween Spirit Week, including a day for students and teachers to dress like each other.

Liya Nartey gave the Connect High School update, sharing Voter Registration Day events, Community Learning Day (CLDs) in which all five DV high school student engaged in cross-site workshops, SLCs, Scary Movie Night, Breast Cancer Awareness events sponsored by the Black Student Union and Connect & Empower Her club, and SoFi Stadium field trip for Entrepreneurship students to learn about sports and entertainment industry careers.

Lincoln Nartey gave the Connect K8 update, sharing photos of the marine biology-focused Catalina trip, overnight Astrocamp trip, SLCs, Garden Club project, multicultural fair potluck, and Halloween costume party.

Dr. Webber thanked the students, complimenting their presentations.

The other trustees and Dr. Wunder thanked the students.

Michelle Rainey, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, gave a report on Special Populations at Da Vinci Connect TK-8, Connect High School, Design, Science, and Communications.

The Wiseburn Board requested the report on how DV schools uniquely support Special Populations (IEPs, 504s, ELLs), and overall college & career outcomes of all students.

Ms. Rainey interviewed Special Education, 504, and ELL teams across the five schools. She thanked Carla Levenson, Steve Wallis, Megan Martin, Gloria White, and Chris Miller for college and career outcomes. Common and unique practices across the schools emerged. Leadership reviewed content for accuracy and completeness.

Some common practices across all DV schools for students with IEPs include compliance (timely assessments, parent participation, ongoing monitoring); inclusive practices (co-teaching, PBL, Universal Design for Learning, normalizing neurodiversity); and specialized support (resource teachers, etc.). Staffing varies a bit by site.

When looking at common practices across all DV schools for supporting students with 504 plans, Ms. Rainey found very few variances across programs. One 504 Coordinator supports all DV schools, working with school-specific 504 case managers (counselors). Compliance, inclusive practices like UDL strategies, assistive technology, and normalizing neurodiversity are common. Support staff for academic and SEL, wide spectrum of accommodations, data-driven decisions; family engagement like regular communication, and bilingual support are also common practices across all DV schools.

ELL support practices common across all DV schools include identification and assessment (surveys, CALPADS, ELPAC  testing). Ms. Rainey heard the school teams say that they want to improve practices for ELL students, and noted that by the time many ELL students reach high school, they have received the support they needed; thus there are fewer ELL students in high school than in lower grades.

All DV schools feature targeted ELL support, classroom integration, and inclusive culture (SEL check-ins, bilingual staff, cultural clubs, family engagement).

Common practices across all DV Schools for College and Career outcomes include:

Counseling support - 171:1 student to counselor ratio, exceeding national and State averages;

Real World Learning (RWL) internships, career clinics, and industry partnerships; 

Honors and dual enrollment courses; 

College & Career Readiness (CCR)/Life courses, including financial literacy, a soon-to-be-requirement from the State. Connect High integrates CCR in Advisory.

Mr. Boston inquired if the college matriculation percentage exceeded the parents' levels. Brief discussion on demographics ensued.

Dr. Webber thanked Ms. Rainey for her excellent report which made the complex topic accessible.

Mr. Amato gave the financial update, sharing September financials, saying it is a very busy time of year for him and his team, closing out the annual audit results for presentation in December, executing grant compliance and reporting, and preparing first interims to also be presented in December.

Mr. Amato covered assets and liabilities. Deferred revenue from grants and other sources will be used, net assets (normal for the beginning of the year, where expenses overtake revenue in the first quarter; this reverses in the second half of the year).

Small positive variances in revenue such as some extra unbudgeted funding from the ESSER III program and other Federal funding were carried over. 

Negative variances due to certificated personnel retention bonuses not originally budgeted. Increased insurance renewal rates just received (a roughly 7-10% increase - the exact comparison has yet to be received from the insurance company). 

Overall budget for this year was a positive budget, but a revised projection will be presented next month.

Mr. Amato is working on spending plans for grant funding. The Schwab Foundation grant of $1MM (over two years) has some flexibility, although the Foundation will have suggestions for its use. The Golden State Pathways grants were finalized (slightly reduced from the original announcement). Mr. Amato did not budget for the funds due to the uncertainty of the amounts, but just over $4.1MM was awarded over all the Da Vinci Schools. Mr. Amato expects to use ~40% for personnel. The remaining 60% will support equipment, supplies, field trips, etc. 

Mr. Santiago inquired if Mr. Amato anticipated the 7% increase for benefits. Mr. Amato shared that he had projected a 10% increase, but as this is a half year "hit," it puts the increase at 5% for this school year. The 7-10% increase information from the insurance company is for individual plans; Mr. Amato will have to see how it averages out across all plans and the total percentage to determine the total expense. He always plans for an increase in health insurance.

Dr. Webber thanked Mr. Amato.

Postponed to December meeting.

Brief discussion on the requirement to notify the Board of the CEO/Superintendent's certification of documents classified for destruction ensued.

Closed session entered at 7:18 p.m.

Public session reconvened at 8:18 p.m.

Dr Webber reported that no action was taken in Closed Session.