Veritas Preparatory Charter School

Minutes

Academic Achievement Committee Meeting

Date and Time

Thursday April 11, 2019 at 8:00 AM

Location

Veritas Prep Charter School 1st Floor Conference Room or Dial-In Number: 866-848-2216, Conference Code: 7783935205, Leader Code: 2356

Committee Members Present

A. Clark, A. Martin, D. Janes, J. Crowell, R. Sela (remote)

Committee Members Absent

G. Moody, M. Sweet, R. Romano

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance and Guests

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

R. Sela called a meeting of the Academic Achievement Committee of Veritas Preparatory Charter School to order on Thursday Apr 11, 2019 at 9:17 AM.

C.

Approve Minutes

D. Janes made a motion to approve minutes from the Academic Achievement Committee Meeting on 03-14-19 Academic Achievement Committee Meeting on 03-14-19.
J. Crowell seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

D.

Approve February Minutes

D. Janes made a motion to approve minutes from the Academic Achievement Committee Meeting on 02-14-19 Academic Achievement Committee Meeting on 02-14-19.
J. Crowell seconded the motion.
The motion unanimously did not carry.

II. Principal's Report

A.

Update on Progress towards Accountability Goals

Ms. Clark, the principal, restated what each of our individual accountability goals are that we set for our newest accountability plan. One of our three unique design elements is around professional development and coaching that leads to dramatic student achievement. Currently, our weekly survey shows that we are at 90% of teachers agree that coaching and professional development is helping to drive student achievement.

A second design element that we are accountable for is around teaching academic and behavioral habits that will help our students be successful in high school, college, and beyond. Our homework percentage is one way to track this.The goal is by the end of the school year, 70% of scholars school-wide will have a Trimester 3 homework average of 75% or higher in ELA and Math. Currently, our homework percentage is at 80% for ELA and 81% for math. Around the school, each grade has homework charts in each hallway. Homework center during lunch helps students who need more support with homework. Teachers have been following up with students and families around homework concerns. Another metric for behavioral habits is around out of class referrals. This goal is fewer than 20% of scholars will receive more than 3 out of class reflections on average per monthWe are on track to meet this goal. Grade level teams under the leadership of the grade level teacher leader has been creating positive incentives for students as has the dean of culture team. 
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A third design element that we are accountable for is high expectations for every student and relentless support. Our metric around this is 70% of scholars school-wide will earn a C- or higher in ELA and Math by the end of the school year. Our gradebook is a standards-based gradebook so that teachers, students, and parents can look at which students need more support around. We are currently on track to meet this goal.

III. Other Business

A.

Staff Retention Update and Hiring Update

Ms. Martin reported on where we are with hiring. We have 4 to 5 more positions to hire for our Springfield school. We have hired a part-time recruiter to help manage our Linked In, Zip Recruiter, and Indeed accounts. Our hiring team has been reading and discussing articles about bias in hiring and taking action steps in our hiring process to decrease bias. 

B.

Update on Parent Engagement

Ms. Martin gave an update on how we are forming our annual parent survey, taking all questions from past years and putting them in one place and selecting questions for this year. We are hoping to have a more stable parent survey that will stay very much the same from year to year so we can better compare data over time. Ms. Clark shared the surveys we have been giving bi-weekly to parents through POSSIP, a text-based app that invites parents for their feedback. Currently, 88% of our parents report that they are happy with our school.

IV. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

R. Sela made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
D. Janes seconded the motion.
The motion unanimously did not carry.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:18 AM.

Respectfully Submitted,
A. Martin