Board Chair Erika Melton gave the oath of office to our new Board Members Stuart Welch and Keith Martin.

Board Member Jennifer Louie-Monzon arrived at 3:12 p.m.

Led by: Kristen Corrales

Presented by Gina Ledesma, English Language Coordinator for CWCS, the awards are for those students who have been reclassified as English proficient.

No Members of the public were present

No Members of the public were present

Executive Director, Jerri Levers, reported on a busy and productive start to the school year. The land closing for the CW site is expected within 4–6 weeks, pending final environmental results. A continuation of the staff compensation study is underway, with outreach to previous vendors. Monthly in-person Academic Cabinet meetings have been reinstated to improve collaboration. The CBO position is ready to post pending approval of the salary range. Work is progressing on the Central Valley charter renewal, with petition submission set for November 30. The school opted to remain with our current health benefits to minimize disruption while exploring enhancements to dental, vision, and life insurance coverage. Legislative advocacy efforts were noted, including staff visits to the Capitol and updates on key legislative bills. Jerri addressed the new Tiger Time initiative, noting mixed staff feedback and actionable insights gathered from an initial survey, which was paused due to concerns of skewed responses. A revised survey method is being developed, and a parent survey is already scheduled to go out multiple times throughout the year. The program has shown early student success. Jerri also shared updates on engagement with the Muslim Student Alliance to address scheduling conflicts and provide additional academic rigor. Increased issues with students residing out of the country were noted, prompting a reminder of existing travel policies requiring advance notice and proof of return. Students not in compliance are subject to withdrawal, with exceptions made for emergencies.

Tammy Hushaw provided several updates during her spotlight presentation. She shared key upcoming dates, including the ACOE annual site visit on October 15th, at CWEB and the CV renewal scheduled for January 20th, at the Modesto City Schools' board meeting. The new Communications Assistant has been hired and is completing onboarding, with an initial focus on organizing Parent Square communications. Tammy also updated the Board on the planned CV mural by a local artist with scheduling still in progress, and ongoing efforts to secure sidewalk painting for restorative practices. She presented a detailed overview of the school’s implementation of restorative practices across all three sites in partnership with Family Concern Counseling. Materials like clipboards by grade level, restorative question cards for staff, and structured classroom visits are already in place. Initial and ongoing training sessions have been held for staff and parents, with additional workshops still available. The team is also working to acquire a stencil that will visually guide students through the restorative process. It was noted that Tammy will lead the ACOE site visit during the Executive Director’s planned absence for a personal milestone. Board members expressed interest in participating in a walkthrough of the restorative practices path once the stencil is available.

The Academic Director, Lindy Janssen, presented an update covering key initiatives for the 2025–26 school year. Highlights included progress under Proposition 28, such as expanded art and music opportunities across all campuses. The department introduced new A-G courses in Ethnic Studies and Computer Science, with Financial Literacy planned for future graduation requirements. Staffing updates included a new CTE Business teacher, a new Science Chair, and additional site administrators. Tiger Time continues to support academic and social-emotional learning for TK–12 students. The presentation also reviewed credentialing requirements and emphasized proactive hiring, teacher support, and continued program growth, particularly in arts and music.

Amy Wood, the new Curriculum and Assessment Coordinator, introduced herself and shared her background in education and homeschooling. She provided an overview of the key assessment dates for the school year, including the I-Ready diagnostics, reading screenings, writing benchmarks, PSAT, A-G finals, ELPAC, mandatory school assessments, CASP, and AP exams. All dates had been previously shared with the Board. She also noted updates to testing logistics, including the distribution of USB headsets for all testing-age students, issuance of CW student IDs for 11th graders and those taking College Board assessments, and ensuring students have access to working Chromebooks to familiarize themselves with the devices before testing. The Board received her report and thanked her for her time.

Adam Kaeli, co-CEO, Greg Burroughs, Director of Business Development, Maylen Naranjo, Director of Client Success, Marie Arce, Sr. Director of Client Finance from Charter Impact were with us both online and in person to share about their services and answer questions.

Our board thanked them for presenting to our staff the previous day and shared how much they appreciated the time they took to answer each question thoroughly.  

The Board held a discussion regarding establishing a pay range for the new Chief Business Officer (CBO) position. The Executive Director shared comparative salary data from nearby schools and similar organizations, noting that regional pay varies between approximately $125,000 and $216,000 depending on size, structure, and location. Board members discussed balancing competitive compensation with fiscal responsibility, considering factors such as experience, years in the role, and whether the position would be based in the Central Valley or East Bay. It was agreed that additional research would be conducted on comparable schools’ salaries and experience levels before finalizing the range. The Board plans to review this data and take action to approve a pay range at the October meeting so the position can be posted promptly.

The Board discussed plans for the “Mobile Tiger Café,” a mobile kitchen designed to support culinary arts programming at the East Bay campus, which currently lacks a kitchen facility. Staff have been working with Alameda County’s Environmental Health Department to navigate the permitting process and plan to submit architectural designs for approval. A $125,000 CTE grant has been requested to help fund the project, with updates expected in January. The trailer will serve both educational and community engagement purposes, including student-led cooking and service projects. Once design plans are finalized, they will be brought to the Board for review, and the project may move forward prior to final grant approval if feasible.

Debbie Howard from Delta Managed Solutions (DMS) presented the August 2025 financials for all three Connecting Waters Charter Schools. She reviewed revenue, expenditures, and cash flow, noting that July and August are typically lean months due to delayed funding and limited expenses. Each school is currently on track financially, maintaining strong cash reserves and healthy fund balances. DMS highlighted the recent legislative updates impacting charter oversight, clarified distinctions between cash and fund balances, and introduced a new reporting feature to help board members better understand financial codes and vendor categories. Board members expressed appreciation for DMS’s training and detailed reporting, which helped clarify the budget process.

The Board discussed the 2024-2025 Unaudited Actuals for Connecting Waters Charter Schools, addressing questions about the technical review checks (TRCs) that occur during the reporting process. The discussion clarified that no fatal errors were received, and this process is standard across schools in California. The board was invited to ask further questions regarding the Unaudited Actuals for the three schools.

The Board reviewed the proposed survey questions, which are mandated and cannot be altered but were shared for transparency. The surveys are, significantly shorter than the previous years' lengthy versions, and are designed for specific grade levels (5th, 8th, and 11th) to align with state reporting requirements, focusing on student feedback about their experiences. The Board suggested clarifying terminology to replace terms such as "administrator," to ensure younger students understand the questions, and offered suggestions to improve clarity on parent surveys by specifying the particular focus areas within broader questions to avoid confusion. The group agreed these adjustments would enhance the quality and usefulness of the survey data, and no further questions were raised.

The board introduced a new agenda item called "Board Remarks," allowing members a brief, three-minute opportunity to share recent activities or updates. Members reflected on the busy start of the school year and the adjustment process for new board members, emphasizing the effort involved in learning about ongoing initiatives and responsibilities. There was excitement about upcoming events, including the CSDC conference in early October and the A+ conference shortly after, with anticipation of sharing insights at future meetings. Overall, members expressed enthusiasm about the work ahead and the collaborative progress being made.