Urban Montessori Charter School
Minutes
Academic Oversight Committee Regular Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday December 14, 2021 at 3:45 PM
Location
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Meeting ID: 510 290 4005
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tinyurl.com/Zoom5102904005
Meeting ID: 510 290 4005, and passcode 510 290 4005
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,5102904005# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,5102904005# US (Houston)
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
Meeting ID: 510 290 4005
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kb8IDmVDDD
Additional teleconference location: 5701 Oak Grove Ave, Oakland, CA 94618; 494 Juana Ave San Leandro, CA 94577
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If you have any trouble getting on the Zoom, please text 510-290-4005 for support.
Members: Jan Faraguna (chair), Kara Fortuna, Greg Klein
Urban Montessori Charter School welcomes your participation at Board meetings. The purpose of a public meeting of the Board of Directors (“Board”) is to conduct the affairs of the organization in public. Your participation assures us of continuing community interest in our school and assists the Board in making the best decisions for our school. To assist you in the ease of speaking/participating in our meetings, guidelines are provided at the bottom of this agenda. All materials for all board and committee meetings, including audio recordings of Regular Board Meetings, are available via http://www.urbanmontessori.org/board_of_directors.
Important Notice: Due to increased demand, dial-in by phone audio conferencing capabilities may be unavailable. During this time, Zoom strongly recommends using computer audio capabilities (or via phone with the Zoom app) while on wifi.
If you have any trouble getting on the Zoom, please text 510-290-4005 for support.
Members: Jan Faraguna (chair), Kara Fortuna, Greg Klein
Urban Montessori Charter School welcomes your participation at Board meetings. The purpose of a public meeting of the Board of Directors (“Board”) is to conduct the affairs of the organization in public. Your participation assures us of continuing community interest in our school and assists the Board in making the best decisions for our school. To assist you in the ease of speaking/participating in our meetings, guidelines are provided at the bottom of this agenda. All materials for all board and committee meetings, including audio recordings of Regular Board Meetings, are available via http://www.urbanmontessori.org/board_of_directors.
Committee Members Present
G. Klein, J. Faraguna (remote), K. Fortuna (remote)
Committee Members Absent
None
Committee Members who left before the meeting adjourned
J. Faraguna
Guests Present
D. Bissonnette
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
J. Faraguna called a meeting of the Academic Oversight Committee of Urban Montessori Charter School to order on Tuesday Dec 14, 2021 at 3:47 PM.
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Approve Minutes from Prior Meeting
K. Fortuna made a motion to approve the minutes from Academic Oversight Committee Regular Meeting on 11-09-21.
G. Klein seconded the motion.
No discussion or public comments.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| J. Faraguna |
Aye
|
| K. Fortuna |
Abstain
|
| G. Klein |
Aye
|
D.
Vote on updated Committee Calendar and Meeting Time
J. Faraguna made a motion to update the meeting time to 3:45-4:45pm for January and February 2022.
G. Klein seconded the motion.
No further discussion or public comment.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| K. Fortuna |
Aye
|
| J. Faraguna |
Aye
|
| G. Klein |
Aye
|
E.
Review of Action/Discussion Items
No changes needed.
F.
Presentations from the Floor
No public comment on items not on the agenda.
II. Academic Oversight
A.
Instructional Updates
Daniel shared attendance data. All staff average is 92%. Student attendance average is 93.8%. 72 students are currently chronically absent, 20.7% currently. Independent Study, though, is not all complete and so these percentages could be improved as that process completes for individual students.
Daniel shared disaggregated data for chronic absence vs. not chronic absence, and by level. COVID safety mitigation efforts have impacted the ability for some students to return to school (waiting for test results).
Middle School has strong attendance overall. Younger students who are Black, Latinx, or who have an IEP are the main groups where Daniel has noted need further support from the school to improve attendance.
Daniel shared about messaging to families about using independent study if needing to quarantine after travel, and that quarantine does not apply to students who are vaccinated. Some of the upcoming PD day can be used to support teachers with calls and systems for regular messaging.
Daniel shared updated DIBELS data. Overall, 62% are at/above benchmark, 14% are just below benchmark, and 23% well below benchmark. Students scoring in the lowest two groups get reading support with Ms. Kimberley. Those groups change throughout the school year, with a continuous data review. A working group with classroom teachers also focuses on the needs of Black and Latinx readers, with new strategies and interventions coming in January.
Ms. Kimberly is Orton-Gillingham trained and uses a combination of curricular resources.
National Center for Montessori in the Public Center is about to launch a training for teachers supporting English Learners. Daniel is working with them to see about getting that training at a time that works for teachers on the West Coast.
Greg asked about dyslexia screeners. Jan shared one option from NWEA, which takes about 20 minutes to assess a classroom of students. Daniel shared how O-G training is well aligned with Montessori pedagogy. Sarah M. suggested Ms. Kimberley might be able to help with any initial assessment pilot whether in her groups or in a classroom.
Kara noted that the 8th graders have a higher percentage students needing the most support according to DIBELS. Daniel shared that he had more on Middle School for the next agenda item.
No other discussion or public comment.
B.
Middle School Program Review
Daniel shared updates on the Adolescent Program. The return to in-person instruction has been hardest for middle school students, particularly during less structured times and times of transition. Adjustments coming in January include more structure in the schedule and curriculum; keep class size low (~19); and weekly communication to families on academics.
Daniel showed a new weekly schedule starting in January, moving to grade-based groupings (daily PE will still be together after morning meeting). More one-way student foot traffic during student transitions. Daniel shared there will be a daily opportunity for Self Expression including art, music, journaling, and other options.
Sarah asked if students know about these changes and how they were involved. Daniel shared that students learn more tomorrow.
Jan asked about what the new schedule solves for. Daniel shared that the previous schedule had longer blocks of time with students required to self-manage for longer blocks of time. The new schedule narrows a bit for students, where they still have options and make choices on follow-up work, but during more designated times of the day.
Greg asked about students who were successful in the prior schedule. Daniel responded that the plan is to support students who able to manage those original longer blocks of time as the year progresses.
Daniel shared that there will be new curricular resources from Amplify and shared a brief video about science.
Kara asked if both teachers are using new curriculum and Daniel shared yes. Anna asked how feedback to students will work with the changes. Daniel shared that there should be lots more opportunities for feedback and immediate feedback. Sarah asked about social emotional learning. Daniel responded by wanting to elevate middle school students to be mentors and leaders on campus, and have started introducing middle schools to younger students (Primary and Lower Elementary) and be mentors to those younger students, where younger students with a conflict opening up to the adolescent student. This helps provide moments of success for the younger and the older student. Kara asked if the mentorship opportunities will be for students across the classroom, and Daniel aims to make it widespread.
Anna commented that it's important to assess new students quickly to be able to provide support in time before the middle school years are over.
No other discussion or public comments.
J. Faraguna left at 4:45 PM.
III. Closing Items
A.
Topics for next meeting
None at this time.
B.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 5:06 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
G. Klein
Documents used during the meeting
None