Urban Montessori Charter School
Minutes
Regular Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday April 25, 2024 at 5:30 PM
Location
4551 Steele Street, Oakland, CA 94619. Ring the front bell or call/text 510-290-4005 for entry. Signage on campus will direct you to the correct room, generally the Head of School's Office.
The public may comment and participate via Zoom if they prefer. The public may also email comments to board@urbanmontessori.org to be shared by the Board's Secretary during the meeting. Please make that intention clear in your email.
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Meeting ID: 825 9285 5160; Passcode 510 842 1181
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Meeting ID: 825 9285 5160
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Additional teleconference locations: 3225 Bayo Vista Ave Alameda, CA 94501
This meeting will be audio recorded. The public can find documents related to this agenda either linked directly on the agenda or under "Documents" after selecting the meeting in BoardOnTrack prior to viewing the agenda. Downloading the "packet" may not include all of the "Documents" that are still otherwise available to the public via the Meeting on BoardOnTrack.
Members: Kara Fortuna, Greg Klein, Sarah Morrill (Chair), Amy Ng, Ann Rhodes, Evan Sequoia
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 on our BoardOnTrack public portal and also through the UMCS School Calendar.
Directors Present
A. Ng, E. Sequoia, G. Klein, S. Morrill
Directors Absent
A. Rhodes, K. Fortuna
Guests Present
D. Bissonnette, K. Feeney
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Review of Action/Discussion Items
D.
Board and Community Appreciations
Krishna appreciated Mr. Buck.
Greg appreciated Ms. Brittany.
Sarah appreciated Greg.
Daniel gave huge appreciations to the FAC.
Sarah appreciated the FAC.
Daniel appreciated the LE and UE teams.
E.
Board Member Comment
No board member comments on items not on the agenda.
F.
Presentations from the Floor
No public comment on items not on the agenda.
G.
Community Agreements Discussion
Sarah framed a brief discussion on agreements Mistakes are for learning! and Be curious, vulnerable and courageous - without judgment. Daniel connected an appreciation for Amy's participation in Academic Oversight Committee with her being curious and open. Sarah shared that she appreciated how the Board has tried to create space for new FAC leadership to step in and participate more regularly. Greg shared his about his curiosity about budget and staffing planning details, but how that's not an excuse to reach out all day long to Admin for details that are not within the Board's purview, and how it can make him feel vulnerable to always knowing the details until the details are ready to be shared.
No public comments on this item.
II. Head of School Report
A.
Head of School Report
Daniel shared about recent events including the recent Plant and Bake Sale for Earth Day; practice SBAC testing is starting with SBAC in a few weeks; classroom placements for rising students will be shared with families soon; Moveathon is May 18th. Daniel shared about the current 90-91% attendance rate. Krishna shared latest enrollment expectations for the next year, currently at 372, with more applications coming in, more Intents to Return being confirmed this week, and some spots available in TK and 4th. Krishna shared an update about the process and timeline of sharing reasonable assurances or a postponement of reasonable assurances to all staff. Two Lead teachers and one Support teacher have shared with Admin that they do not intend to return. Those classrooms will get communications directly in the coming weeks. Daniel shared about charter renewal process, including the three renewal tracks, and the additional supports the school has made available for students in testing grades. Krishna commented how families with young students may have a hard time getting into their desired Kindergarten if they haven't enrolled in a TK the year prior. The board discussed messaging to families about this new younger enrollment dynamic to help ensure folks make an informed choice. Greg asked and Krishna shared that the staff who are not returning have not yet shared publicly across all staff, but may have with individuals, and that occurs just prior to families being notified, and then students are talked to in classrooms. Daniel added that the school is hosting an info session for staff to learn about joining the training center to become lead teachers. Sarah asked about low track status and Krishna responded about overall and subgroups matching or being below the state on any indicator, and that our lack of sufficient number of ELPAC test takers years ago during COVID meant the state couldn't assign us a color. Admin is working with the state on that, and also meeting this coming week with County staff to explain and share more data. ELPAC progress was much higher than the state. Daniel added about the work ongoing to strengthen academic plans, support for teachers, and align resources to specific subgroup outcomes.
No public comments on this item.
B.
Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) 2024-2025 and Board Agenda planning
Krishna shared the most recent draft of the LCAP. Still focused right now on one single CA School Dashboard-aligned goal, with aligned metrics, including subgroups. Draft activities are starting to be populated. The document remains available to all community, board, and staff to comment. School Leadership Team has reviewed and is providing feedback.
Krishna reminded the Board about its prior discussion earlier in the school year about streamlining committee report out at regular Board meetings. The board discussed the expectation of shrinking the Executive & Governance Committee's report out and referring community to the committee's minutes, bringing more of the work of the Academic Committee into the Regular Board meeting aligned to a monitoring calendar (that needs to be developed), and keeping the FAC report the same. Greg offered and the Board agreed to do a brief training at the May meeting about what effective goal monitoring can look like during a board meeting. Daniel shared about the need for the board to learn about the data it might not be as familiar with.
No public comments on this item.
III. Family Advisory Council
A.
Discussion Item - Committee Report
Evan shared that the FAC has been meeting to plan Moveathon, weekly on Saturday mornings. Evan asked and Admin clarified that bouncy houses are not a good option insurance-wise for a school. Greg shared that the planning team will need to discuss shifting to other fun options. Evan shared that the 99pledges part of the Moveathon for donations will go live soon. Daniel shared that there is an upcoming Karaoke Night.
No public comment on this item.
IV. Academic Oversight Committee
A.
Committee Report
Amy shared the committee report and updated the Independent Study Policy, and how 4-8th graders are practicing on IXL. The committee discussed LCAP and investing to address chronic absenteeism. Greg asked and Krishna confirmed that the Independent Study Policy still remains below the limit of days allowed after which live daily instruction is required by law.
No public comment on this item.
Amy shared the committee report and updated the Independent Study Policy, and how 4-8th graders are practicing on IXL. The committee discussed LCAP and investing to address chronic absenteeism. Greg asked and Krishna confirmed that the Independent Study Policy still remains below the limit of days allowed after which live daily instruction is required by law.
No public comment on this item.
V. Executive & Governance Committee
A.
Committee Report and Board roles
Greg gave the report, including Evan's recent board trainings, and that the Board Assessment and Head of School Evaluation surveys are both out for board members to complete, and that the committee reviewed the Board Statement of Agreement and the Conflict of Interest Policy, with minor updates on both.
No actions were taken tonight on officers or committee assignments. Greg shared that at its next meeting, the Executive and Governance committee should discuss 2024-2025 officer roles and committee assignments, as well as a Board calendar for next year.
Sarah shared that the May committee meeting would be rescheduled, and when it is, the calendar and BoardOnTrack will be updated.
No public comment on this item.
VI. Other Business
A.
Oakland and California Updates
Greg shared about a recent Agency by Design Oakland event he attending. Greg shared OUSD is working through its own multiyear budget work, as well as adopting metrics related to state law and conversations and decision around school mergers, consolidations, and closures. Daniel asked and Greg wasn't sure exactly what the metrics included, but would be part of the OUSD Board's public documents.
No public comments on this item.
B.
Approve Minutes from March 21, 2024 Regular Meeting
There was no public comment on this item.
C.
Action Item - Vote on General Consent Report
Greg shared each item was reviewed prior by a committee except the 990 tax form, which staff reviewed and recommends for approval.
There were no public comments on this item.
D.
Collect New Business items for Future Meetings
Greg will put a discussion on Effective Goal Monitoring on the May agenda. Greg commented that committees should continue to review and update 1-2 policies per month.
VII. Closed Session
A.
Closed Session Items
At 6:59p, Sarah shared that the board would go into closed session on Public Employee Performance Evaluation - Head of School. There were no public comments.
VIII. Return to Open Session
A.
Report out of any closed session action(s)
At 7:19p, the board returned to open session and Sarah shared that were no actions taken.
No changes needed.