Brandon Harrison, Harlows Location Manager and colleague, Kaye Schaich attended today's meeting. They provided  a year-to-date report and showed appreciation to the Board for Board Appreciation Month.

• 27,000 miles driven since the beginning of the school year
• Zero accidents
• Communication regarding students' behavior handled by Russ Battiata, SIA Operations Director

ASB President, Payton Drader and Secretary, Evelyn Caine presented. Their attendance at today's meeting is to report on additional information requested by the Board at the December meeting.  They gathered data by visiting the other schools' websites, specifically their handbooks.

Reference: Policy on Hair Color

• Data from other WA Charter Schools
• Data sampling from Private Schools
• Data sampling from Public Schools

The Board prefers the language given as Option B: 

"Students, grades 6-12, may dye their hair at their legal guardian’s discretion, so long as hair is clean, neat and not a distraction to the learning environment.”

Cassie Anderson recommends for the board to vote for policy change for Grades 6-12 only; Morgen Flowers will finalize the verbiage and present it at the February meeting as part of the Consent Agenda.

Morgen Flowers-Washington, Head of School presented.

As a result of staff and school families votes, two proposed calendars for the 2026-2027 school year are presented to the Board.

• Traditional
• Balanced Calendar (Version 3)

The school administration reviewed calendars from neighboring districts and found that most, if not all, are transitioning to a Balanced Calendar for the next school year. SIA intends to align with this shift to better support families, particularly those with children enrolled in multiple districts, and help reduce scheduling challenges.

Per Sam Schweda, there is no major impact on budget anticipated due to switching to a balanced calendar.

Morgen does not recommend postponing implementation of the Balanced Calendar to the 2027–28 school year, as most surrounding districts are adopting this model in the upcoming year. A delay may also negatively affect enrollment. The administration supports implementation of the Balanced Calendar in alignment with the preferences expressed by school staff and families.

Caryn McGee, Director of Curriculum and Instruction presented.

Winter MAP was conducted as mid-year "pulse check" to see how students are progressing toward their end-of-year MAP goals. The primary focus was on students who started the school year below grade level (bottom 40th percentile) to ensure they are getting the support they need. The target is 50% of those students will meet their RIT goals. 

Notable:

• School is on tract based on winter scores in ELA and Math 
• Students in bottom 40th percentile are on track for Spring RIT goal
• 10th grade students in the target group also showed strong progress, with 67% meeting their projected growth.
• 83% of third grade students in the target group met their growth goals in Math
• 80% of fifth grade students in the target group  reached their growth goals in Math
• Next steps will be to provide more targeted one-on-one support and intervention for Middle School and High School students, such as after-school tutoring and/or study hall classes

• Planning for the 8th Grade International Trip for the year 2027 has begun. Panama and Spain are the choices for the trip. Parents mostly voted for Panama.
• High school planning is underway. Students will either attend Running Start or NewTech Skills Center. SIA will make sure students have college-ready transcriipts.
• Big focus at the moment is enrollment for the 2026-2027 school year. 
  • 143 application received as of this date
  • Marketing packets for high school were mailed to nearby middle schools inviting counselors to attend Preview Day
  • Tours and Information Nights
  • Advertising in print media: Inlander Restaurant Week, The Fig, The Black Lens
  • Marketing packets for Elementary were also delivered to nearby preschools, targeting Kindergarten-age
  • School presence at local events: MLK, Jr. Day and upcoming Lunar New Year celebration at the convention center

Morgen Flowers-Washington and Javier Median met with former Board member and Foundation's Chair, Matt Hoag. Matt Hoag will continue with his role as Committee Chair for another year.

The Foundation holds the funds used for student travel. Non-board members can be a part of the foundation. 

Board suggestions:

• Board's financial commitment can go to the foundation, but will need consent. Table to a future discussion. Morgen will also reach out to board members individually.
• Invite CAT members to be part of the Foundation; perhaps invite the CAT to a future board meeting

This is a reminder for members who have not completed their training and have not submitted the Public Disclosure Form. Please submit them to Myra Keast.

Potential candidate, Jeffrey Thompson, withdrew his interest to join the Board. 

The Board will continue its effort to grow the Board membership.