No public comment.

Mr. Lewis welcomed everyone to the Parent Advisory Council and mentioned that this is the second year of the Parent Advisory Council. A lot of great feedback last year, on rebranding, new curriculum and a survey to parents; excited to see the work that will come from the Parent Advisory Council this year. Looking forward to the collaborative conversations amongst members in New Business on both communication and engagement initiatives. This past Wednesday was the first meeting of our Scholar Leadership Council, which had a mirror agenda as the Parent Advisory Council and whose draft minutes are already up on Board on Track. He shared that we have three new orientation videos from StrongMind on how to navigate the PSP, tips for scholar success, and how to work the course player. We are working on three major marketing campaigns for the balance of the year: Semester 2 recruitment (launch December 26), 2018-19 school year recruitment (launch February 1), and Summer School recruitment. Summer School will look different from years past with two tracks: accelerated for seniors and general for all other scholars; more details by the next Council meeting in January. We are working on a Filming Project in two weeks, in LA and Santa Ana, to create promotional videos on Compass (interested members can eMail Mr. Lewis to express interest in their scholars being filmed today). Our goal is to no longer be the best kept secret, but to be the best school in the state. He also shared that we are looking for testimonials on various sites, including Google, Facebook and Great Schools; looking for members to share positive reviews:

• Google: http://bit.ly/2mvSvW7
• Facebook: http://bit.ly/2z66Ez8
• Great Schools: will work on links, not ready as of today

October Scholars of the Month will be announced soon. Each month we are focusing on one of our five core values: Achievement, Respect, Teamwork, Integrity and Communication; September was on Achievement, October is on Respect.

Mr. Lewis reviewed the council charge and opened the floor for discussion. The Parent Advisory Council serves to provide parent feedback on school policies and procedures at Compass, to hear from our stakeholders to improve Compass for our scholars and learning coaches. Also act as ambassadors. The Council was created by the Board of Directors in 2016 and this is its second year in operation. The Chair of the Parent Advisory Council also serves as the Parent Representative on the Board of Directors.

Mr. Lewis shared current communication efforts at Compass Charter Schools, including the Monday Morning Update (MMU), quarterly newsletters and social media. The MMU comes out every Monday morning around 8:30 am, and is also posted on both the School tab in the Parent Scholar Portal and Parent & Scholar Resources section of the website. The first quarterly newsletter came out in September, next issue comes out next Wednesday. Compass is on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and a few other channels.

Ms. Herrod shared that she loves the MMU, great help with remembering things that are coming up. Also shared that she loves all of the improvements the school has made this year. Ms. Hunter shared the MMU includes essential information, and that while there is plenty of communication heading her way, it can be challenging to absorb all of the information. Also mentioned that YouTube videos are great. Ms. Christopher mentioned that she loves the MMU and all of the great reminders for field trips and other areas at the school. Also shared that it is great to see pictures of previous events. Ms. Effie stated shared that the MMU is necessary and useful, though occasionally is too long and wordy and repetitive. Ms. Agravante shared that her family loves the Monday Morning email as it helps them plan our week; also love that it has news from elementary, middle, and high school so that her kids get to understand what is taking place with the upperclassmen. She also mentioned that she likes that the information is also on the School tab of the PSP as the MMU can get lost in her inbox with so many emails coming in. In terms of social media, she looks mainly for our contests and updates from individual teachers. Ms. Robotham mentioned that she glances at the MMU and reads a little each day and has it read by the end of the week.

Mr. Lewis shared information about current engagement initiatives. Mrs. MacAlpine, our Scholar Engagement Coordinator, plans and promotes a number of field trips each month across the state. Mrs. Karle Roberts, our Family Engagement Coordinator, plans and promotes our family engagement events, including the new Coaches' Corner program. Provided an overview of the intent of the Coaches' Corner and potential to shift it to simply a virtual library and hosting a monthly Coaches' Corner Roadshow.

Ms. Christopher shared she loves the idea of a roadshow tour. Ms. Herrod commented that she thinks a roadshow would be a great idea. Ms. Agravante said the roadshow idea is an awesome idea, similar to a MeetUp for our families. Also shared that field trips can be hard as the family only has one vehicle and her husband works; he took the day off so they could attend the Legoland field trip last week. Ms. Hunter said a roadshow would be a nice opportunity. She also suggested sharing a calendar further in advance for learning coaches. Ms. Effie mentioned that some of the topics from the Coaches' Corner topics have not of interest, and hopes they can be scheduled around the dinner hour. She also shared that she appreciates the improvements and quality in field trips, but is finding it difficult to keep up and participate in engagement due to the  deadlines. While it continues to be a challenge to meet registration deadlines, she recognizes all the great work from Rebecca MacAlpine. Also shared a twice a year potluck for families might be of interest. Multiple members would be interested and consider participating in weekend field trips. Ms. Robotham shared that the field trips look great but has missed several due to the registration deadlines.

Ms. Effie shared that she loves CCS and all of the staff, more than the curriculum. Has concerns with the level of difficulty of assignments and the estimated time frame that is listed is shorter than what is taking her scholars to complete the work and how assignments and tests are worded. She also shared that the Weekly Progress Reports do not represent an accurate progress grade and not as useful as the progress reports from last year. Ms. Robotham agreed that some of the classes, especially math, seem to be more difficult for scholars this year, and agreed that the Weekly Progress Report has not been as helpful based on the information it is pulling. Ms. Hunter mentioned that her scholars are flourishing with the curriculum and platform; suggested scholars could find others way to support each other to be successful in their classes. Ms. Agravante shared her family would love to see more contests, more art and coding with Mr. Thompson, suggested additional practice sessions and drills to prepare for the upcoming state standardized tests, suggested offering the ability for scholars to earn a letter based on some point system related to achievement or some other criteria, and the possibility for article contributions from learning coaches and scholars to be included in the school newsletter to help build community and participation. Ms. Herrod mentioned that everything seems to be going well this year, and many of the members shared items that she also would have shared. Ms. Christopher shared that they tried Brick & Mortar for four days and were right back to CCS. They are looking forward to working with Mr. Lewis and the Council to make Compass even better than it always is.

The next meeting of the Parent Advisory Council will be Friday, January 19 at 3 pm.