Nuasin Next Generation Charter School

Minutes

Education Committee Monthly Call

Date and Time

Wednesday October 21, 2020 at 3:00 PM

Location

 
Mission
We prepare our students for college through a rigorous arts-infused program.
Vision
All students will be taught by a highly effective teacher in a nurturing environment and will achieve at high levels. Each student will develop the knowledge, skills and values necessary for responsible citizenship and life-long learning. The impact of our collective efforts will fundamentally change public education.

Committee Members Present

A. Khatiwada (remote), C. Barnes-Watson (remote), E. Chen (remote), J. Boulet (remote)

Committee Members Absent

M. Dorrie, S. Huda

Guests Present

A. Ames (remote), K. Davidson (remote), K. McGuire (remote), T. Williams (remote), annika (remote), anthony brown (remote), anuj.khatiwada@bofa.com (remote), jason mcnatt (remote), joi (remote), keely webb (remote), liesl hara (remote)

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

E. Chen called a meeting of the Education Committee of Nuasin Next Generation Charter School to order on Wednesday Oct 21, 2020 at 3:08 PM.

C.

Approve Minutes

E. Chen made a motion to approve the minutes from Education Committee Monthly Call on 09-16-20.
A. Khatiwada seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED to approve the motion.

II. Education Updates

A.

K - 8 Principal Updates

  • Dashboard has been updated
  • Tab 1 and 5: Covid data and Attendance
  • Attendance progressively increasing - this week is trending a little lower (due to events of previous week from Covid case) - attendance 90% (tracking above from spring)
  • Culture team is doing very well
  • iReady: initial beginning of year is not good (still testing K and grade 1) - lots of room for improvement - 51% are at or above average (8th grade math) - continue to aggregate SpEd data (subgroup done by end of week) - IA (grade 4-8) started (no data yet) 
  • Annika: 1) progressive development (intellectual prep -teachers) 2) data integration - Edge Elastic - provides detailed data 3) CGI (cognitively guided instruction) - math k-8 model to launch in Nov - make math more applicable to life
  • Joi: ELA teaching Leadership 1) partnership w/ Livenea- close reading (3-8 grades) - expanded by using data insight curriculum; 2) downward expansion of reading programs projects (writing and social studies) - close coaching w/ teachers (Livonia consultants once a month to observe)
  • Anuj: ST and LT plan (scaffolding)
    • Annika: over summer research on closing the gap from March 2020 to now - start curriculum where to start (intellectual plan - how standards connect amongst the grade) - teacher preparation is key to move from standard to standard
    • Joi: intellectual prep - getting behind the why and the process to get to the answer; apply the skill to real life
    • Kurt: data driven is key, however the current data is inaccurate - strong practice to develop teachers

B.

9 - 11 Principal Updates

  • iReady data is no good - 9th and 10th do better than 11th and 12th - the 11th and 12th do not take it seriously - they take regents and college standardized tests seriously
  • Some students retested - there are some concerns with certain students - restructured Friday to address some concerns from iReady
  • Strategic plan: 1) 5 regents, 2) credits accumulation goal, 3) progress (interventions for struggling students and IEP) + 4) graduation rate goal, 5) college acceptance goal
    • leadership and teacher, and benchmark (throughout the year)
    • Anthony Brown: regents pass rate - how to look at the data and robust curriculum - 1) springboard - provide scaffolding for the struggling ones; and APEX 2) data dives (IAs and monthly assessments) - corrective instructional action plans 3) Marshall framework - review at the instruction delivery more frequently 
    • Liesl Hara: streamline instruction (k-12) - iReady data to do initial grouping (interconnection with other data); SpEd: within the school and increasing instructional support 
    • Keely Webb: graduation rate 98% (a lot of them have incomplete - currently working on APEX and coming in on Friday to make up) -
    • Jason McNatt: 4 component outreach (letters to parents; quarterly townhall; 1-1 instructions during townhill)
    • Mentorship program - each teacher will mentor 3 scholars - virtual college tours and sessions with seniors; partner with the concerning kids mentors
  • Credit accumulation: Tyra - dropped down to 11; team building activities; bringing in incomplete and concerning students

III. Other Business

A.

Other Business

Tyra: protocol for early graduation - working with Karin - some are credit ready but not college ready - need the board to think about "what we want to say, before seniors graduate?" - i.e. GPA? AP classes? - amend the handbook for next year (the new ED will need to work with school leadership) - need to be accepted into a 4-year college in order to graduate high school
  • scholarships and financial aid - in the dashboard (very early stages - no data yet) - following up with families on filing for financial aid
  • Karin: looking into recording GPA, standardized tests, and college acceptance rate

IV. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 4:02 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
E. Chen