Casa Richard Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

September 28, 2011 Meeting Minutes

BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

September 28, 2011 - 3:30 PM

Board: Rita Brincat (via phone), Evette Faucette, Catherine Padilla, Pamela Paglino, Roberta Richard ` RESA in Attendance: n/a Excused: Raymond Carey Staff: Angela Johnson, James Baroli, Timothy Constant, Terry Lajiness Guest: Karen Hildebrandt, Michael Boisvenu

I. Call to Order
President, R. Richard, called the meeting to order at 3:43 p.m.

II. Welcome & Oath of Office

A motion was made and seconded (Brincat/Padilla) to accept the Meeting Minutes of August 17, 2011. Motion carried.

III. Finance Report

K. Hildebrandt reported that cash is at approximately $460,000, further noting that the year-to-date variance was within $904.00 of the Academy’s actual budget. We have taken into account that prior to this year, public schools received 75 percent of their foundation allowance based on the fall student count; however, new law now mandates that schools receive 90 percent of the allowance based on their fall student count. State Aid payments are made October through August; thus, mid-year budget revisions will reflect the Academy’s actual student count as of October 6, 2011.

A motion was made and seconded (Paglino/Padilla) to approve the Finance Report. Motion carried.

Mike Boisvenu presented a page-by-page review of the Academy’s Audited Preliminary Financial Statements for the year ending June 30, 2011. He reported that his firm did not identify any deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting which would be considered material weaknesses, and the results disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards.

A motion was made and seconded (Paglino/Padilla) to approve the Audited Preliminary Financial Statements. Motion carried. (note #8 will be added to page 20)

IV. Building and Facility Report

J. Baroli reported that although he implemented the breakfast program; participation is extremely low. Therefore, he will continue to serve breakfast for another month; if consumption does not increase, the program may be eliminated.

Ford’s High School Partnership Program (HSPP) will conduct their annual Crash Test during first and second hour Science class, on October 12th. In addition, they will host Career Day on October 14th, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Board members were invited to attend and/or participate in both events. Members R. Richard (IT), and E. Faucette (Insurance/Entrepreneurship), volunteered to make presentations on Career Day.

J. Baroli confirmed that per his conversation with Jim Abby, of the National School Lunch Program, the Academy was not eligible to participate in the Community Eligibility Option.

The Academy’s hot water tank stopped working last week. After an inspection by FLAME, it was determined that the motherboard was out. Unfortunately, because the unit is 10 years old, it would require aftermarket parts. Inasmuch, the cost to repair the unit was quoted at $3700. Mr. Baroli received additional quotes for a new tank from FLAME which came-in at $3,180, and $3,780. He will continue to seek bids in an effort to obtain a more cost effective price.

A motion was made and seconded (Paglino/Faucette) to approve the Building and Facility Report. Motion carried.

V. Principal’s Report

A. Johnson reported that she was informed the first week of school that our Math and Special Education (SE) teachers were resigning effective September 16th, to take positions with other districts. Interviews for both positions are currently being conducted.

This year, the Academy has eight Special Ed (SE) students; whereas three of them are classified as Cognitively Impaired, and two classified as Emotionally Impaired¾all high maintenance students. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires states to submit an annual count of students who have an active Individualized Educational Plan (IEP). Due to recent state legislation, the special education Child Count will be combined with the fall Michigan Student Data System (MSDS) General Collection. Because the general and SE count is being combined this year, all Individualized Educational Plans (IEP’s) must be current, and entered into the statewide reporting system by October 5th. Since we are currently without an SE Instructor, Ms. Johnson is diligently looking at student IEP’s, determining if they are current, and entering the required information. Thus far, the candidates that have interviewed for the SE position are not familiar with the State’s reporting system, hence the search for the right candidate continues. P. Paglino suggested inquiring about SE student internships with Wayne State University.

An incident in a classroom escalated to an attempted physical assault on the Principal today, when the student was asked to leave the classroom. The student, having prior judication issues, will more than likely experience the consequences thereof, in addition to being asked to find another school. Those present suggested that Administration take appropriate precautions should the student retaliate.

Even though recruitment efforts have increased, enrollment continues to decline, and has for four consecutive years. Previous year budgets took into account 140 students; this year we budgeted for 115 students; there are currently 101 students enrolled. Mr. Baroli referenced correspondence that generated from Detroit Public School (DPS) stating that DPS students must attend their assigned school on the first day of school, their transfer requests will not be honored during the first weeks of school; and that attendance agents will be sent to the homes of students who did not report to class the first day of school. Mr. Baroli feels that the aforementioned correspondence to DPS families has hindered our enrollment this year. Members of the Board questioned the legality of the contents of the letter, and requested that we obtain and forward to R. Carey for review.

Woodward Academy (a neighboring middle school) invited us to attend their student recruitment fair tomorrow¾if students show interest in enrolling, an open house will be scheduled within the month. Member E. Faucette volunteered to accompany staff to the Woodward Academy event.

As reported last month the Academy made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the 2010-2011 school year! We have since learned from Wayne RESA that we are at Phase 0 status, meaning that the Academy has made AYP for two consecutive years, and is no longer considered a High Priority School. Although we are thankful for making AYP, the support involved with being a High Priority School will end this Friday. Because Administration sees value in utilizing the Coaches, and participating in the Michigan Principal Fellowship roundtables, we will ask RESA if we can continue to receive the aforementioned services for a nominal fee.

We have supplemented ninth grade Algebra 1 by adding an Algebra 1 Lab as second component to their class. Students seem to be enjoying the Psychology class, taught by Mr. Constant, and new to our curriculum this year. Mr. Constant is also co-teaching our eleventh grade American Literature class with Mr. Frank; although Mr. Frank is utilizing the Reading Plus program in some of his other classes, Mr. Constant is not seeing the results thereof. Inasmuch, he met with a representative of Reading Plus to try to determine why students reading skills have not shown improvement. As a result of that meeting, Mr. Constant has chosen not to utilize the Reading Plus program in their American Literature class.

The GRADE reading assessment was administered to all students last week; the results will be distributed at the Board’s next meeting. The ninth grade MEAP assessment will be administered on October 19th.

The Academy’s new website is underway, we’ve contracted with Instant Assistant, Inc.^® for the construction thereof, and expect it will be completed within a couple of weeks. A discussion ensued. It was determined that the representative responsible for creating the site would be invited to the Board’s next meeting, and that Ms. Lajiness would update the Board regularly regarding website updates.

A motion was made and seconded (Padilla/Faucette) to accept the Principal’s Report. Motion carried.

VI. Curriculum Director’s Report

T. Constant reported that data from last year’s PLAN and EXPLORE assessment reports were reviewed in detail. Special attention was given to the data detailing specific student deficiencies, whereas, we found that students are displaying consistent basic writing deficiencies. In an effort to increase proficiency he is in process of creating a writing lab that will concentrate on basic writing and grammar skills. Student writing issues will also be addressed via corresponding ACT practice test material, and daily writing prompts. Attention is also being given to the GRADE assessment as relates to the accuracy in its determination of grade level equivalency.

Both Mr. Constant and Mr. Frank will be attending Common Core Curriculum training at RESA in January. They are also reviewing National Standards in an effort to prepare for the Nation’s proposed transition. National Standards aim to align instruction with framework so that more students can meet the requirements of college and career readiness, and so that students can receive the same education no matter where they reside.

Mr. Baroli has been diligently reviewing student transcripts to determine which students are off track and need to take a credit recovery class. He will be meeting with students next week. Eighth hour credit recovery classes are tentatively scheduled to start the week of October 10th; however, because there is a $120 cost associated this year, we expect minimal participation. Students, who take and pass a credit recovery class, will be reimbursed.

Mr. Constant is looking for ninth and tenth graders interested in attending the Giant Step Teen Conference at Wayne State University. The conference is designed to help teenagers understand they can make choices in life and provide teens from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to share, learn and understand different points of view. The 28th annual Giant Step Teen conference will be held on Thursday, November 3, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Student Center Building on the campus of Wayne State University. Conference attendance for students and chaperones is completely free, but limited to 250 students. Board members suggested that we try to make the conference a school wide event.

VII. New Business

Materials received from the Board Training Workshop were distributed to those present¾members were asked to review the material for discussion at the Board’s next meeting.

VIII. Ongoing and Old Business