ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL PARENTS ASSOCIATION
DRAFT Minutes of a Meeting of the Executive Board of
ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY PARENTS ASSOCIATION
April 27, 2007
A meeting of the Executive Board of the ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY PARENTS ASSOCIATION (“RGA PA”) began at approximately 8:10 a.m. on Friday, April 27 2007, at ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY (“RGA”) in Room 115 at 52 Chambers Street, New York, New York 10007.
The following RGA PA officers were present: Ian Pearce, president; Brenda Shrobe, Parent Trustee; Richard Kixmiller, Vice President (Middle School); and Lisa Trollbäck, Secretary. Ms. Trollbäck kept the minutes of the meeting. The following class representatives and alternates were present: Chris Griffin, Reada Bunin Edelstein, Chris Murphy, Gregg McGee, and Sherrill Collins. The following members of the parent community were present: Tessie Cornel, Louis Diaz, Robert Fighera, Ayo Harrington, Cheryl-Ann Howell, Janet Japa, Michelle Patton, Meilyn Soto-Chapman, and Albert Yang, Dr. Stephanie Clagnaz, RGA principal, and Brooke Rogers, RGA parent coordinator, were also in attendance. Ms. Griffin served as chair of the meeting.
The Principal’s Report
The first item of business was an update from Dr. Clagnaz. Dr. Clagnaz said that parents had recently received notification of staff changes via sealed envelope in backpack mail and via a letter from her that had been emailed by Brooke Rogers.
In answer to lower-school parents’ concerns, Dr. Clagnaz reported lower-school and middle-school children already had been separated during after-care hours. Dr. Clagnaz noted that the reduction in the number of children referred to the office for discipline-related problems is a continuing trend since the implementation of small-group instruction.
Dr. Clagnaz reported that on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, she and the summer-program committee had had a very productive meeting. She said a great deal of progress was made and that parents had contributed many ideas. A request for a timeline for finalization of the summer program was submitted by Chris Griffin, chair of the summer-program committee, via email to Dr. Clagnaz late in the evening on Thursday, April 26. Dr. Clagnaz had not yet seen the email, however, and noted that, as it was now less than 48 hours after she and the summer-programs committee had met, she did not have a set timeline for final summer-programming decisions.
Dr. Clagnaz said she would be unable to discuss the 7th grade curriculum in further detail until after Dr. Mak Mitchell officially assumed the position on May 1 of executive director of the Ross Teachers’ Academy. She said that she was aware of parents’ concerns and that Dr. Mitchell and faculty members would inform the development of the 7th grade curriculum.
Dr. Clagnaz reported that, as of the previous week, homework was now posted online for each class on the school’s website (http://www.rossglobalacademy.org). Parents noted that for middle-school classes, the homework areas of the site were so far incomplete, and that middle school homework was also not always as rigorous as they would like, nor always adequately explained. Dr. Clagnaz made a note of these issues and promised to look into them.
Dr. Clagnaz left the meeting immediately after completing her report and answering parents’ questions.
Time Keeping at PA Meetings
Reada Edelstein put forward a motion to impose limits for the discussion of items on RGA PA meeting agendas.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was therefore
RESOLVED, that the chair of RGA PA meetings shall impose time limits per speaker and per agenda item at all RGA PA meetings.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was further
RESOLVED, that the RGA PA shall make the request of Dr. Clagnaz that parents receive a final summer program plan by Friday, May 18th.
It was discussed that setting Friday, May 18th as a date for notification to parents would not be accompanied by an expectation that every aspect of the summer program be locked in by that time.
Parent Trustee Update
Brenda Shrobe said that the Board of Trustees most likely would meet next during the week of April 30, 2007. Elina Cardet had provided Ms. Shrobe with a copy of the RGA PA's letter of February 22, 2007 to the principal, which had been cc'd to the Board of Trustees. Ms. Shrobe said that she had not yet finished a draft of a follow-up letter to the principal, which again would be cc'd to the Board of Trustees. She said a number of issues cited in the RGA PA's previous letter remained open, and invited parents to offer suggestions to her via email. She provided hard copies of the previous letter to those who requested it.
Nominating Committee Update
Ayo Harrington reported that the RGA PA Nominating Committee had not yet met, but so far planned to hold RGA PA Elections at the Saturday, June 2nd general RGA PA meeting.
Facility Task Force Update
Brenda Shrobe reported that the RGA PA Facility Task Force had met on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 with Nicolas Combemale of the RGA Board of Trustees. She said that, as parents have so far been informed, it is indeed highly likely that the school will remain in the current location for next year. She also said that there is a space on the Lower East Side that the DOE seems poised to offer the school at no cost for the ’08-’09 calendar year. She said Mr. Combemale told the task force that it is possible that this facility would house the upper school only. She said that Mr. Combemale supported proactive involvement from parents. It was noted that the RGA PA has been publicly silent, though the RGA PA had written several letters about the facility to RGA principals, cc'd to the RGA Board of Trustees, per a procedure recommended by the Board of Trustees. She said Facility Task Force members now perceive a need to write to elected officials and the schools chancellor in order to ensure that RGA obtains a facility.
Teacher Appreciation
Meilyn Soto-Chapman said she had discussed Teacher Appreciation Week with Lisa Trollbäck and Brenda Shrobe and had advised the RGA PA to leave it to individual parents and class representatives to acknowledge teachers, in lieu of an RGA PA-organized event. The RGA PA Board members present at the meeting agreed that acknowledgment of Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6-12) would be left this year to the discretion of individual parents and class representatives.
Fundraising and Grants-Writing Committees
It was agreed that Robert Fighera would initiate a meeting of the fund-raising committee. It was suggested that he schedule the meeting for Saturday, May 5 at 9:00 AM, and he agreed.
Scholastic Book Fair Volunteers
A volunteer sign-up sheet for the Scholastic Bookfair (April 30-May 5) was circulated, and three parents volunteered.
RGA PA Suggestion Box
Brenda Shrobe reminded parents that parents can submit suggestions or ideas on any topic at any time to the RGA PA’s online Suggestion Box, http://www.rgapasuggestionbox.blogspot.com, which is linked from the RGA PA website, http://www.rgapa.blogspot.com. Lisa Trollbäck said the online form is set up so that she is the recipient of the suggestions and comments, and that, as a matter of policy, she keeps anonymous the identity of the submitting party unless otherwise instructed.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, it was therefore
RESOLVED, that the Secretary of the RGA PA shall maintain the anonymity of parents who submit suggestions via email, the online suggestion box, or in any other written form, unless otherwise instructed by the involved parent or guardian.
RGA PA 501(c)(3) Status
Ian Pearce noted that Richard Kixmiller, who has experience in setting up 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations, had been advising Isadora Bolton, the RGA PA treasurer, on how to go about establishing 501(c)(3) status for the RGA PA.
2007-2008 School Year
Sherrill Collins asked the assembled parents if anyone had ideas for how the RGA PA could help reassure parents so that they would decide to keep their children at RGA for the coming academic year. Ayo Harrington said that it would not be appropriate for the RGA PA to offer such assurances but rather the RGA PA should focus its efforts on ways to directly improve the school. Several parents voiced the need for a 20007-2008 academic calendar. Louis Diaz suggested that perhaps the principal could provide parents in May 2007 with a vision statement or “road map” for 2007-2008.
Chris Griffin adjourned the meeting at approximately 9:00 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Trollbäck
Secretary of the Meeting
Monday, April 30, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
4/20/07 Draft Minutes, RGA PA Board Meeting
ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL PARENTS ASSOCIATION
DRAFT Minutes of a Meeting of the Executive Board of
ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY PARENTS ASSOCIATION
April 20, 2007
A meeting of the Executive Board of the ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY PARENTS ASSOCIATION (“RGA PA”) began at approximately 8:00 a.m. on Friday, April 20 2007, at ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY (“RGA”) in Room 115 at 52 Chambers Street, New York, New York 10007.
The following RGA PA officers were present: Ian Pearce, president; BrendaShrobe, Parent Trustee; Richard Kixmiller, Vice President (Middle School); and Lisa Trollbäck, Secretary. Ms. Trollbäck kept the minutes of the meeting. The following class representatives and alternates were present: Chris Griffin, Reada Bunin Edelstein, Brenda Maloy, Norma Murphy, and Sherrill Collins, in addition to several other parents and grandparents, including, among others, Ayo Harrington, Louis Diaz, Meilyn Soto-Chapman, Robert Fighera, and Michelle Patton. Dr. Stephanie Clagnaz, RGA principal; Erika Ellison, RGA business manager; and Brooke Rogers, RGA Parent Coordinator, were also in attendance.
Nicholas Combemale of the RGA Board of Trustees introduced Mark Brossman, a pro-bono attorney for Ross Global Academy, Mak Mitchell, who becomes Executive Director on May 1 of the Ross Teachers’ Academy; and Dirk Tillotson, Chief Operations Officer of the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence.
The Principal’s Report
Dr. Clagnaz said that the RGA PA Board had made note to her that the new schedule, enrichment clusters, small groups and advisory groups are all significant recent improvements to the quality of education at RGA.
Search for an Assistant Principal
The first item of business was an update from Dr. Clagnaz regarding the search for an assistant principal, which she said, together with faculty hiring, is her current number-one priority. She said that she his currently conducting several interviews per day. Dr. Clagnaz said there are several candidates for assistant principal, in all stages of the interviewing process. She said, and Mr. Combemale agreed, that she must discuss with the Chair of the RGA Board of Trustees whether a committee of parents would be convened to meet with finalists for the position of assistant principal.
Faculty Positions for Fall 2007
Dr. Clagnaz said that it would be inappropriate for her to comment on faculty contracts.
Saturday School Program Progress—How the Program Will Look Next Year
Dr. Clagnaz said that she does not yet know how Saturday school will be improved but said changes will be made through collaborative decisions with qualified faculty.
Summer Program
Dr. Clagnaz said that she will meet Thursday morning, April 26th with the PA’s summer-program committee to further discuss the program.
Parent Coordinator:
Dr. Clagnaz said that she is not aware of a job description onfile for the position of RGA parent coordinator.
School Nutrition
Dr. Clagnaz reported that the RGA administration is working on a few leads regarding piloting its own nutrition program.
Title 1 Funds
Dr. Clagnaz reported that she is not a Title 1 compliance officer and is therefore currently unaware of the status of the one percent of Title 1 funds that a member of the parent community had previously stated are earmarked for parents-determined activity. She said that she would look it.
RGA Newsletter
Dr. Clagnaz reported that she is currently working on a new edition of theschool newsletter, Celebrations.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Dr. Clagnaz said that the administration is currently working on a schedule for parent-teacher conferences.
Homework on RGA Website
Dr. Clagnaz reported that a homework section on the RGA website had been built by Amy Wright, the RGA director of technology. Dr. Clagnaz said teachers are now required to post the weekly homework by noon on Mondays. She said that parents are now able to find all necessary homework and academic information by looking up his/her homeroom on the website.
RGA Facility Update
In order to accommodate RGA for the next academic year, Dr. Clagnaz said she is in talks with the Department of Education to exchange one smaller room currently occupied by RGA for one larger room currently occupied by the DOE on the ground floor of Tweed Courthouse.
Returning Students
Dr. Clagnaz said so far 135 of 163 RGA families, equaling 82 percent, are returning for 2007-2008. She said RGA’s reputation is clearly growing, since applications are coming in at a rapid pace,. Currently, there are 135 applications for far fewer available seats. The date of the lottery is May 16.
Dr. Clagnaz left the meeting after her report.
Mak Mitchell
Mak Mitchell said her job as Executive Director of the Ross Teachers Academy would be to determine how to build quality teaching and capacity and to build a quality faculty. She said that she is a tried and true administrator from Tweed and from her position as Executive Director of The Urban Assembly (a group of 19 schools). She said that her job at Ross will be to align New York State standards and the Ross Model, and to oversee the professional development of the faculty. She also said she would be reporting on developments to the parents, who, she said, are the ultimate experts on their children.
Questions and Comments from Parents
Ayo Harrington said the principal had asked at last Saturday’s general
meeting, in response to a question about parent-teacher conferences, “Are you expecting another one? Ms. Harrington reiterated a statement she made at the general meeting that parents need an academic calendar. Ms. Harrington said that there is a need to work on the terminology used to reference the children, whom she said the principal has referred to as “broken.” Ms. Harrington said that there is a problem when the terminology used to describe the children is negative, and said that there is “an atmosphere of fear” at RGA and that parents and teachers are afraid to criticize the administration. Ms. Harrington also commented that “six or seven of the best staff member will not be returning in September.”
Mark Brossman said he would like to be invited back to future meetings ofthe Parents Association Executive Board. He jokingly noted that while many Boards suffer from what he calls “dysfunctional politeness,” the RGA PA does not have this problem. He said he felt that he could be helpful in determining the boundaries between the responsibilities of the various stakeholders in the RGA community.
Norma Murphy said that she did not feel her child had learned much of anything this academic year, and said that the Board of Trustees needs to come in to see firsthand what is going on at RGA.
Reada Bunin Edelstein suggested that a Strategic-Planning Committee be formed and that the Board should appoint a trustee to serve as the liaison to the committee.
Robert Fighera asked to be named Chair of the Fundraising Committee. Discussion of the fundraising committee was deferred to the next meeting.
Brenda Maloy asked about Regents-track classes for 7thgrade. Mak Mitchell said that the faculty curriculum committee would meet over the summer and discuss the criteria for populating those classes.
Ms. Harrington said that a number of students with IEPs had not been properly served to date by RGA.
Suzy Yang asked Dirk Tillotson of the Center for Charter School Excellence whether RGA had an atypically difficult first year. Mr. Tillotson said yes. Mr. Tillotson explained that the Center for Charter School Excellence is an independent, nonprofit organization and works cooperatively with New York City charter schools. A primary goal of the Center, he said, is to provide schools with reports and interim assessments on major issues such as governance and instructional baseline, so that schools can clearly measure how they are performing. The Center, he said, also offers grants to charter schools. Mr. Tillotson said that transitions in school leadership yielded a tough startup year, but that the Center has identified a current “upward trend” at RGA. He acknowledged that RGA’s current facility is a constraint. Mr, Combemale said that the Board of Trustees’ approach to the Center for Charter School Excellence is, “Let’s do everything.” He said the Board of Trustees would be delighted for the Center to evaluate the governance of the Board of Trustees, its composition, and issues such as whether key decisions are being made. Mr. Combemale said the Center for Charter School Excellence had just submitted a report on RGA, which he would ask the principal if she would like to have distributed to parents.
Ms. Harrington said that the Board of Trustees had so far failed to provide a facility for sports and wellness. Reada Bunin Edelstein said that parents could be proactively involved in campaigning the DOE for a facility. Mr. Combemale acknowledged that parents can play a useful role in such matters but said that there was a fine line to be observed in this instance, since the Department of Education is not required to provide a free facility to RGA. Mr. Combemale told Brenda Shrobe that he would like to convene a meeting of the Facility Task Force for 4:00 PM on Thursday, April 26th.
Mr. Brossman reiterated that he would like to be invited back to another meeting of the RGA PA Board.
Mr. Pearce adjourned the meeting at approximately 9:00 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Trollbäck
Secretary of the Meeting
DRAFT Minutes of a Meeting of the Executive Board of
ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY PARENTS ASSOCIATION
April 20, 2007
A meeting of the Executive Board of the ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY PARENTS ASSOCIATION (“RGA PA”) began at approximately 8:00 a.m. on Friday, April 20 2007, at ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY (“RGA”) in Room 115 at 52 Chambers Street, New York, New York 10007.
The following RGA PA officers were present: Ian Pearce, president; BrendaShrobe, Parent Trustee; Richard Kixmiller, Vice President (Middle School); and Lisa Trollbäck, Secretary. Ms. Trollbäck kept the minutes of the meeting. The following class representatives and alternates were present: Chris Griffin, Reada Bunin Edelstein, Brenda Maloy, Norma Murphy, and Sherrill Collins, in addition to several other parents and grandparents, including, among others, Ayo Harrington, Louis Diaz, Meilyn Soto-Chapman, Robert Fighera, and Michelle Patton. Dr. Stephanie Clagnaz, RGA principal; Erika Ellison, RGA business manager; and Brooke Rogers, RGA Parent Coordinator, were also in attendance.
Nicholas Combemale of the RGA Board of Trustees introduced Mark Brossman, a pro-bono attorney for Ross Global Academy, Mak Mitchell, who becomes Executive Director on May 1 of the Ross Teachers’ Academy; and Dirk Tillotson, Chief Operations Officer of the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence.
The Principal’s Report
Dr. Clagnaz said that the RGA PA Board had made note to her that the new schedule, enrichment clusters, small groups and advisory groups are all significant recent improvements to the quality of education at RGA.
Search for an Assistant Principal
The first item of business was an update from Dr. Clagnaz regarding the search for an assistant principal, which she said, together with faculty hiring, is her current number-one priority. She said that she his currently conducting several interviews per day. Dr. Clagnaz said there are several candidates for assistant principal, in all stages of the interviewing process. She said, and Mr. Combemale agreed, that she must discuss with the Chair of the RGA Board of Trustees whether a committee of parents would be convened to meet with finalists for the position of assistant principal.
Faculty Positions for Fall 2007
Dr. Clagnaz said that it would be inappropriate for her to comment on faculty contracts.
Saturday School Program Progress—How the Program Will Look Next Year
Dr. Clagnaz said that she does not yet know how Saturday school will be improved but said changes will be made through collaborative decisions with qualified faculty.
Summer Program
Dr. Clagnaz said that she will meet Thursday morning, April 26th with the PA’s summer-program committee to further discuss the program.
Parent Coordinator:
Dr. Clagnaz said that she is not aware of a job description onfile for the position of RGA parent coordinator.
School Nutrition
Dr. Clagnaz reported that the RGA administration is working on a few leads regarding piloting its own nutrition program.
Title 1 Funds
Dr. Clagnaz reported that she is not a Title 1 compliance officer and is therefore currently unaware of the status of the one percent of Title 1 funds that a member of the parent community had previously stated are earmarked for parents-determined activity. She said that she would look it.
RGA Newsletter
Dr. Clagnaz reported that she is currently working on a new edition of theschool newsletter, Celebrations.
Parent-Teacher Conferences
Dr. Clagnaz said that the administration is currently working on a schedule for parent-teacher conferences.
Homework on RGA Website
Dr. Clagnaz reported that a homework section on the RGA website had been built by Amy Wright, the RGA director of technology. Dr. Clagnaz said teachers are now required to post the weekly homework by noon on Mondays. She said that parents are now able to find all necessary homework and academic information by looking up his/her homeroom on the website.
RGA Facility Update
In order to accommodate RGA for the next academic year, Dr. Clagnaz said she is in talks with the Department of Education to exchange one smaller room currently occupied by RGA for one larger room currently occupied by the DOE on the ground floor of Tweed Courthouse.
Returning Students
Dr. Clagnaz said so far 135 of 163 RGA families, equaling 82 percent, are returning for 2007-2008. She said RGA’s reputation is clearly growing, since applications are coming in at a rapid pace,. Currently, there are 135 applications for far fewer available seats. The date of the lottery is May 16.
Dr. Clagnaz left the meeting after her report.
Mak Mitchell
Mak Mitchell said her job as Executive Director of the Ross Teachers Academy would be to determine how to build quality teaching and capacity and to build a quality faculty. She said that she is a tried and true administrator from Tweed and from her position as Executive Director of The Urban Assembly (a group of 19 schools). She said that her job at Ross will be to align New York State standards and the Ross Model, and to oversee the professional development of the faculty. She also said she would be reporting on developments to the parents, who, she said, are the ultimate experts on their children.
Questions and Comments from Parents
Ayo Harrington said the principal had asked at last Saturday’s general
meeting, in response to a question about parent-teacher conferences, “Are you expecting another one? Ms. Harrington reiterated a statement she made at the general meeting that parents need an academic calendar. Ms. Harrington said that there is a need to work on the terminology used to reference the children, whom she said the principal has referred to as “broken.” Ms. Harrington said that there is a problem when the terminology used to describe the children is negative, and said that there is “an atmosphere of fear” at RGA and that parents and teachers are afraid to criticize the administration. Ms. Harrington also commented that “six or seven of the best staff member will not be returning in September.”
Mark Brossman said he would like to be invited back to future meetings ofthe Parents Association Executive Board. He jokingly noted that while many Boards suffer from what he calls “dysfunctional politeness,” the RGA PA does not have this problem. He said he felt that he could be helpful in determining the boundaries between the responsibilities of the various stakeholders in the RGA community.
Norma Murphy said that she did not feel her child had learned much of anything this academic year, and said that the Board of Trustees needs to come in to see firsthand what is going on at RGA.
Reada Bunin Edelstein suggested that a Strategic-Planning Committee be formed and that the Board should appoint a trustee to serve as the liaison to the committee.
Robert Fighera asked to be named Chair of the Fundraising Committee. Discussion of the fundraising committee was deferred to the next meeting.
Brenda Maloy asked about Regents-track classes for 7thgrade. Mak Mitchell said that the faculty curriculum committee would meet over the summer and discuss the criteria for populating those classes.
Ms. Harrington said that a number of students with IEPs had not been properly served to date by RGA.
Suzy Yang asked Dirk Tillotson of the Center for Charter School Excellence whether RGA had an atypically difficult first year. Mr. Tillotson said yes. Mr. Tillotson explained that the Center for Charter School Excellence is an independent, nonprofit organization and works cooperatively with New York City charter schools. A primary goal of the Center, he said, is to provide schools with reports and interim assessments on major issues such as governance and instructional baseline, so that schools can clearly measure how they are performing. The Center, he said, also offers grants to charter schools. Mr. Tillotson said that transitions in school leadership yielded a tough startup year, but that the Center has identified a current “upward trend” at RGA. He acknowledged that RGA’s current facility is a constraint. Mr, Combemale said that the Board of Trustees’ approach to the Center for Charter School Excellence is, “Let’s do everything.” He said the Board of Trustees would be delighted for the Center to evaluate the governance of the Board of Trustees, its composition, and issues such as whether key decisions are being made. Mr. Combemale said the Center for Charter School Excellence had just submitted a report on RGA, which he would ask the principal if she would like to have distributed to parents.
Ms. Harrington said that the Board of Trustees had so far failed to provide a facility for sports and wellness. Reada Bunin Edelstein said that parents could be proactively involved in campaigning the DOE for a facility. Mr. Combemale acknowledged that parents can play a useful role in such matters but said that there was a fine line to be observed in this instance, since the Department of Education is not required to provide a free facility to RGA. Mr. Combemale told Brenda Shrobe that he would like to convene a meeting of the Facility Task Force for 4:00 PM on Thursday, April 26th.
Mr. Brossman reiterated that he would like to be invited back to another meeting of the RGA PA Board.
Mr. Pearce adjourned the meeting at approximately 9:00 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Trollbäck
Secretary of the Meeting
Friday, April 20, 2007
4/14/07: RGA PA General Meeting
ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL PARENTS ASSOCIATION
DRAFT Minutes of a General Meeting of the
ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY PARENTS ASSOCIATION
April 14, 2007
A general meeting of the ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY PARENTS ASSOCIATION (“RGA PA”) began at approximately 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 14, 2007, in the ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY (“RGA”) café at 52 Chambers Street, New York, New York 10007.
The following RGA PA officers were present: Ian Pearce, president; Brenda Shrobe, Parent Trustee; Isadora Bolton, Treasurer; Elina Cardet, Vice President (Lower School); Chandra Osborne, Vice President (Middle School); Lisa Trollbäck, Secretary. Ms. Trollbäck kept the minutes of the meeting. A quorum of 10 or more parents in attendance was established.
The Principal’s Report
The first item of business was a report on “The State of the School,” from the RGA principal, Dr. Stephanie Clagnaz. Dr. Clagnaz reminded the parent body that she became principal on February 26, 2007, and therefore has now been in the position for seven weeks.
New RGA School-Day Schedule
Dr. Clagnaz first explained the changes to the structure of the school-day schedule that went into effect on Wednesday, April 11, 2007. She noted that the instructional periods have been shortened from one hour to 40 minutes because the most current educational research indicates that 40-minute sessions are better suited to children’s attention spans.
Again based on research, the Lower School’s new schedule allows large blocks of uninterrupted time every morning for literacy and math. Lower School Mandarin language and Specials classes now take place in the afternoon.
In Middle School, there are now five 40-minute period for each of the five core subjects. The middle school students are now divided into small groups of 11-12 students, rotating for three of the five periods. Dr. Clagnaz said that research shows that small groups are better for learning in most subject areas. There are two whole-group periods, including math, as well as several periods of special subjects.
For both Middle and Lower Schools, Academic Support and Enrichment classes have been added and the new Special Education teacher and Remedial Math teacher Melanie Calfato are pushing into all of the classrooms.
The Enrichment Clusters—including, among others, Soccer, Latin Culture,the Model UN, Chorus, and “End Your Day with Clay”—are all small groups. The largest is “End Your Day with Clay”, which has 14 students from both Middle and Lower School.
Dr. Clagnaz noted that smaller-group instruction already has had a positive impact on both instruction and discipline, and there is a reduction in students sent to the office with discipline issues.
Incoming RGA Students for ’07-’08 Academic Year
Dr. Clagnaz reported that the ’07-‘08 admissions packets had been postedon the RGA website on Wednesday, April 11, 2007, in English, Spanish, and Mandarin, and that RGA had so far received 105 new applications, 40 for kindergarten and the rest for 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th grades. As of Saturday, April 14, 2007, RGA had received 86 returning-student forms, slightly above 50 percent of the student body.
RGA Facility
Dr. Clagnaz reported that she had not yet received a definitive decision from the Department of Education regarding an RGA facility for the ‘07-’08 academic year, However, the Department of Education (“DOE”) has strongly indicated that RGA is likely to remain in its present facility. Dr. Clagnaz reported that RGA is in talks with the DOE regarding exchanging one smaller classroom for two other spaces that are currently used by the DOE and Chancellor.
Based on the likelihood of remaining at Tweed Courthouse, Dr. Clagnazsaid she anticipates that there will be only one new section of Kindergarten and no Fifth Grade. While RGA’s growth will therefore be slowed by the DOE’s space allocation, Dr. Clagnaz said this would provide RGA with a year to stabilize the learning community, which would have been more difficult had there been three additional incoming classes, as originally planned.
Dr. Clagnaz reported that the DOE has indicated that it is likely, though not yet definite, that RGA will have its own facility for the ’08-‘09 academic year. So far, however, Dr. Clagnaz has not received written confirmation from the DOE. If RGA moves to its own facility, ’08-’09 growth would be more rapid, Dr. Clagnaz reported, since the charter calls for RGA to serve K-12 within five years.
RGA Assistant Principal
Dr. Clagnaz reported that there are currently several candidates for the position of Assistant Principal. She said that important steps in the process were for each candidate to have a full-day visit at RGA and to visit Ross School in East Hampton to meet with Ross School leadership.
RGA Faculty Recruitment
Dr. Clagnaz noted that Erika Ellison, RGA business manager, had recently attended a Columbia Teachers’ College charter-school hiring fair, which resulted in RGA receiving hundreds of teachers’ resumes. Dr. Clagnaz said that teaching positions at RGA are far more demanding than most, because of the extended day and summer school, and therefore Dr. Clagnaz leads off her interviews describing RGA’s high expectations of its teachers. These expectations, she said, include a simultaneous commitment to the Ross Model and New York State Learning Standards, as well the ability to uniquely contribute to RGA. Dr. Clagnaz noted that she has spent spring break and Saturdays conducting interviews with candidates, and is currently interviewing 3-5 candidates per day.
She also noted that Nathan Damweber, a Teach for America alumnus, has put RGA in touch with Teach for America, which recently released its book of resumes. RGA is also using The National Employment Minority Network, nemnet.com. RGA recently placed a small teachers-recruitment advertisement in the New York Times, which Dr. Clagnaz said did not yield a big enough return in resumes to justify the expense.
RGA Summer Program
Dr. Clagnaz said the mandatory RGA Summer Program is scheduled to be held from July 9-August 3 with each week focused around one of the core Summer Program themes of Respect, Responsibility, Courage and Cooperation. The Program will take place both at RGA and offsite for various field trips. Ms Franz, Mr So, Mr. Leizman, and Mr. Damweber serve on the faculty’s Summer Program committee. The summer-program day will be from 9:00-3:00 PM, with an extended-day option.
The day will include both remedial and enrichment instruction, as well as self-selected research and exploration, and an emphasis on acquisition of age-appropriate research skills.
Dr. Mak Mitchell, Executive Director of the Ross Teachers Academy
Dr. Clagnaz reported that Dr. Mak Mitchell—who holds a Doctorate from Harvard, is a published author, and has served as Executive Director of The Urban Assembly, a collective of 19 small empowerment schools—is now Executive Director of the Ross Teachers Academy. In her new capacity, Dr. Mitchell is responsible for coordinating the professional-development efforts of RGA, the Ross School and the Tensta Gymnasium/Ross Partnership in Tensta, Sweden. Dr. Clagnaz reported that Dr. Mitchell is in an expert in how children learn and in language acquisition.
RGA Nurse
Dr. Clagnaz said that the nurse at RGA is hired and supervised by the New York City Department of Health. She reported that a new nurse, Ms. Ng, has been assigned to RGA to work Monday-Thursday, 7:30 AM-4:30 PM and that different nurses have been assigned to work Friday, 7:30 AM-4:30 PM, and during Saturday School hours. Ms. Ng has been working to obtain missing records for several students.
RGA Special Education Director
Dr. Clagnaz reported that the recently hired special education director, Dr. Juanita Kirton, has created a full schedule for annual reviews for the children with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).
RGA Nutrition
Dr. Clagnaz reported that she does not know the status of RGA’spilot nutrition program.
RGA Middle School Retreat
Dr. Clagnaz reported that there are no dates set yet for the RGA MiddleSchool Retreat, and it is uncertain that the retreat will take place this spring due to very limited remaining availability at the various retreat sites under consideration. Many schools, she said, reserved dates as much as one year in advance. RGA had made reservations at Frost Valley for a March retreat, which Dr. Clagnaz said were canceled upon the request of the Parents Association.
RGA Dismissal
Dr. Clagnaz said that dismissal at 4:30 PM is from the child’s cluster assignment room; otherwise children can be found in the cafeteria for later pickup.
RGA Communications
Dr. Clagnaz mentioned that RGA had published a newsletter in March and would publish another newsletter soon.
Lifting of the NYS Charter Cap
Dr. Clagnaz said the newly enacted New York State budget, and the lifting of the statewide charter cap to 100 charter schools (of which 50 are reserved for New York), has no impact on RGA or its charter.
Question and Answers with Dr. Clagnaz
Dr. Clagnaz received a question about whether there are any plans for RGA to hire a private bus company. She said that RGA has no plans to hire a private bus company.
Dr. Clagnaz was asked whether there were any plans to improve the noise levels and acoustics in the classrooms for the ‘07-’08 academic year. She said that RGA is not permitted to put up partitions or walls that extend to the ceiling, due to the Tweed Courthouse interior’s landmark status. She indicated that the classroom listening environment has considerably improved, however, with the recent implementation of small-group instruction.
Dr. Clagnaz reported, in answer to a question, that parents of incoming and returning students are now asked to sign a document indicating that they understand that the longer instructional day, Saturday school, and Summer Program are all mandatory components of RGA education.
Dr. Clagnaz re-confirmed, when asked, that a nurse is on site at RGA, Monday-Friday and during Saturday School.
Dr. Clagnaz was asked if Professional Development days could be scheduled for weekends, rather than weekdays, during the upcoming academic year. She replied that she would discuss this possibility with Dr. Mitchell.
When asked about how classmates will be grouped next year, Dr. Clagnaz said that the two classes per RGA grade would be re-combined for next year, so children will not continue with all of the same classmates.
The topic of student-management software and report card format was briefly discussed, and Dr. Clagnaz said that RGA is most likely moving from Keystone to the PowerSchool system. She said the next report cards will be distributed at the end of April for Marking Period 3, and the final report card will be issued at the end of June (Marking Period 4), and both will include narrative reports in addition to the standard assessments.
A suggestion was made to have homework for all grades accessible for download from the RGA website. Dr. Clagnaz said this could and would be implemented, and made a note to discuss it with the technical team. A separate menu button for Academic Downloads was also suggested.
Brenda Shrobe, Parent Trustee, noted that since the Enrichment Clusters and Advisory Groups began children are more engaged— and that there is a different, happier feeling at RGA. She suggested that these positive developments should be celebrated in a newsletter and even in press releases to local newspapers.
Ms. Shrobe went on to ask when parent-teacher conferences would take place. Dr. Clagnaz asked parents what their expectations are regarding frequency of parent-teacher conferences, and she was told the citywide public-school norm is twice per year. Dr. Clagnaz said that conferences will be scheduled in conjunction with the Marking-Period 3 report cards.
Ms. Shrobe asked for clarification of RGA’s procedure for communication with parents regarding staff changes. Dr. Clagnaz acknowledged that in the seven weeks that she has been principal that a consistent procedure had not yet been put in place, but noted that she is working towards this.
PA Executive Board member Brenda Maloy asked if there are any plans in place for 7th grade academic studies to track into, or specifically prepare students for, the New York State Regents Exams. Dr. Clagnaz responded that she is already looking at ensuring that the 7th grade curriculum matches Regents requirements, including in Mandarin-language proficiency, as well as in either life science or earth science, depending on the expertise and certification of the science teacher who will be hired. Dr. Clagnaz said that an RGA goal is to provide, with rigor, as many Advanced Placement (AP) course options as possible in high school, as well as studio-arts credits.
Dr. Clagnaz said that Ms. Needham, a practicing artist and certified teacher, had replaced Ms. Purcell as the art teacher. Dr. Clagnaz suggested that parents look at the arts projects that Ms. Needham had worked on, as an associate teacher in KB, including a project on Greek urns and “Arrow to the Sun,” a project examining how different culture look at the Earth and sun.
Ayo Harrington said that parents should receive an academic calendar both for the remaining and upcoming school years. She also said that the parents need a parents’ room on the school premises, which she said had been previously promised. She added that parents must be apprised of the deadlines for staff hiring. Dr. Clagnaz responded that the administrators and teachers wish to be reflective educators, and therefore cannot proceed to create a new academic calendar until they can document outcomes of the academic changes implemented in the last two weeks. Regarding the hiring process, she said it was not possible to give a timeline but that she would hire the appropriate candidates as she found them.
In response to a question about whether children will remain in the same enrichment clusters until the end of the year, Dr. Clagnaz said that some students will have the opportunity to switch clusters, for instance, if they are enrolled in Puppets or Clay, while other clusters, such as the Model UN, are planned to run through June.
Tanisha Gaskin, who is planning an RGA Culture Day, asked about the procedure for planning events at the school. Dr. Clagnaz said that parents can obtain a building-use form from the RGA office. It was suggested that Ms. Gaskin send out a
“Save the Date” announcement with a tentative Saturday date. Ms. Gaskin asked for volunteers, and said parents can get involved by emailing: rgadiversity@hotmail.com.
The RGA Summer Program was discussed, and a number of parents had suggestions for the program. Chris Griffin reported that preliminary ideas from the parents on the Summer Program committee include field trips to the Liberty Science Center, Botanical Gardens, Alvin Ailey, as well as a Mad Scientists unit, among others. Ms. Griffin also suggested that board games be played during the aftercare time rather than during the summer program itself.
A parent suggested that a “suggestions” button be added to the RGA andRGA PA websites, and Dr. Clagnaz and Lisa Trollbäck, secretary of the RGA PA, agreed to look into this for both sites.
A parent asked if there would be a kindergarten graduation ceremony. Dr. Clagnaz said there would be a moving-up ceremony, though there would be no formal RGA graduation ceremonies until the 12th grade.
There being no further questions, Ms. Clagnaz was thanked by the parents and left the meeting.
RGA NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Mr. Pearce noted that, in accordance with the RGA PA by-laws, the RGA PA must conduct an election of officers in May 2007.
Upon motions duly made and seconded, it was therefore
RESOLVED, that each of the following persons be, and each of them hereby is, elected to serve as members of the RGA PA Nominating Committee for the May 2007 Elections of RGA PA officers, to serve as provided in the By-laws of the RGA PA:
Names:
Xavier Chavee
Ayo Harrington
Tricia [CONFIRM LAST NAME}
Report from RGA Parent Trustee
Brenda Shrobe reported that the Board of Trustees has appointed a Quality Assurance Committee, which has so far twice joined the RGA PA Executive Board’s Friday morning meetings.
Ms. Shrobe said that a number of the issues included in RGA PA’s letter of February 2007 remain open.
Upon motions duly made and seconded, it was therefore
RESOLVED, that the RGA PA Executive Board shall write an updated letter to the Board of Trustees, stating present concerns and requesting a response from the Board of Trustees.
Special Election for RGA PA Vice President (Middle School)
Mr. Pearce announced that Chandra Osborne resigned on April 13, 2007 from her position as Vice President (Middle School) of the RGA PA, and that her daughter will be moving to a new school. A discussion ensued about the need for an interim vice president for the middle school. Middle school parents felt that there was a need to fill the position.
Upon motions duly made and seconded, it was therefore
RESOLVED, to hold a special election for the position of RGA PA Vice President (Middle School).
In the immediately ensuing election, it was
UNANIMOUSLY VOTED, to elect Richard Kixmiller, a parent of a 6B
student, to serve as RGA PA Vice President (Middle School) as provided in the By-laws of the RGA PA.
Ms. Shrobe asked that the Minutes of the meeting reflect the Parents Association’s enormous appreciation of Chandra Osborne’s hard work and tireless efforts in her role as RGA PA Vice President (Middle School), including her coordination of NYU volunteers, among many other significant contributions.
RGA PA Communications and Minutes
Ayo Harrington noted that the RGA PA must more aggressively communicate and promote its meetings and events to the parent community. She noted a need to include and publicize interesting programs as part of upcoming meetings. She also noted that the RGA PA must properly record and distribute minutes of its meetings. Putting the minutes on the PA website was discussed, but a decision was not reached. Ms. Trollbäck said the RGA PA should elect both a recording secretary and communicating secretary in its upcoming elections. Mr. Pearce asked for a volunteer to serve in the interim as an unofficial assistant secretary. Ms. Maloy volunteered to serve in this capacity.
Treasurer’s Report
Isadora Bolton reported that the RGA PA had opened a bank account on April 11, 2007 and had received a Tax ID number on April 9, 2007. She reported that she had drafted a preliminary operating budget, which had been distributed to the RGA PA Executive Board. She encouraged volunteers to join the Budget Committee.
5th and 6th Grade Fundraisers
RGA PA Executive Board member Sherrill Collins reported that the bakes sales and various other fundraisers held for the Middle School had netted approximately $400-500. She said that parents had initiated these sales for field trips and other special events, including the possibility of student travels abroad.
Elina Cardet, RGA PA Vice President (Lower School) noted that each class in entitled to initiate and run fundraisers for purposes specific to those classes.
RGA PA Grants-Writing Committee
The need for bigger-picture fundraising efforts was discussed, as well as the need for an RGA PA grants-writing committee.
Upon motions duly made and seconded, it was therefore
RESOLVED, to create an ad-hoc Grants-Writing Committee of the RGA
PA.
Robert Fighera (not present), Ayo Harrinton, Brenda Maloy, and Lisa Trollbäck volunteered to serve on the RGA PA grants writing committee.
Title 1 Funding
Ayo Harrington said that RGA is a recipient of Title 1 funding, one percent of which is legally earmarked for parent-directed activities.
Teacher Appreciation Week
Meilyn Soto-Chapman discussed plans for Teacher Appreciation week. She requested that all parents walk the school’s neighborhood as well as their own neighborhoods, to obtain special passes, discounts, coupons and samples to include in teacher/staff goody bags. Catering a staff lunch was discussed as a possible way to celebrate both faculty and administration.
Mr. Pearce adjourned the meeting at approximately 12:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Trollbäck
Secretary of the Meeting
DRAFT Minutes of a General Meeting of the
ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY PARENTS ASSOCIATION
April 14, 2007
A general meeting of the ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY PARENTS ASSOCIATION (“RGA PA”) began at approximately 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 14, 2007, in the ROSS GLOBAL ACADEMY (“RGA”) café at 52 Chambers Street, New York, New York 10007.
The following RGA PA officers were present: Ian Pearce, president; Brenda Shrobe, Parent Trustee; Isadora Bolton, Treasurer; Elina Cardet, Vice President (Lower School); Chandra Osborne, Vice President (Middle School); Lisa Trollbäck, Secretary. Ms. Trollbäck kept the minutes of the meeting. A quorum of 10 or more parents in attendance was established.
The Principal’s Report
The first item of business was a report on “The State of the School,” from the RGA principal, Dr. Stephanie Clagnaz. Dr. Clagnaz reminded the parent body that she became principal on February 26, 2007, and therefore has now been in the position for seven weeks.
New RGA School-Day Schedule
Dr. Clagnaz first explained the changes to the structure of the school-day schedule that went into effect on Wednesday, April 11, 2007. She noted that the instructional periods have been shortened from one hour to 40 minutes because the most current educational research indicates that 40-minute sessions are better suited to children’s attention spans.
Again based on research, the Lower School’s new schedule allows large blocks of uninterrupted time every morning for literacy and math. Lower School Mandarin language and Specials classes now take place in the afternoon.
In Middle School, there are now five 40-minute period for each of the five core subjects. The middle school students are now divided into small groups of 11-12 students, rotating for three of the five periods. Dr. Clagnaz said that research shows that small groups are better for learning in most subject areas. There are two whole-group periods, including math, as well as several periods of special subjects.
For both Middle and Lower Schools, Academic Support and Enrichment classes have been added and the new Special Education teacher and Remedial Math teacher Melanie Calfato are pushing into all of the classrooms.
The Enrichment Clusters—including, among others, Soccer, Latin Culture,the Model UN, Chorus, and “End Your Day with Clay”—are all small groups. The largest is “End Your Day with Clay”, which has 14 students from both Middle and Lower School.
Dr. Clagnaz noted that smaller-group instruction already has had a positive impact on both instruction and discipline, and there is a reduction in students sent to the office with discipline issues.
Incoming RGA Students for ’07-’08 Academic Year
Dr. Clagnaz reported that the ’07-‘08 admissions packets had been postedon the RGA website on Wednesday, April 11, 2007, in English, Spanish, and Mandarin, and that RGA had so far received 105 new applications, 40 for kindergarten and the rest for 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th grades. As of Saturday, April 14, 2007, RGA had received 86 returning-student forms, slightly above 50 percent of the student body.
RGA Facility
Dr. Clagnaz reported that she had not yet received a definitive decision from the Department of Education regarding an RGA facility for the ‘07-’08 academic year, However, the Department of Education (“DOE”) has strongly indicated that RGA is likely to remain in its present facility. Dr. Clagnaz reported that RGA is in talks with the DOE regarding exchanging one smaller classroom for two other spaces that are currently used by the DOE and Chancellor.
Based on the likelihood of remaining at Tweed Courthouse, Dr. Clagnazsaid she anticipates that there will be only one new section of Kindergarten and no Fifth Grade. While RGA’s growth will therefore be slowed by the DOE’s space allocation, Dr. Clagnaz said this would provide RGA with a year to stabilize the learning community, which would have been more difficult had there been three additional incoming classes, as originally planned.
Dr. Clagnaz reported that the DOE has indicated that it is likely, though not yet definite, that RGA will have its own facility for the ’08-‘09 academic year. So far, however, Dr. Clagnaz has not received written confirmation from the DOE. If RGA moves to its own facility, ’08-’09 growth would be more rapid, Dr. Clagnaz reported, since the charter calls for RGA to serve K-12 within five years.
RGA Assistant Principal
Dr. Clagnaz reported that there are currently several candidates for the position of Assistant Principal. She said that important steps in the process were for each candidate to have a full-day visit at RGA and to visit Ross School in East Hampton to meet with Ross School leadership.
RGA Faculty Recruitment
Dr. Clagnaz noted that Erika Ellison, RGA business manager, had recently attended a Columbia Teachers’ College charter-school hiring fair, which resulted in RGA receiving hundreds of teachers’ resumes. Dr. Clagnaz said that teaching positions at RGA are far more demanding than most, because of the extended day and summer school, and therefore Dr. Clagnaz leads off her interviews describing RGA’s high expectations of its teachers. These expectations, she said, include a simultaneous commitment to the Ross Model and New York State Learning Standards, as well the ability to uniquely contribute to RGA. Dr. Clagnaz noted that she has spent spring break and Saturdays conducting interviews with candidates, and is currently interviewing 3-5 candidates per day.
She also noted that Nathan Damweber, a Teach for America alumnus, has put RGA in touch with Teach for America, which recently released its book of resumes. RGA is also using The National Employment Minority Network, nemnet.com. RGA recently placed a small teachers-recruitment advertisement in the New York Times, which Dr. Clagnaz said did not yield a big enough return in resumes to justify the expense.
RGA Summer Program
Dr. Clagnaz said the mandatory RGA Summer Program is scheduled to be held from July 9-August 3 with each week focused around one of the core Summer Program themes of Respect, Responsibility, Courage and Cooperation. The Program will take place both at RGA and offsite for various field trips. Ms Franz, Mr So, Mr. Leizman, and Mr. Damweber serve on the faculty’s Summer Program committee. The summer-program day will be from 9:00-3:00 PM, with an extended-day option.
The day will include both remedial and enrichment instruction, as well as self-selected research and exploration, and an emphasis on acquisition of age-appropriate research skills.
Dr. Mak Mitchell, Executive Director of the Ross Teachers Academy
Dr. Clagnaz reported that Dr. Mak Mitchell—who holds a Doctorate from Harvard, is a published author, and has served as Executive Director of The Urban Assembly, a collective of 19 small empowerment schools—is now Executive Director of the Ross Teachers Academy. In her new capacity, Dr. Mitchell is responsible for coordinating the professional-development efforts of RGA, the Ross School and the Tensta Gymnasium/Ross Partnership in Tensta, Sweden. Dr. Clagnaz reported that Dr. Mitchell is in an expert in how children learn and in language acquisition.
RGA Nurse
Dr. Clagnaz said that the nurse at RGA is hired and supervised by the New York City Department of Health. She reported that a new nurse, Ms. Ng, has been assigned to RGA to work Monday-Thursday, 7:30 AM-4:30 PM and that different nurses have been assigned to work Friday, 7:30 AM-4:30 PM, and during Saturday School hours. Ms. Ng has been working to obtain missing records for several students.
RGA Special Education Director
Dr. Clagnaz reported that the recently hired special education director, Dr. Juanita Kirton, has created a full schedule for annual reviews for the children with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).
RGA Nutrition
Dr. Clagnaz reported that she does not know the status of RGA’spilot nutrition program.
RGA Middle School Retreat
Dr. Clagnaz reported that there are no dates set yet for the RGA MiddleSchool Retreat, and it is uncertain that the retreat will take place this spring due to very limited remaining availability at the various retreat sites under consideration. Many schools, she said, reserved dates as much as one year in advance. RGA had made reservations at Frost Valley for a March retreat, which Dr. Clagnaz said were canceled upon the request of the Parents Association.
RGA Dismissal
Dr. Clagnaz said that dismissal at 4:30 PM is from the child’s cluster assignment room; otherwise children can be found in the cafeteria for later pickup.
RGA Communications
Dr. Clagnaz mentioned that RGA had published a newsletter in March and would publish another newsletter soon.
Lifting of the NYS Charter Cap
Dr. Clagnaz said the newly enacted New York State budget, and the lifting of the statewide charter cap to 100 charter schools (of which 50 are reserved for New York), has no impact on RGA or its charter.
Question and Answers with Dr. Clagnaz
Dr. Clagnaz received a question about whether there are any plans for RGA to hire a private bus company. She said that RGA has no plans to hire a private bus company.
Dr. Clagnaz was asked whether there were any plans to improve the noise levels and acoustics in the classrooms for the ‘07-’08 academic year. She said that RGA is not permitted to put up partitions or walls that extend to the ceiling, due to the Tweed Courthouse interior’s landmark status. She indicated that the classroom listening environment has considerably improved, however, with the recent implementation of small-group instruction.
Dr. Clagnaz reported, in answer to a question, that parents of incoming and returning students are now asked to sign a document indicating that they understand that the longer instructional day, Saturday school, and Summer Program are all mandatory components of RGA education.
Dr. Clagnaz re-confirmed, when asked, that a nurse is on site at RGA, Monday-Friday and during Saturday School.
Dr. Clagnaz was asked if Professional Development days could be scheduled for weekends, rather than weekdays, during the upcoming academic year. She replied that she would discuss this possibility with Dr. Mitchell.
When asked about how classmates will be grouped next year, Dr. Clagnaz said that the two classes per RGA grade would be re-combined for next year, so children will not continue with all of the same classmates.
The topic of student-management software and report card format was briefly discussed, and Dr. Clagnaz said that RGA is most likely moving from Keystone to the PowerSchool system. She said the next report cards will be distributed at the end of April for Marking Period 3, and the final report card will be issued at the end of June (Marking Period 4), and both will include narrative reports in addition to the standard assessments.
A suggestion was made to have homework for all grades accessible for download from the RGA website. Dr. Clagnaz said this could and would be implemented, and made a note to discuss it with the technical team. A separate menu button for Academic Downloads was also suggested.
Brenda Shrobe, Parent Trustee, noted that since the Enrichment Clusters and Advisory Groups began children are more engaged— and that there is a different, happier feeling at RGA. She suggested that these positive developments should be celebrated in a newsletter and even in press releases to local newspapers.
Ms. Shrobe went on to ask when parent-teacher conferences would take place. Dr. Clagnaz asked parents what their expectations are regarding frequency of parent-teacher conferences, and she was told the citywide public-school norm is twice per year. Dr. Clagnaz said that conferences will be scheduled in conjunction with the Marking-Period 3 report cards.
Ms. Shrobe asked for clarification of RGA’s procedure for communication with parents regarding staff changes. Dr. Clagnaz acknowledged that in the seven weeks that she has been principal that a consistent procedure had not yet been put in place, but noted that she is working towards this.
PA Executive Board member Brenda Maloy asked if there are any plans in place for 7th grade academic studies to track into, or specifically prepare students for, the New York State Regents Exams. Dr. Clagnaz responded that she is already looking at ensuring that the 7th grade curriculum matches Regents requirements, including in Mandarin-language proficiency, as well as in either life science or earth science, depending on the expertise and certification of the science teacher who will be hired. Dr. Clagnaz said that an RGA goal is to provide, with rigor, as many Advanced Placement (AP) course options as possible in high school, as well as studio-arts credits.
Dr. Clagnaz said that Ms. Needham, a practicing artist and certified teacher, had replaced Ms. Purcell as the art teacher. Dr. Clagnaz suggested that parents look at the arts projects that Ms. Needham had worked on, as an associate teacher in KB, including a project on Greek urns and “Arrow to the Sun,” a project examining how different culture look at the Earth and sun.
Ayo Harrington said that parents should receive an academic calendar both for the remaining and upcoming school years. She also said that the parents need a parents’ room on the school premises, which she said had been previously promised. She added that parents must be apprised of the deadlines for staff hiring. Dr. Clagnaz responded that the administrators and teachers wish to be reflective educators, and therefore cannot proceed to create a new academic calendar until they can document outcomes of the academic changes implemented in the last two weeks. Regarding the hiring process, she said it was not possible to give a timeline but that she would hire the appropriate candidates as she found them.
In response to a question about whether children will remain in the same enrichment clusters until the end of the year, Dr. Clagnaz said that some students will have the opportunity to switch clusters, for instance, if they are enrolled in Puppets or Clay, while other clusters, such as the Model UN, are planned to run through June.
Tanisha Gaskin, who is planning an RGA Culture Day, asked about the procedure for planning events at the school. Dr. Clagnaz said that parents can obtain a building-use form from the RGA office. It was suggested that Ms. Gaskin send out a
“Save the Date” announcement with a tentative Saturday date. Ms. Gaskin asked for volunteers, and said parents can get involved by emailing: rgadiversity@hotmail.com.
The RGA Summer Program was discussed, and a number of parents had suggestions for the program. Chris Griffin reported that preliminary ideas from the parents on the Summer Program committee include field trips to the Liberty Science Center, Botanical Gardens, Alvin Ailey, as well as a Mad Scientists unit, among others. Ms. Griffin also suggested that board games be played during the aftercare time rather than during the summer program itself.
A parent suggested that a “suggestions” button be added to the RGA andRGA PA websites, and Dr. Clagnaz and Lisa Trollbäck, secretary of the RGA PA, agreed to look into this for both sites.
A parent asked if there would be a kindergarten graduation ceremony. Dr. Clagnaz said there would be a moving-up ceremony, though there would be no formal RGA graduation ceremonies until the 12th grade.
There being no further questions, Ms. Clagnaz was thanked by the parents and left the meeting.
RGA NOMINATING COMMITTEE
Mr. Pearce noted that, in accordance with the RGA PA by-laws, the RGA PA must conduct an election of officers in May 2007.
Upon motions duly made and seconded, it was therefore
RESOLVED, that each of the following persons be, and each of them hereby is, elected to serve as members of the RGA PA Nominating Committee for the May 2007 Elections of RGA PA officers, to serve as provided in the By-laws of the RGA PA:
Names:
Xavier Chavee
Ayo Harrington
Tricia [CONFIRM LAST NAME}
Report from RGA Parent Trustee
Brenda Shrobe reported that the Board of Trustees has appointed a Quality Assurance Committee, which has so far twice joined the RGA PA Executive Board’s Friday morning meetings.
Ms. Shrobe said that a number of the issues included in RGA PA’s letter of February 2007 remain open.
Upon motions duly made and seconded, it was therefore
RESOLVED, that the RGA PA Executive Board shall write an updated letter to the Board of Trustees, stating present concerns and requesting a response from the Board of Trustees.
Special Election for RGA PA Vice President (Middle School)
Mr. Pearce announced that Chandra Osborne resigned on April 13, 2007 from her position as Vice President (Middle School) of the RGA PA, and that her daughter will be moving to a new school. A discussion ensued about the need for an interim vice president for the middle school. Middle school parents felt that there was a need to fill the position.
Upon motions duly made and seconded, it was therefore
RESOLVED, to hold a special election for the position of RGA PA Vice President (Middle School).
In the immediately ensuing election, it was
UNANIMOUSLY VOTED, to elect Richard Kixmiller, a parent of a 6B
student, to serve as RGA PA Vice President (Middle School) as provided in the By-laws of the RGA PA.
Ms. Shrobe asked that the Minutes of the meeting reflect the Parents Association’s enormous appreciation of Chandra Osborne’s hard work and tireless efforts in her role as RGA PA Vice President (Middle School), including her coordination of NYU volunteers, among many other significant contributions.
RGA PA Communications and Minutes
Ayo Harrington noted that the RGA PA must more aggressively communicate and promote its meetings and events to the parent community. She noted a need to include and publicize interesting programs as part of upcoming meetings. She also noted that the RGA PA must properly record and distribute minutes of its meetings. Putting the minutes on the PA website was discussed, but a decision was not reached. Ms. Trollbäck said the RGA PA should elect both a recording secretary and communicating secretary in its upcoming elections. Mr. Pearce asked for a volunteer to serve in the interim as an unofficial assistant secretary. Ms. Maloy volunteered to serve in this capacity.
Treasurer’s Report
Isadora Bolton reported that the RGA PA had opened a bank account on April 11, 2007 and had received a Tax ID number on April 9, 2007. She reported that she had drafted a preliminary operating budget, which had been distributed to the RGA PA Executive Board. She encouraged volunteers to join the Budget Committee.
5th and 6th Grade Fundraisers
RGA PA Executive Board member Sherrill Collins reported that the bakes sales and various other fundraisers held for the Middle School had netted approximately $400-500. She said that parents had initiated these sales for field trips and other special events, including the possibility of student travels abroad.
Elina Cardet, RGA PA Vice President (Lower School) noted that each class in entitled to initiate and run fundraisers for purposes specific to those classes.
RGA PA Grants-Writing Committee
The need for bigger-picture fundraising efforts was discussed, as well as the need for an RGA PA grants-writing committee.
Upon motions duly made and seconded, it was therefore
RESOLVED, to create an ad-hoc Grants-Writing Committee of the RGA
PA.
Robert Fighera (not present), Ayo Harrinton, Brenda Maloy, and Lisa Trollbäck volunteered to serve on the RGA PA grants writing committee.
Title 1 Funding
Ayo Harrington said that RGA is a recipient of Title 1 funding, one percent of which is legally earmarked for parent-directed activities.
Teacher Appreciation Week
Meilyn Soto-Chapman discussed plans for Teacher Appreciation week. She requested that all parents walk the school’s neighborhood as well as their own neighborhoods, to obtain special passes, discounts, coupons and samples to include in teacher/staff goody bags. Catering a staff lunch was discussed as a possible way to celebrate both faculty and administration.
Mr. Pearce adjourned the meeting at approximately 12:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa Trollbäck
Secretary of the Meeting
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