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