Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting

   January 18, 2022 ● 6:30pm ● Creative Arts Classroom #202

1601 Turk St. San Francisco, CA 94115

VIRTUAL MEETING

Notice of Virtual Meeting - English ● Aviso de Reunión Virtual  - Español

Publish-to-web version of these meeting minutes.

A meeting of the Board of Directors (“Board”) of CREATIVE ARTS CHARTER SCHOOL (“CACS”) was held at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at 1601 Turk St, San Francisco, California via a virtual meeting.

[2022-1-18] Meeting Notice & Agenda - English

[2022-1-18] Aviso de Reunión y Agenda - Español

The Spanish version of this document was translated using Google Translate, apologies for errors.

La versión en español de este documento se tradujo con Google Translate, disculpas por los errores.

Following are the minutes of the meeting.

Welcome & Check-in Eric T.

• Call to Order:

• Motion to call to order: Eric T.

Meeting called to order at 6:38  pm

• Motion seconded: Justin

• Roll Call and Establishment of Quorum -  Yes

Approve Consent Agenda =

This meetings agenda + Prior meeting minutes - Eric T.

• Consent agenda items:

[2022-1-18] Meeting Notice & Agenda - English

[2022-1-18] Aviso de Reunión y Agenda - Español

[2021-12-14]_CACS_Board_Meeting_Minutes__English_Draft

[2021-12-14]_CACS_Acta_de_la_reunión_de_la_Junta_Directiva__Español_Borrador

• Motion to approve:  Eric T.
• Motion seconded:  Grace
• Vote - Approved:  Passed by: All present

Public Comment on General Matters - Eric T.

Board actively listens to comments shared by CACS community members.

Colleen T: I feel like there have been a lot of policies and procedures put into place over the past two years, coming down the various pipelines in response to the Covid Pandemic that don’t make sense.  As a teacher and a parent I don’t agree with children wearing a mask and I have concerns with the organization recommending children get vaccinated.  Because of my experience as an investigative reporter in science and medical issues I tend to dig really deep and have found that what is being suggested is not warranted.  I understand that organizations have their orders and  directives from various different agencies, DPH etc.  As American citizens in democracy we have to pay very close attention to what we are being expected and told to do and when those things make no sense it is time to at the very least push back and talk to DPH and ask if these things make sense.  I am not expecting you to agree with me about masks and vaccines but hope that you would change your mind after listening to me.  As a governing body I would hope that you would not just push mandated vaccines but speak up for what makes most sense in this matter.

No other public comments.

AB361: Ralph M. Brown Act

Vote on board meetings to be virtual or in-person due to covid

Motion to stay virtual for the next 30 Days.

• Motion to approve:  Eric T.
• Motion seconded:  Justin
• Vote - Approved:  Passed by: All present to remain virtual for the next 30 day

Essential Question (EQ) & Sharing - Eric T.

Strategic Thinking in a Long-Term Crisis: One Approach - From Up With Community

Board members were asked to review and come prepared with one suggestion for the below, while centering our EQ.

Which new collaborations or partnerships do we (the board) need to build to fulfill our role?

Manda - As a board member I participate in other meetings and committees including; AAPAC, SFUSD Board Meetings, and CAC.  I share back with the community for those who are not able to attend.  I think as a board we can all do that when we have time.

Justin - I believe we need to come to the realization that we are cash constrained at the moment and we need to prioritize our finances as a board or we won’t have anything else to focus on.

Eric T - Some of the partnerships I have been connected to is the Institute on Disability through SFSU helping us think through how to advance disability culture in our community as it relates to inclusion. Also working with the development committee to see how we can support more fundraising.  

Grace - On the ground level, how can we work with families who might be in need and how to get them resources? Maybe that can go through the class reps to help students who may have missed class due to Covid or any other reason and provide them with any support possible.  

Fernando - We just came out of the leadership meeting where we addressed the issue of support.  On a teacher level, not at class rep level, but we are focused on that and making the connection with families doing our best to  make sure we are not missing anyone.  We also have to be mindful of privacy when it comes to family to family communication.  We have our Covid relief fund and money we are still using to support those in need.  We may not have heard from all families yet. We hear you, and understand and as staff on the ground we are doing our best to provide that support.

Laura - Class reps are underutilized and they could be used more than we use them now, a lot of the tasks fall back on the teachers.  I would like to see class reps used to help more, even things like white zone volunteer planning.

Executive Directors Report - Fernando

Important Upcoming Dates

• Monday, January 31st and Tuesday, February 1st: No School - Lunar New Year

• Tuesday, February 1st: Start of Black History Month
• Friday, February 4th: Application Deadline - CACS and SFUSD
• SFUSD African American Honor Roll 2022:  Virtual - 5:00 pm

• Elementary - Tuesday, February 15th
• Middle - Wednesday, February 16th
• High - Thursday, February 17th

• Covid testing will continue for free, no insurance needed, 2X/week

Covid- 19 Updates

• Covid Relief Fund - $15k raised - $14.5K distributed
• Ongoing work with Union Leadership - creating MOU

• Masks, booster, vendors/subs, class size additional sick days for covid

• Testing Update - PCR results in 24-48 hours
• 430 Rapid Tests picked up
• Notification - Close Contact vs. Group Exposure

• Assigned Seating

• Call your doctor! - We are not medical professionals so some questions we cannot answer regarding Covid and your household and quarantines. 
• Covid testing will continue for free on campus.

Current Issues:

• Staff and Student absences
• Schoology posts -

Concerns with the shift in culture on how schoology is being used. It was not initially intended for a back and forth Q&A forum but was supposed to be more for information/updates. We need to find a sweet spot for using it as a tool to be responsive where it’s not overwhelming.  We don’t want it to be misused as a place to go for questions and venting but as a source for sharing information.  Hopeful things will improve before we need to address it in a different forum.

• Tents
• Volunteers in/out of building
• 6th/7th Grade Camping
• Community Meetings/Tours

Independent Study

• The student is not ill, but must stay home due to testing positive for COVID-19 or being exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19. This does not include pupils who are placed on modified quarantine but whose families choose to keep them home to quarantine instead, unless Creative Arts is provided with a valid letter from a Physician.

• The student has a medical condition, verified by a letter from their Physician, that prevents them from attending school for a period of time.

• Students who qualify for Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) will only be considered for IS if they have met one of the above requirements (1) or (2) AND their IEP team determines via a scheduled IEP meeting that their services can be provided through IS. The IEP must be amended to include how the services will be provided and by whom. The services may be provided by alternative San Francisco Unified School District staff who are qualified to provide these services.

Independent Study

• Agreement between CACS and Family provided within 30 days of the start of the IS
• Provide content that is ‘aligned to grade level standards provided at a level of quality and intellectual challenge substantially equivalent to in-person instruction.’
• The teacher is to assess the work to ensure ‘the level of satisfactory educational progress is based on the pupil’s achievement and engagement, the completion of assignments; the learning of required concepts; and progress toward successful completion of the course.’
• Students must complete work on time and turn it in by the due date. Reminder that the due date cannot be more than 5 school days from the date the work was assigned. NO extensions on work.
• Student/Family must reach out for help when needed
• Families and Students must sign the agreement within 30 days of the start of the IS

Independent Study - Important Reminders

• CACS is limiting the number of days a student can be on IS to 14. Once a student goes beyond 14 days, the teacher's responsibilities increase. Please note there will be exceptions made for students with ongoing medical conditions that are unable to attend school and have a verified letter from a Physician on file.
• Students whose families are deciding to keep their children home for other reasons are not eligible for IS.  These students can complete work if the teacher provides it to them, ie: Middle school students can complete school work posted on google classroom, lower school students can complete homework packets or any other work that may be posted to schoology.   Student work that is submitted will not be graded. As such, students who are at home for other reasons will not be penalized for not completing work while they are at home based on their family’s decision. These students will be marked absent unexcused for each day they do not attend school.

Personnel Updates

CACS/SFUSD Update:

CACS Update:

• Ja’Melia Pugh - Director of AAAI role
• Sharifa Khan - 1st Grade Teacher

 CACS/SFUSD Update:

• Staffing Updates:

• CACS SpEd Team is close to being fully staffed!

Professional Development

Dr. Kathy Gonzales:                                        

A SHORT LESSON ON HOW TO GIVE AND RECEIVE FEEDBACK

• 3 Types of Feedback
• Why is it so hard to give/receive feedback?
• What happens when the giver/receiver has more power?
• How do we get better?
• Skills, strategies and practice

Questions:

Q. If a student is sick, do we get ADA for that? So can we ask for Independent studies for sick days or only if they are sick with Covid.

A. No, we don’t get funding for kids that are home sick.  Current policy is limited to kids with Covid. If your child is sick then they just get marked absent and we get no funding and they are not eligible for Independent Studies.

Q. Is there a time limit to keeping your child home to stay safe?

A.  We are still looking at what is reasonable based on each situation

Finance Presentation -  Justin Amirault, Treasurer

January Financial Report 

• January Financial Slides

Current State

• Previously projected $180K loss for the year which is now close to a $400K loss.
• Key drivers are drastic reduction in attendance and the extreme decrease in contribution to our funding raising.
• We will end the year with $1.2 Million as an ending fund balance. Even if we return to normal enrollment and fundraising goes back to normal, we will be out of operating cash by 2024.
• We have a non sustainable budget at the moment.
• As a board we need to figure out how to ride the ship meaning- increase revenue with decreased cost.
• Very worried about the year’s fundraising we are only at $50K-60K.

Down the Road

• WiFi upgrade is still needed - Jenny is working on this project
• Prop G - money collected by City for Parcel Taxes held in an account by the City, it was decided that the money can be used for the Charter Schools, that is two years of held funds that should be coming to us but we have no idea how much it is or if they will give us the two years they held but we will be fighting to get those funds.
• We also have an extended learning balance we can use.
• Transitional Kindergarten may or may not be mandatory for us in two years but ensuring we are prepared just in case is something we need to keep in mind.

State Budget

1.) Proposal in Jan

2.) Legislative Hearing

3) May Revise

4.) June Budget Adoption

Declining Enrollment and Attendance Relief

We are hoping the Governor will afford us the same options as traditional school enrollment. They have 3 drivers to help offset ADA but Charter schools have not been afforded that option so it sets up back in that area.

Q. How can we make a push to the community for more fundraising?

A. Hopefully we will get an update from the committee on this.  I know Shoology has several posts about fundraising and we don't have as many options as we used to.  With the inability to meet in person as well as people donating to the Covid relief fund I think things are just difficult right now.

I have a couple of ideas from a fundraising committee I was on recently.  I also have a few questions.

Q. Are there any grants or opportunities in that arena?

A.  We have explored that in depth many times over many years. Unfortunately, there have not been any that fit us.

Q. Who is in charge of the fundraising committee?

A.  Usually the committee is made of Board Members who meet monthly. Right now it is Manda, Justin, Jenny, and Fernando who assist on the committee.

Q. Do we do anything outside of the general fundraising like emails or messages about this issue to target anyone specific?

A.  Part of what we have been doing on the committee is exploring new ideas for outreach and fundraising. Direct outreach to emails and schoology as well as postal mail.  I have reached out to specific families (about 50) who have donated in the past, thanked them and asked them to increase their donation if possible. The annual fundraising event has been postponed to May due to Covid, it is usually held in February. We may need help with following up to those that we have already reached out to and also making sure the annual event gets as much support and advertisement as possible.

Another barrier has been the lack of Board Members, we only have 5 right now but the Board is usually twice this size.  In addition to that out of the 400 families 100 of them are brand new to the school across all grades.

Q. Do we know what might be lost next year if we don’t improve our fundraising?  Is it too soon to discuss what might be cut?

A.  We are not there yet, so no we don’t know yet.  We are still waiting to see if any funding comes through from the state and then evaluate if that conversation needs to happen.

Q. Are we at risk of losing our core arts programs next year?

A.  We don’t know.  Several factors have to be considered: attendance, fundraising, state funds etc. It’s too premature to figure that out right now.

This is a statewide, systemic issue for both public and charter schools.  Considering that, we are not as bad off as many schools are; not that it makes our situation better but just so you know it’s not just us struggling.

Feel free to contact Eric T or Fernando with any further questions or ideas about this.

Committee/Task Force Updates - Eric T.

Anti-racism:

Manda: Wanted to meet mid January but due to Covid surge, decided to postpone until early Feb.  Have been communicating via email with prior committee members.

Teacher/ Staff:

Laura: Recruitment!!!

Development:

Eric T will take Laura’s concerns and Jamilas question under consideration when working on development. May 7th is a possible evening planned for the Gala annual fundraiser.

Facilities:

Jenny: Recruitment!!!

Finance:

Manda: Enrollment, attendance, and fundraising are top priorities.

Governance:

Eric T: Annual retreat - looking for date options for us to meet.

Looking to recruit more Board Members

Questions on the updates from the board? None

Action Items - Next Board meeting will be February 15th

Adjournment - Eric T.

Adjournment 9:31pm

• Motion to adjourn:  Eric T.
• Motion seconded:  Justin
• Vote - Approved by all present.  

If any questions come up after the meeting please reach out to Eric T. or Fernando.