NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING of the Board of Directors of Doral Academy of Northern Nevada Notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of Doral Academy of Northern Nevada, a public charter school, will conduct a Board Meeting on Friday, March 8, 2019; beginning at 5:00 p.m. at 3725 Butch Cassidy Dr., Reno, NV 89511. Attached hereto is an agenda of all items scheduled to be considered. Please Note: The Board of Directors of Doral Academy of Northern Nevada may 1) take agenda items out of order; 2) combine two or more items for consideration; or 3) remove an item from the agenda or delay discussion related to an item at any time. Reasonable efforts will be made to assist and accommodate physically handicapped persons desiring to attend or participate at the meeting. Any persons requiring assistance may call Amanda Safford at (775) 622-2402 at least two business days in advance so that arrangements may be made. If you would like copies of the meeting agenda, support materials or minutes, please visit the school’s website at: https://www.doralnorthernnevada.org/. For a copy of the meeting’s audio, please email [email protected]. Public comment may be limited to three minutes per person at the discretion of the Chairperson. 1 AGENDA March 8, 2019 Meeting of the Board of Directors of Doral Academy of Northern Nevada (Action may be taken on those items denoted “For Possible Action”) 1. Call to order and roll call (For Possible Action) 2. Public Comment and Discussion (No action may be taken on a matter raised under this item of the agenda until the matter itself has been specifically included on an agenda as an item upon which action will be taken.) 3. Approval of Minutes from the February 19, 2019 Board Meeting (For Possible Action) 4. Interviews for the Position of Principal at Doral Academy of Northern Nevada from the Following Candidates: Jami Curtis, Angela Orr, and Ryan Smith (For Discussion) 5. Discussion and Possible Action to Approve the Hiring of a Principal for Doral Academy of Northern Nevada (For Possible Action) 6. Academica Announcements and Notifications (For Discussion) 7. Member Comment (For Discussion) 8. Public Comments and Discussion (No action may be taken on a matter raised under this item of the agenda until the matter itself has been specifically included on an agenda as an item upon which action will be taken.) 9. Adjournment This notice and agenda has been posted on or before 9 a.m. on the third working day before the meeting at the following locations: (1) Reno City Clerk’s Office: 1 East 1st Street, Reno, Nevada Fax # 775-334-2432 (2) Downtown Reno Library: 301 S. Center Street, Reno, Nevada Fax # 775-327-8390 (3) Second Judicial District Court: 75 Court Street, Reno, Nevada Fax # 775-328-3206 (4) Doral Academy of Northern Nevada: 3725 Butch Cassidy Dr., Reno, NV 89511 (5) notices.nv.gov 2 DORAL ACADEMY OF NORTHERN NEVADA Supporting Document Meeting Date: March 8, 2019 Agenda Item: 3 – Approval of Minutes from the February 19, 2019 Board Meeting Number of Enclosures: 1 SUBJECT: Approval of Minutes X Action Appointments Approval Consent Agenda Information Public Hearing Regular Adoption Presenter (s): Board Recommendation: Proposed wording for motion/action: Move to approve the minutes from the February 19, 2019 board meeting. Fiscal Impact: N/A Estimated Length of time for consideration (in minutes): 2-5 Minutes Background: Submitted By: Staff 3 MINUTES of the meeting of the BOARD OF DIRECTORS of DORAL ACADEMY OF NORTHERN NEVADA February 19, 2019 The Board of Directors of Doral Academy of Northern Nevada held a public meeting on February 19, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. at 3725 Butch Cassidy Dr., Reno, NV 89511. 1. Call to Order and Roll Call Board Chair Indra Winquest called the meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. with a quorum present. In attendance were Board Members Steven Porter, Jen Johanson, Tiffany Carmona, Leslie Hermann, Danielle Cherry, Indra Winquest, and Nettie Oliverio (arrived at 6:10; departed at 8:30). Interim Principal Jami Curtis was also present at the meeting; as well as Academica representatives Amanda Safford, Colin Bringhurst, Jessica Barr (via telephone), and Melissa Ventura (via telephone). 2. Public Comment and Discussion Member Winquest began public comment by making a statement on behalf of the Board, acknowledging the sensitivity of the matter at hand, and stated that they were determined to hire the best principal possible for the Doral community. The following members of the public spoke in support of rehiring Megan Pruitt: Lori O’Leary, Lynnette Bellin, Scott Campbell, Christy Wyckoff, and Veronica Simanowski. For those who submitted written statements, those statements have been included at the end of the support materials for this meeting. 3. Approval of Minutes from the December 4, 2018 and January 30, 2019 Board Meetings Member Cherry requested that the number at the bottom of page 1 of the December 4th minutes be changed from 804 to 781. Member Carmona noted a change to the location for the January 30th minutes. Member Carmona moved to approve minutes from the December 4, 2018 board meeting and the January 30, 2019 board meeting, with the noted changes. Member Oliverio seconded the motion, and the Board voted unanimously to approve. 4. Principal Report and Update on Academic Performance Ms. Jessica Barr addressed the Board and stated that her purpose was to explain to the Board, as well as teachers and the administration, the components of the State rating system, the NSPS (star rating); adding that she would also speak to the MAP testing results to check progress toward academic goals, which included the overall projection contained in the support materials. Ms. Barr noted that the results were what the school was trending toward, adding that this would be an opportunity to intervene and determine strategies. For the elementary school, Ms. Barr stated that Doral was trending toward a drop from a 5 Star to a 2 Star school; however, she would be meeting with the teachers and administration to determine root causes and 4 define where energy should be focused. Ms. Barr stated that, even with the influx of students this year, proficiency was where Doral scored the most points; however, student growth was a measure of concern within every grade level. Ms. Barr described the method by which student growth was determined. Closing opportunity gaps was another area needing serious attention, which included those students who did not pass the SBACs the year before. Chronic absenteeism had greatly improved and might earn the school a bonus point. Ms. Barr reiterated the fact that she would be working closely with the school’s staff in an effort to improve the situation wherever possible. Member Winquest asked Ms. Barr how much improvement the school could possibly see before the end of the school year, typically speaking. Ms. Barr replied that, if the suggested interventions were utilized, Doral might expect to end the year as a 3 Star school, although a 4 Star was within the realm of possibility with full embracing and implementation of suggestions. Member Winquest asked if this drop could be attributed to the large increase in the student body, to which Ms. Barr replied that an increase in enrollment typically affected the proficiency piece, adding that most of the influx of students were proficient. She further stated that student growth was the cause for the drop; defined by how much the students had grown from where they started at the beginning of the school until now, which was usually attributed to an instructional issue. Member Hermann noted that it had been her experience that MAP testing results tended to dip in the winter season. Ms. Barr stated that this was a trend; however, MAP results did not factor into the student growth piece, where national norms were the determining factors. Member Porter asked if she was confident that improvements could be made, to which Ms. Barr replied positively, adding that she would be working with the staff at the student level. Member Hermann requested that Ms. Barr dig deeper into the sub-groups at the school using the mid-year data. Member Cherry asked if certain classrooms could be determined as problem areas, to which Ms. Barr replied that she did look at those trends, adding that there was at least one classroom per grade-level that was performing very well where quality instruction was taking place. They would use these as a model classrooms. For the middle school, Ms. Barr stated that Doral was trending toward a solid 3 Star school, where proficiency was looking strong and student growth was posing an issue, more-so in ELA rather than math. In the area of closing opportunity gaps, the middle school would most likely receive full points for math, noting that the middle school metric was not as rigorous as the elementary metric, where there was a proficiency gap between ELA and math. ELA would need to receive more focus in this area. Again, chronic absenteeism was looking good for middle school. A student who missed 10% or more of the school year would be considered chronically absent, regardless of how many days that student was enrolled at the school. Interim Principal Jami Curtis addressed the Board and reviewed some of the data that had been presented by Ms. Barr, emphasizing that they were immediately acting on the results, adding that she had conducted some very positive conversations with the staff. Specifically one of the highest growth model teachers, Rachel Davis-kindergarten, had already spoken to the staff and shared some of her strategies.