GO Board Watch: October 26, 2016
Middle School Update, Measure N, LCAP, WASC Accreditation & Take our Survey
Welcome to GO’s School Board Watch for Wednesday, October 26, 2016.
Thank you for being a Board Watch reader. Because we want to make it as useful as possible, we are including a brief survey about Board Watch to collect feedback from our readers. If you can, please take 5 minutes to fill out the following survey.
We appreciate your feedback and will use your feedback to make Board Watch better. Below is the regular Board Watch email.
Best,
Ryan
On to Board Watch! This week’s agenda includes:
- LCAP plan
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Accreditation policy
- Middle school network update
- Measure N – Linked Learning Pathways
- Staffing update
1. Professional Culture
Staffing Update (Superintendent’s Report starting at slide 13)
Tara Gard, the Interim Deputy Chief of Talent, will present updates on new teacher hires, teacher resignations, and teacher demographics.
While Oakland’s teachers are more diverse than the state average, Hispanic and Latino teachers remain underrepresented and White teachers overrepresented. The percentage of African American teachers more closely resembles the percentage of African American students (23% and 27%, respectively).
From 2015-16 to 2016-17, there was a 45% increase in the number of Hispanic or Latino teachers hired. The number of African-American teachers remained the same and one less Asian teacher was hired.
Teacher resignations from August to October are down 40% from 2015 and are down 62% from 2014. There are currently six teacher vacancies across the district.
2. Quality Schools Development
The Superintendent’s report on the Middle School Network highlights progress that district middle schools have made, as well as some promising initiatives.
- Last year, Middle School Network positive attendance increased 6.6%. Suspension decreased by 16%.
- The Teach to One pilot for 6th graders at Roosevelt Middle resulted in a 25% growth in math proficiency and will be expanding to all grade levels at the school this year.
- The Summit Basecamp pilot for 6th graders at Urban Promise Academy resulted in a 19% growth in students reading at grade level.
- The Blueprint Math Acceleration program is providing daily small group tutoring to students at Bret Harte, Roots International, United for Success Academy, and West Oakland Middle School.
- 12 middle schools are offering at least one computer science class.
Measure N – Linked Learning Pathways (Superintendent’s Report page 4)
The Superintendent’s Report includes updates on the four Linked Learning Pathways at Skyline High (Education and Health Academy; Green Academy; Visual and Performing Arts; Computer Science Academy).
The report also includes data from the 18 month pilot on dual enrollment (in high school and college) that began in Fall 2015. After 15 months, the pilot has included:
- 64 college courses
- Students from 13 high schools
- Approximately 1,767 students
- Has grown 220% since Fall 2015
- Has saved students $697,697.34 in college tuition, fees, and books.
Finally, the report provides a list of new courses beginning in fall of this year, including Ethnic studies, Kinesiology, Carpentry, and Engineering.
3. Budget and Fiscal Management
Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) Update
Each year, schools receive additional per pupil funding based on the number of students that are classified as low-income, special education, English learners, or students in foster care. This additional funding is calculated using the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).
A requirement for LCFF funding is that school districts establish a Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). The LCAP sets annual goals for the district and defines how LCFF funding will be spent to meet those goals. The LCAP is typically developed and approved in conjunction with the overall budget for the district.
This week, the Board will hear the Superintendent’s work plan for developing the 2017-18 LCAP and Budget. The Superintendent will be engaging with parents, teachers, students, and community groups throughout the year to determine priorities. The final budget is scheduled to be approved on June 28, 2017.
The Board has identified three priorities for this year:
- Academic Program
- Social Emotional Learning
- Innovation in Schools
These priorities will guide budget decisions as the district faces a budget shortfall for 2017-18. The district has identified several factors that are contributing the shortfall. First, the district had nearly 500 students less this year than last and is nearly 1000 students short of projected enrollment. Second, while overall revenue is increasing, incremental revenue from LCFF is slowing down. Finally, the district must maintain and possibly increase the level of investment in services for LCFF student subgroups.
4. Board Development and Strategy
No informational or action items presented.
5. Other
Instruction and Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) Accreditation Policy
This item is a first reading to adjust two policies. On instruction, the update is to align the policy to the recent changes in California’s testing and school accountability shifts.
Second, following Madison Park Academy’s issues with accreditation, the Board is revising its policy on the accreditation process. Also included in the policy revisions are changes to how the Superintendent reports on district effectiveness in alignment with LCAP goals. Here are the key revisions to the policy:
- Previously, the policy required that the Superintendent regularly evaluate district programs’ effectiveness, but didn’t offer specific details on how the Superintendent would do that. Now the policy requires that the Superintendent regularly report on student achievement data for each numerically significant student subgroup in alignment with standards for student achievement as determined by the Board through the LCAP.
- The process for reporting on WASC accreditation was poorly defined. It required only that the Superintendent report on WASC status of district schools “regularly” and that the Superintendent notify parents/guardians if a school lost its accreditation. Now the Superintendent must report on the accreditation status of each school annually. Additionally, it is now required that the results of WASC school inspections be published within 60 days and that the district publish on its website the accreditation status and accreditation timelines for all district schools.