CHARTER SCHOOL REVIEW COMMITTEE

200 E. Wells Street City of Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202 Meeting Minutes CHARTER SCHOOL REVIEW COMMITTEE KEVIN INGRAM, CHAIR Joyce Mallory, Vice-Chair Melinda Scott Krei, Desiree Pointer-Mace, Gayle Peay, and Glenn Steinbrecher CSRC Clerk: Jarett Fields, (414) 288-1540 Staff Assistant: Linda Elmer, (414) 286-2231 Fax: 286-3456, lelmer@milwaukee.gov Wednesday, January 27, 2016 5:30 PM City Hall, Room 301-B Meeting convened: 5:30 P.M. (Ms. Mallory arrived at 5:35 P.M.) 1. Review and approval of the minutes of the November 12, 2015 meeting. Ms. Pointer-Mace moved, seconded by Ms. Peay, for approval of the minutes. There were no objections (Ms. Mallory excused). 2. Election of a Vice-Chair Ms. Mallory is willing to serve. Ms. Scott-Krei moved, seconded by Ms. Pointer Mace, to accept the nomination. There were no other nominations. 3. 150543 Communication relating to the 2015/16 activities of North Point Lighthouse. Sponsors: THE CHAIR Dr. Beverly Echols, Principal and Adam Peck, Board Chair, present. The school submitted a letter noting that they will be closing in May. Only one member of CSRC came to visit the school and they thought it was in the best interest of the students and staff to announce their decision as early as possible so plans could be made. The decision to close was unanimous. Mr. Steinbrecher did tour the school and was very impressed and he hopes Dr. Echols will stay on. Ms. Pointer-Mace asked how the school will support the families and the students during this transition. Dr. Echols is deeply committed to making sure the students are suppported emotionally and socially and the students can participate in the fairs to set them up for next year. Ms. Pointer-Mace moved, seconded by Ms. Scott Krei, to accept North Point Lighthouse's letter informing the Board of its closure. 4. 150542 Communication relating to the 2015/16 activities of Milwaukee Collegiate Academy. Sponsors: THE CHAIR City of Milwaukee Page 1 CHARTER SCHOOL REVIEW Meeting Minutes January 27, 2016 COMMITTEE Janice Eroth - Children's Research Center - at the end of the last school year, which is in its fifth year of operation, they recommended annual reporting with a five-year contract extension. Their score did drop in their third year as Ms. Eroth noticed an increase in student expectations and in the past year the score increased as well. Almost every year MCA has had 100% of its students accepted into post-secondary schools and the ACT composite scores are also increasing. Howard Fuller - Milwaukee Collegiate Academy - Chair of the Board - he's grateful to the leadership team and faculty of the school Caljay Walker - 10th grade student - answered questions posed by Ms. Mallory Shalom Mems - 12th grade student - could just speak, didn't need to answer specific questions Dashay Rogers and Adam - 2nd semester freshmen Renee Wright - parent of a senior, Nathaniel Harris who is doing very well at the school Nathaniel Harris - credits MCA with his school advances and he's been accepted to 9 colleges Courtney Boswell - Dean of Instruction said that the composite ACT scores were raised by raising the academic bar, working more on ACT prep, beginning with the freshmen and they're talking about the ACT and have kids celebrate their scores. They also hold a college fair and have individuals from colleges visit. Andrew Carrick - Dean of Instruction - the school also works with College Possible, which is after-school and focuses on prepping for the ACT. Judith Parker - school leader - is dedicated students where they are and providing the needed support to make sure they're successful. The "Bs are Better" program, which began this academic year, and that's the metric they're watching this year. Samantha Mews - college coaching counselor - wants the students to be able to choose where they go to college. Tommy Miles - Dean of School Culture - main focus is on maintaining the current culture and keep the students able to communicate well. Ms. Pointer-Mace moved, seconded by Ms. Mallory, to accept the recommendation to review on an annual basis and to extend the contract for five additional years. 5. 150804 Communication from the Charter School Review Committee transmitting its 2014-2015 Annual Report. Sponsors: THE CHAIR This item was not ready and wiill be heard at the February 11th meeting. 6. 150544 Communication relating to administrative matters of the Charter School Review Committee. Sponsors: THE CHAIR Judith Eroth and Susan Gramling - Children's Research Center The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has withdrawn the requirement that schools administer PALS (Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening) to students second grade and younger and are allowing schools to use an alternate assessment. An assessment that meets specific state criteria does need to be administered. The CRC recommends continuing the use of PALS for first and second graders as teachers are familiar with it and, as it was used previously, gives them long-term data for comparison. DPI has also said it might be responsible for the cost of the assessment while the schools would be responsible for any training or assessment costs for any new testing measures used. Ms. Peay also thought it would be easier for schools to stay with PALS. City of Milwaukee Page 2 CHARTER SCHOOL REVIEW Meeting Minutes January 27, 2016 COMMITTEE Ms. Scott Krei moved, seconded by Ms. Peay, to continue to require the administration of PALS to first and second grade students in the fall and spring. There were no objections. Meeting adjourned: 6:26 P.M. Linda M. Elmer Staff Assistant This meeting can be viewed in its entirety through the City's Legislative Research Center at http://milwaukee.legistar.com/calendar. City of Milwaukee Page 3