HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-04-10 BOT MinWESTLAKE ACADEMY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES WORKSHOP & REGULAR MEETINGS
October 4, 2010
PRESENT: President Laura Wheat and Trustees Clif Cox, Carol Langdon and Rick Rennhack.
ABSENT: Trustee Tim Brittan
OTHERS PRESENT: Superintendent Thomas Brymer, Attorney Janet Bubert, Acting
Board Secretary & Assistant to the Town Manager Ginger Awtry,
Secondary Principal Rod Harding, Primary Years Coordinator Terri
Watson, Middle Years Coordinator Tracy Odom, Diploma Program
Coordinator Stacy Stoyanoff, Administrative Services Coordinator
Ben Nibarger, Finance Director Debbie Piper and Director of Parks,
Recreation and Facilities Troy Meyer.
Workshop Session
1. CALL TO ORDER
President Wheat called the workshop meeting to order at 4:41 pm.
2. REVIEW OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS FROM OCTOBER 4, 2010 TRUSTEES
REGULAR MEETING AGENDA.
Council reviewed the consent agenda and found no discussion was necessary.
3. DISCUSSION OF PLANNING FOR THE SECONDARY EXPANDED BLOCK
SCHEDULE "OPTION B" FOR THE 2011-2012 SCHOOL YEAR.
Superintendent Tom Brymer introduced the item and turned over the discussion to DP
Coordinator Stacy Stoyanoff. Mr. Stoyanoff briefed the Board on the status of the
expansion to date.
A lengthy discussion ensued regarding the following points: number of credit hours,
number of courses, number of minutes per class for optimum classroom instruction, the
different options in scheduling and what it means with the IB curriculum, various
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start/stop times of the school day for teenagers and for primary students, effects of
different dismissal times to families, optimum class size and various studies, what makes
a quality teacher, contact hours, differences in standard level course load vs. higher
level courses, Spanish, Math, Science, lunchroom traffic, parking lot use by students and
traffic flow, covered outdoor facility, future plan for additional gymnasium, rainy day
pick up plan, student turnover rate, teaching/reinforcing culture of the IB learner profile
and learning commitment, future orientation for students and parents, new Blacksmith
class, possibility of requesting student transcripts with application, new teacher hiring -
this school year and the next, possible new courses for DP students, optimum numbers
needed, desire for online courses with pros/cons, new block schedule lessons learned
and why, courses that colleges/universities look at the most, student lockers, proposed
portable buildings,
The Board complimented the entire staff for providing excellent work on all of the
subject matters discussed, for their research, long hours and the information presented.
4. DISCUSSION OF WESTLAKE ACADEMY'S LEGISLATIVE AGENDA FOR THE 82ND
TEXAS LEGISLATURE AS IT RELATES TO PUBLIC EDUCATION AND CHARTER
SCHOOLS
Superintendent Brymer opened up this discussion by providing background information
on the upcoming legislative session. Mr. Brymer referred the Board members to the
Texas Charter School Association items that were provided in the agenda packet and
directed their attention to the issues already noted in which the delegation plans to
address.
Discussion ensued regarding specific concerns to share with our legislative delegation.
Trustee Cox stated that he would like to see legislative approved this year of funding for
facilities. Trustee Langdon stressed the importance of our delegation's diligence for
facility funding and how important it is for us to stay active with our delegation.
S. UPDATE AND STATUS REPORT ON PARKING, FORMER STUDENT/PARENT
EXIT INTERVIEWS AND START OF THE 2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR.
Superintendent Brymer introduced the various updates and then handed the discussion
over to Academy staff members Mr. Harding, Mr. Stoyanoff, Mrs. Odom, Mrs. Watson,
and Mr. Nibarger to provide detail and answer any questions from the Board.
Discussion ensued regarding the new parking lot, the implementation of assigned
parking spaces and how any violations will be addressed.
Mr. Brymer handed out a draft of the exit interview questions to the Board and
discussion ensued regarding how the survey would be distributed and how comments
would be tracked. Board members suggested the following edits: 1) add a question
about which program their student was enrolled i.e. PYP, MYP or DP; 2) add questions
concerning the curriculum e.g. were the requirements being met, were they too
challenging, not challenging enough; 3) Move questions 1, 7, 8 to the end of survey
since bigger questions; 4) Only list questions 1, 7, 8, and 3 and add question of their
year started, the year ended, to see how many years total at WA.
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The next topic, activities surrounding the opening of the new school year, was
introduced by Mr. Stoyanoff, Mrs. Odom and Mrs. Watson, and discussion ensued
regarding the following: students handling of the new block schedule, initial start-up of
the new schedule and lessons learned, curriculum meetings with parents, teachers
adjusting to new block schedule, student assessments, orientation meetings and
effectiveness, teacher convocation and prep week, plans for future on -boarding and IB
meetings with parents, primary program observations, on-line grading, new teacher
appraisal system, administrative office realignment, new buses, Principal Harding's first
few months, and upcoming employee survey.
6. DISCUSSION AND REVIEW OF THE ACADEMY MISSION/VISION STATEMENT.
Principal Harding introduced this topic, explaining that he needed clarification of the
mission/vision statement and the inclusion of the word "well-balanced" as some
reiterations and reprints of the mission/vision statement do include this word but others
do not. Superintendent Brymer stated that he felt it important to bring this item before
the Board to ensure that we have full disclosure because some of the board members
were not on the Board when the mission/vision statement was created and approved.
Mr. Brymer went on to state that he believes this word was left off of the original
statement by mistake.
Discussion ensured regarding the word "well-balanced" and also about possible other
revisions to the mission/vision statement. Mr. Brymer reminded the Trustees that the
mission/vision statement should be revisited every 1-2 years for possible revisions along
with the Strategic Plan and Mr. Harding added that there are IB requirements to do so
as well.
The Board directed staff to include the word "well-balanced" in the mission/vision
statement on all publications and reprints moving forward.
7. DISCUSSION OF BOARD OF TRUSTEE GOVERNANCE AS ILLUSTRATED IN DR.
BRIAN CARPENTER'S CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD UNIVERSITY.' AN
INTRODUCTION TO EFFECTIVE CHARTER SCHOOL GOVERNANCE; CHAPTERS
5-7.
Trustee Carol Langdon introduced the agenda item and led the Board through a review
and discussion of Chapters 5-7. Mrs. Langdon presented each chapter's review and
follow-up questions using creative visuals e.g. bingo -type cards, specific role cards
(hats), and board member directional arrows.
8. BOARD RECAP / STAFF DIRECTION
Board members directed staff as follows:
1) research a possible outdoor facility and report back to the Board on the findings
2) include a facilities plan when the strategic plan is revised
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3) provide updates as work progresses on
growth plans
4) provide a post -lottery update regarding
status of new teachers
the expanded block schedule and future
student enrollment numbers and hiring
Trustee Rennhack asked for a future agenda item regarding the financial forecast and
whether it is focused on academic excellence.
9. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the Board, President Wheat adjourned the
workshop at 8:29 p.m.
Regular Session
1. CALL TO ORDER
President Wheat called the Regular meeting to order at 8:30 p.m. with all Trustees in
attendance except Trustee Tim Brittan.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
President Wheat led the pledge of allegiance to the United States and Texas flags.
3. CITIZENS' PRESENTATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS
Marla Goode — 1405 Lizzy Court, Keller; Mrs. Goode addressed the Board by stating that
she is a strong supporter of the school and a parent of a senior student. She went on to
state that she is only coming before the Board tonight because of the urgency of the
matter for senior students with their college applications and the timing of the next
Board meeting. Mrs. Goode expressed her appreciation to the school counselor and
teachers for meeting with her but stated that she is still very concerned and confused by
the answers she has received. She reiterated again, that because of the short time
frame between now and the college application deadlines, that she is before the
Trustees only because she feels it important that they are aware of the differences in
the grading system, the weighting of grades that the Academy uses versus all the other
schools (including IB), and the urgency to clarify the confusion for the senior students
and parents. Mrs. Goode stated that she feels we could be under representing our
students' grades and not valuing our students' work properly, allowing for an uneven
playing field in college admissions for our graduates. Mrs. Goode handed out
documents that she has been given regarding the grading scale and the weighting/non-
weighting of grades and stated that she feels it is being applied differently by various
teachers at Westlake Academy. She requested that the Board consider forming a
committee to review and clarify this issue as quickly as possible.
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Rebecca Rollins — 13239 Roanoke Road, Westlake; Mrs. Rollins addressed the Board by
thanking them for their focus on academic excellence and how it relates to charter
schools. She went on to state that she would like to see more fiscal responsibility with
more focus on student outcomes, hiring more teachers that inspire the students, and on
the number of students earning the IB diploma and going on to colleges. She stated
she does not see enough indicators of academic excellence at the primary level and
feels that TAKS testing is not enough. Mrs. Rollins asked to see more evidence of how
the students are doing in math and science and how they compare with other IB peers
and she asked the Board to provide a timeline on when these indicators will be put in
place.
Ange Bumgarner — 1700 Imperial Springs, Keller; Mrs. Bumgarner addressed the Board
and expressed her confusion in understanding where the Board stands on the addition
of 80 students next year for a full expansion versus the addition of bringing certain
grades to 20 students this year with the addition of the block schedule. She spoke of
her support and love for the school but also of her concerns with the growth in adding
such a large number of students next year. She stated her belief that Westlake
Academy will grow organically with the continued success of the school and then, can
afford the ability to add more choices for the students.
4. CONSENT AGENDA
a. Consider approval of the minutes for the meeting held on September 13, 2010.
MOTION: Trustee Rennhack made a motion to approve item a on the consent
agenda. Trustee Langdon seconded the motion. The motion carried by
a vote of 3-0.
S. BOARD RECAP / STAFF DIRECTION
Board members asked WA staff to gather additional information along with data
provided by Mrs. Goode and get back with her regarding her concerns of
weighting grades. Superintendent Brymer added that staff will pull the grading
policy that was recently passed by the Board and look at it in context to the
concerns and documentation presented.
Board members asked WA staff to ensure that the block schedule additions
added this school year do not compromise our charter requirements.
6. BOARD CALENDAR
- Westlake Arbor Day Celebration (rescheduled date)
October 16, 2010; 4 pm -dusk; Glenwyck Park
- WHPS Living History Presentation - Texas Frontier Forts Trail
October 26, 2010; 7:00 pm; WA Performance Hall
- Board of Trustees Meeting
November 1, 2010
- Staff Development Day- (No school for students)
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November 17, 2010; 8:00-3:30 pm at WA -Dr. Marsha Tate Seminar
School Holiday — Thanksgiving Break
November 22-26, 2010
Texas Charter Schools Association Conference
November 29 -December 1, 2010 (contact Ben N.); San Antonio
7. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
- None
8. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the Board, President Wheat asked for a motion
to adjourn.
MOTION: Trustee Rennhack made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Trustee Cox
seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 3-0.
President Wheat adjourned the meeting at 8:56 p.m.
APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ON DECEMBER 6, 2010.
ATTEST:
Kelly dwar' , Board Secretary
Laura Wheat, Board President
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