MINUTES OF THE
REGULAR MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTOR OF THE
GREATER CRENSHAW EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP, INC.
April 25, 2011
The Board of Directors of The Greater Crenshaw Educational Partnership (GCEP) held a Regular Meeting on Monday, April 25, 2011 at Crenshaw High School, 5010 11th Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90043. The following directors, constituting a quorum of the Board of Directors, were present:
-Blair H. Taylor, President
- Dean Karen Gallagher, Vice President
-Dr. Lewis King, Secretary/Treasurer
-Ms. Eunice Grigsby, Parent
-Mr. Miguel Abarca, Parent
-Dean Marilyn Flynn, USC School of Social Work
-Mr. Charles Franklin, Honda Corporation (by telephone)
Also present were the following:
-Ms Carrie Allen, Principal-Crenshaw High School
-Ms. Renita Smith, VP Strategy, Los Angeles Urban League
-Mr. Gregory Franks, Tom & Ethel Bradley Foundation
-Dr. Sylvia Rousseau, GCEP Consultant
-Mr. Jeffery Wallace, Special Assistant to the President/CEO, Los Angeles Urban League
four years later. The State of California calculation counts all graduates regardless of whether they graduated in four years and factors the number of dropouts from the previous four years.
The LAUSD Methodology counts all students entering the 9
th, 10th, and 11th grades in the school’s cohort for graduation. If a student leaves the school, they are not counted as a drop out if: 1) the student has transferred and is completing a high school program at another LAUSD school, in the state of California or in another state and records report attendance at that school; 2) a student transfers to adult school and is completing a GED program. They will also not be counted as a drop out if they leave the country, suspend their education due to excused illness, or if the student has died. This methodology relies on accurate reporting, matching student records within the state database, and parents, or schools outside of the state reporting changes (requests for transcripts, etc).
Ms. Ryder noted that timely submittal of data is critical to the accuracy of the report card results. Schools with a high transiency rate may have more sensitivity to “student data unknowns.” (Crenshaw has a reported transiency rate of 40%). She stated that students are considered dropouts after year 6 and that the report card reports students who are working toward a diploma in the fifth year. 4
The graduation rates were inaccurate on the School Report Card for 2009-2010 because it was verified that there was a late transmittal in graduation data to the district. Mr. Korich, Crenshaw High’s Diploma Project Counselor assisted in correcting the dropout data initially reported. He stated that a large portion for the incorrect data occurred with students who left Crenshaw High School; they were given new SSID numbers by the institution they transferred to, leaving the number originally assigned vacant which resulted in data collectors assuming that the student is a drop out. He also discussed related issues of student transfers from some charter schools and Catholic schools who do not graduate on time because of less stringent credit requirements.
Ms. Ryder reported that all graduation data from 2009-2010 has been corrected at the LAUSD Office of Data Management and will be reflected on the School Report Card for 2010-2011 (which reports 2 years of information). A reissue of the 2009-2010 report card with corrected information is unlikely now because of cost considerations at LAUSD.
GCEP Board Retreat
:
The date for the retreat is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, June 11, 2011, however, Executive Director Ryder stated that she would send out an electronic mail correspondence to gather a sense of each board member’s schedule before committing to that date. Ms. Ryder has suggested splitting the retreat into three sections. One session would be an evening during the week where the topic of discussion is “Crenshaw High School on a Global Scale.” Another session would be another evening during the week to explore “GCEP at the local level and its relevance,” with the third ad final session being a complete retreat to identify key factors moving forward, re-examining the mission, and identifying key deliverables for the organization and its board.
Crenshaw High Grants/Donations:
The topic was placed on the agenda for the board to discuss and strategize a protocol system by which Crenshaw High School and/or GCEP receives donations, grants, and disburses funds. Executive Director Ryder tabled this discussion for the next Regular Scheduled GCEP Board Meeting.
GCEP Board Governance:
Ms. Ryder provided an update on her discussions regarding student and faculty members on the GCEP board. She conferred with the original legal sources familiar with the intent of the Memorandum of Understanding. She stated their concerns regarding faculty members’ potential conflicts of interest as voting members of the board, particularly on employee personnel matters.
Other GCEP Activities:
Ms. Ryder reported to the board that she met with Dr. Brenda Manuel, the new LAUSD Local District 3 Superintendent. Ms. Ryder expressed to the board that Dr. Manuel is delighted to work with GCEP and would like to see a more streamlined conversation and partnership between GCEP, Crenshaw High School, and its feeder schools. President Taylor directed the GCEP team to invite Dr. Manuel to the next GCEP Board Meeting. 5
Consultant’s Report
Dr. Sylvia Rousseau provided a summary of her work this year as a GCEP consultant and shared a presentation which outlined the key areas of her work with the principal and administrative team (attached). Dr. Rousseau also described her recommendations and observations regarding GCEP and areas for change and discussion. She noted that GCEP is at a crossroads and offered several guiding questions that the board should consider as they discuss the future of GCEP.
President Taylor stated that the points Dr. Rousseau raised are important to discuss as a Board and directed Executive Director Ryder to “structure” the conversation and come up with the answers collectively at the retreat.
Mr. Greg Franks suggested to the board that a committee be formed to begin the GCEP conversations prior to the board retreat. President Taylor agreed and directed Ms. Ryder to form an ad hoc committee around the discussion items.
Partner’s Updates:
Los Angeles Urban League
Mr. Jeffery Wallace, Special Assistant to Los Angeles Urban League President Blair Taylor, discussed the Los Angeles Urban League’s trip to China during the summer for Crenshaw High School students. Mr. Wallace described the three objectives of the trip: 1) To meaningfully expose CHS students to facilities of corporate partners in China; 2) To establish a linkage between Chinese and CHS students for cultural exchange; and 3) To return and implement student-led programming with Crenshaw High School. Mr. Wallace described the benefits to the students participating in the trip and noted that the trip would be a two-way cultural exchange, allowing students from Crenshaw to understand Chinese culture and their Chinese peers would have an opportunity to be exposed to African-American culture through the art collection of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey.
After the Crenshaw to China presentation, President Taylor briefly mentioned that the Los Angeles Urban League is offering a paid internship this summer for one Crenshaw High School student at an Entertainment Law Firm. Mr. Wallace will provide further details regarding the application and student selection process.
President Taylor then stated that on June 10, 2011, MSNBC will film “The Morning Joe Show” from Crenshaw High School. The live broadcast will feature a positive piece on Crenshaw High School, and the work of the Greater Crenshaw Educational Partnership and its partners. Mr. Taylor stated that Ms. Adrienne Sears, Director of Community Outreach at the Los Angeles Urban League, and Ms. Ryder will coordinate the logistics for the show. Mr. Taylor noted that the program provides an opportunity to discuss different successful educational alternatives with nationally known speakers and will be a great opportunity to showcase Crenshaw students and highlight Crenshaw’s programs. 6
President Taylor asked Executive Director Ryder if students could write a letter to the Starbucks Corporation regarding their generosity for the Starbucks “Day of Service”. Over 700 volunteers came to help beautify the campus including painting a new mural near the gymnasium.
Ms. Monique Sutton offered her thanks to the Los Angeles Urban League for the “Mentoring in The Moment” Program. She stated that her daughter is a participant in the program and enjoyed the educational programming that was offered.
Adjournment
President Taylor entertained a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion was made by Dean Karen Gallagher and seconded by Dean Marilyn Flynn. The motion was approved unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 9:32 p.m.
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ATTACHMENT A
Consultant’s Report: Dr. Sylvia Rousseau
Upon assuming the role of consultant in late September 2010 upon the request of the GCEP board, I have performed these functions and tasks:
Master Schedule and QEIA
The school was facing a number of challenges related to the master schedule and meeting QEIA requirements. I mentored the assistant principal responsible for the master schedule to
Bring all class sizes within the required QEIA guidelines
Maximize teacher assets in assigning classes
Ensure all students access to a-g requirements
Ensure all students access to graduation requirements
Minimize the impact on the budget
Provide appropriate intervention opportunities for students to meet content standards for successfully completing classes and doing well on standardized tests – emphasis on mathematics and literacy
RESULT: CREATED CAPACITY WITH A COMPETENT APSS
Professional Development
Coordinated a series of professional development with USC Rossier School of Education faculty and C
2 teachers related to problem –based learning to provide a context for an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning that promotes literacy and mathematics as well as critical thinking and problem solving.
Assisted school in integrating literacy across all content areas
Ongoing meetings with administrative team to coordinate their efforts in a comprehensive approach to organizing the school to maximize student and teaching effort for high academic achievement. (SEE ATTACHMENT)
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Revising teacher hiring procedures to reflect school’s teaching and learning priorities
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Creating a comprehensive decentralized approach to attendance monitoring, giving stronger roles to SLCs and parent staff
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Developing a plan for outreach to feeder schools and parents in the community toward increasing Crenshaw enrollment – Crenshaw day for parents and evening event to showcase Crenshaw’s efforts
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Held two week-end retreats with administrative staff to plan
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Linking teacher support and classroom observations to professional development and implementation of state curriculum for heightened student achievement
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Providing administrative support to SLCs
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Using data to inform school organization and administrative duties
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Mentoring and providing day-to-day support to principal as well as week-end meetings
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Designing and providing professional development with teachers in the two SLCs serving as pilots to the Ford Foundation grant.
8
Securing External Support
Co-authored the Ford Foundation grant for $200l,000 in year one
o
Based in the Bronfenbrenner Ecosystems concept that stresses coherence and cooperation between the student’s family and school, supported by coherence with the institutions of the community at the next level and then with the society as a whole. The child’s world involves connections between the extended world of concentric circles of influence. It is a model of problem-based learning that calls upon the model of schooling to go beyond the walls of the school to connect the student to her or his community as a creator or producer of assets to the community rather than a victim of its ills. It calls for public displays of tasks reflecting problem solving and critical thinking that is witnessed and approved by the student’s community.
Quotes from Bronfenbrenner:
In today’s world parents find themselves at the mercy of a society which imposes pressures and priorities that allow neither time nor place for meaningful activities and relations between children and adults, which downgrade the role of parents and the functions of parenthood, and which prevent the parent from doing things he wants to do as a guide, friend, and companion to his children.
(Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917) U.S. (Russian-born) psychologist, advocate for families. Two Worlds of Childhood: U.S. and U.S.S.R., preface (1973).)
We as a nation need to be reeducated about the necessary and sufficient conditions for making human beings human. We need to be reeducated not as parents—but as workers, neighbors, and friends; and as members of the organizations, committees, boards—and, especially, the informal networks that control our social institutions and thereby determine the conditions of life for our families and their children.
(Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917) U.S. (Russian-born) psychologist, advocate for families. “Who Needs Parent Education?” Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Flint, MI (September 1977). Position paper for the Working Conference on Parent Education.)
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Created a framework that creates an intersect between the California Standards for the Teaching Profession, the California Content Standards for students, 21st Century Skills, and the Common Core Standards to guide the teaching-learning relationship
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Calls for an innovative approach to teacher peer review and evaluation
Consulted revision of plan for Wall-to-Wall Small Learning Communities a structural approach to Schooling
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Revive and reinstitute the STEMS academy to maintain the small size of SLCs and provide a theme-based curriculum that builds on students’ interest in math, science, engineering and technology.
-Ms. Beverly Ryder, GCEP Executive Director
