General Information

Government Type

Charter School

Entity

Utah Virtual Academy

Entity Website

http://utva.k12.com/

Public Body

Utah Virtual Academy

Notice Information

Add Notice to Calendar

Notice Title

Utah Virtual Academy Board Meeting

Notice Tags

Charter Schools

Notice Type(s)

Meeting

Event Start Date & Time

September 20, 2011 06:00 PM

Event End Date & Time

September 20, 2011 07:30 PM

Description/Agenda

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING UTAH VIRTUAL ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL Pursuant to Utah Statute 52-4-202, notice is hereby given to the members of the Utah Virtual Academy Governing Board members and to the general public that the Governing Board will hold a public meeting, open to the public as specified below. The Governing Board reserves the right to change the order of items on the agenda. One or more members of the Governing Body may participate in the meeting by telephonic communications. Pursuant to Utah Statute 52-4-201, the Governing Body may vote to go into Executive Session, which will not be open to the public, for legal advice concerning any item on the agenda or to review, to discuss and consider records exempt by law from public inspection, including the receipt and discussion of information or testimony that is specifically required to be maintained as confidential by state or federal law. Persons with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation by contacting Jeff Herr at 801-262-4922. Requests should be made as early as possible to allow time to arrange the accommodation. DATED AND POSTED this 13th day of September, 2011 By___________________________________ Karen Rackliffe, Board President UTAH VIRTUAL ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL September 20, 2011 6:00 pm Via Conference call: 1-888-824-5783 code:74325098 then # A. Roll Call B. Call to the public - This is the time for the public to comment. Members of the Governing Board may not discuss items that are not specifically identified on the agenda. Therefore, action taken as a result of public comment will be limited to directing school staff to study the matter, respond to any criticism, or schedule the matter for further consideration and decision at a later date. 10 minutes. School Update A. Head of school Update School metrics – including retention, Scantron, demographics, teacher hiring Policy Session A. Discussion and approval of May 25, 2011 board meeting minutes (minutes follow, document A) B. Discussion and approval of June 9, 2011 board meeting minutes (minutes follow, document B) C. Finance Committee Report – The board may review and accept the finance committee’s report. (minutes for last meeting follow, document C) D. Parent Organization and Booster Updates – (reports follow; document D) E. Discussion on future board meeting dates – The board developed a meeting schedule to accommodate a member who is no longer on the board. The board may want to revisit regularly scheduled meeting dates and times. Board Development Session A. Board Training – Karen Rackliffe received a letter from Marlies Burns at the State Charter School Board regarding board training. The board will complete the first board training module together. There have been issues with the links to the State Charter School Board’s training module. As a backup plan, the board may review the parent and teacher “I understand statements” with Stacey Hutchings (documents E and E-backup follow) B. Adjournment DOCUMENT A UTAH VIRTUAL ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL MINUTES May 25, 2011 6:00 pm Via Conference call: 1-888-824-5783 code:74325098 then # A. Roll Call – Karen Rackliffe, Lori Harmon, Doug Shaw, Kent Bodily, and Michele Smith attended from the board. Kathy VanOrden, Jeff Herr, Stacey Hutchings, Amy Vance, Mary Dangerfield, Mary Gifford and Tricia Gagnon attended from UTVA/K12. Lori Harmon left the meeting at 8:00. Kent Bodily left the meeting at 7:20. B. Call to the public – Nobody from the public addressed the board. School Update B. Head of school Update Work styles survey – Patricia Gagnon from K12 provided information on the work styles survey and tactics to support students/parents. ? 96 percent of all subgroups participate in state CRTs ? Nearly 95 percent of students completed the Scantron Performance test ? Enrollment for 2011: currently 2364 new and returning students; 471 are not returning (will be deducted from total number) ? SB65: a charter school is enrolling 50 students in geography; several 9th grade students want higher level math courses; the high school staff is meeting with all charter schools throughout the state within the next few years ? Currently six AP courses are offered to students at UTVA; the AP offering is expanding for next year ? The concurrent enrollment agreement with SLCC was renewed. ? Paraprofessionals will replace certified teachers as advisors next year. ? UTVA is increasing instruction time and accountability for teachers in K-8. ? Teacher mentorships will exist for next year. Karen Rackliffe brought up the UTVA ranking compared to other schools in the state based on an article in the Deseret News. Policy Session A. Discussion and approval of March 23, 2011 board meeting minutes ACTION: Doug Shaw made a motion to approve the March 23, 2011 board meeting minutes. Lori Harmon seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. C. Finance Committee Report – The board may review and accept the finance committee’s report. Kent Bodily reviewed the finance committee meeting. He said everything was in order and there was nothing unusual. D. Parent Organization and Booster Updates – The board reviewed the available reports. The final parent organization report will be sent around when it is received from the parent organization leader. E. Discussion on board retreat dates/times and topics – Potential board retreat discussion topics include: Are we meeting our charter goals? Review services agreement with K12 How does the UTVA board move from “Good to Great?” F. Discussion and possible action on proposed grade retention policy - The UTVA leadership team requests board consideration and approval of a policy that describes the process for retaining a student in a grade level and the process to appeal retention decisions. ACTION: Doug Shaw made a motion to approve the proposed grade retention policy. Lori Harmon seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously with Michele Smith abstaining. G. Discussion and possible action on new lease – The current UTVA office lease expires on June 30, 2011. Current space is 2850 square feet. About 200 more square feet are needed with more storage space and offices. Current price is $14 per square foot, without janitorial services. Renewal of current space is $15.80 per square foot. Options: • The Towers. Includes janitorial services; $15.69 per square foot; 3100 square feet • Suite in current building on second floor; no janitorial services; $15.63 per square foot; 2921 square feet; • 5353 South and 960 East; Sportsplex is another site the board members will view; The board asked the staff to forward draft leases to the board’s attorney, Joel Wright. The staff is verifying that the landlords of each property will pay for an AHERA certified asbestos inspection. H. Discussion on future board meeting dates – The board needs to meet in June to consider a revised budget for FY11 and a budget for FY12. The board will meet at 5:00 pm on June 8. Staff will send the board an email regarding retreat dates the week of August 8-12. Board Development Session B. Board Training Board members shared advice that has helped them be an effective Board Member? Brian Carpenter training helped Lori. This helped her understand the role of the board. Attending the charter school conference helped Lori. The board talks about “what” not “how” was a nugget for Karen. She appreciates knowing each person’s role. The board needs to look at the outcomes. Board retreats have been a plus as the board grows, according to Doug. He likes the opportunity to review. Having a quality head of school makes a difference. Thinking like a life long learning makes a difference. Creating a culture that invites questions. It is important to not be shy about new ideas, while respecting the historical knowledge. Know when to contribute as an individual and when to work as a team member is important to Michele. Boards are about oversight and should ask questions. The board should stay on track with its goals. It is appropriate to challenge thinking and have rigorous discussion. The board should care about the school. Focus on students – is the school meeting the needs of the kids? A board member has zero power by him/herself; the board has power when it meets as a board. C. Adjournment ACTION: Doug Shaw made a motion to adjourn at 8:08 pm. Michele Smith seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. DOCUMENT B UTAH VIRTUAL ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL Board Meeting Minutes June 8, 2011 6:00 pm Via Conference call: 1-888-824-5783 code: 74325098 then # A. Roll Call – Karen Rackliffe, Kent Bodily, Lori Harmon, Michelle Smith from the board. Patti Giovannini, Jeff Herr, Kathy VanOrden from K12/UTVA attended. B. Call to the public – No public addressed the board. C. Discussion and approval of office lease – Jeff Herr received the final lease for 310 E. 4500 S. from Jessmine Kim. ACTION: Michelle Smith made a motion to approve the new office space. Kent Bodily seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. D. Discussion and approval of teacher employment agreement ACTION: Kent Bodily made a motion to approve the proposed teacher employment agreement. Michelle Smith seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. E. Discussion and approval of teacher performance pay plan – Jeff Herr explained the proposed teacher performance pay plan. Teachers will be required to take 10 professional development courses. More points will be awarded if it is beneficial to the school, including graduate classes. UTVA will experiment with a pilot ranking system. UTVA will develop the formula through the next year. The proposed plan has been presented to the teachers. ACTION: Michelle Smith made a motion to approve the proposed teacher performance pay plan. Kent Bodily seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. F. Discussion and approval of revised attendance policy - Jeff Herr explained this policy is to comply with the state law and this follows the 10 day rule. ACTION: Kent Bodily made a motion to approve the revised attendance policy. Michelle Smith seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. G. Discussion and approval of Fiscal Year 2012 School Budget – General Description from Patti Giovannini: She provided the board with the budget. Patti also provided a PowerPoint explaining the 2012 plan including funding FY 2012 v. FY 2011. SB65 was explained by Jeff Herr: students may take one or two courses with UTVA if they are enrolled in a regular B&M school in the state. UTVA will receive 40% of the funding upon enrollment and the other 60% upon completion. Students will only have the school year to finish the course. Patti Giovannini said there is an increase in IDEA and SPED funds. Net K12 charges are expected to increase 3.5% from the prior year. Kent Bodily asked Patti about the differences from the PowerPoint and the budget to actual. Patti explained the difference. There were no further questions. ACTION: Kent Bodily made a motion to approve the FY 2012 School Budget as proposed. Michelle Smith seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. H. Adjournment ACTION: Michelle Smith made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:45pm. Kent Bodily seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. DOCUMENT C Utah Virtual Academy Finance Committee Minutes August 10, 2011 10:00 am 310 E 4500 S Suite 290 Conference Call Number: (888) 824-5783 x74325098 then # A. Roll Call – Kent Bodily, Doug Shaw and Michelle Smith attended from the board. Kathy Van Orden, Abe Barela, Stacey Hutchings, Jeff Herr and Mary Gifford attended from UTVA/K12. B. Approval of June 28, 2011 finance committee minutes ACTION: Doug Shaw made a motion to approve the June 28, 2011 finance committee minutes. Michelle Smith seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. C. Financial statement review, including balance sheet and budget-to-actual comparisons – The committee talked about variances in instructional expenses, revenue and enrollment. The committee discussed classification and reporting issues that can be improved for next year. ACTION: Karen Rackliffe made a motion to approve the balance sheet and budget-to-actual reports. Doug Shaw seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. D. Approval of payment register, bid tracking, restricted fund expenditures, and bank reconciliation – Kent asked that the bank reconciliation is a “detailed” reconciliation rather than a “summary” reconciliation. ACTION: Karen Rackliffe made a motion to approve the payment register, bid tracking report, restricted fund expenditures report and the bank reconciliation. Michelle Smith seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. E. Acceptance of state revenue and deposits ACTION: Doug Shaw made a motion to accept the state revenue and deposits. Karen Rackliffe seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. F. Approval of payments to K12 – Doug Shaw asked the board to revisit the payroll services contract at the next meeting. Substitute Teachers $27,300.00 Online School $140,325.50 Computers $43,415.00 Materials $119,012.50 Mgmt Fee 10/31/10 $68,767.43 Mgmt Fee 11/30/10 $102,000.00 TOTAL $500,820.43 ACTION: Karen Rackliffe made a motion to approve the payment register. Michelle Smith seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. G. Discussion and approval of capitalization threshold – The staff requests the finance committee establish a policy that capitalizes assets valued at $5000 and higher. ACTION: Kent Bodily made a motion to establish a policy of capitalizing assets valued at $2000 or higher. Doug Shaw seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. H. Adjournment ACITON: Doug Shaw made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:57 am. Michelle Smith seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. DOCUMENT D UTVA Parent Organization Board Report - September The UTVA PO - Organization – the PO will be the over arching parent group which will have the following subcommittees: Boosters – marketing/outreach Teacher appreciation All School Events Communications Regional Representatives Fundraising Current Membership: 150 members PO – President, Teresa McNeil has sent out an email welcome to parents who signed up to participate and to invite them to the first meeting on Sept. 20th. On the agenda for the first meeting: Organize committees Select leaders Assign school activities Staff Support: Leadership and Organizational Training – Stacey Hutchings Booster Support – Paul Glanton Parent –Teacher Liaison – Amy Vance School Communications – Angie Kreitzer Testing training and organizing parent support – Lori Whittam DOCUMENT E From: Burns, Marlies [mailto:Marlies.Burns@schools.utah.gov] Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2011 7:29 PM To: CharterGB Cc: Schmitt, Jo J.; chrisrbleak@yahoo.com; kim@utahcharternetwork.com Subject: Governing Board Online Training module 1 Dear Governing Board Member, The State Charter School Board created and adopted a performance framework in September 2011 for the schools it’s authorized (NOTE: You can disregard this email if your school’s authorizer is a school district). The performance framework has four indicators, including student achievement level, student attendance and reenrollment, financial performance and sustainability, and governing board performance & stewardship. Under the board performance & stewardship indicator are three measures, one of which is board member development. To assist charter school governing boards with board development, the State Charter School Board developed the Governing Board Online Training (GBOT) program. GBOT will initially consist of six training modules on topics such as Utah’s Open and Public Meeting Act, board financial oversight, accountability / program assessment, board member conduct, board structure and responsibilities, and promoting the school’s vision and mission. New modules will be added every other month during the 2011-2012 school year. Additional modules will continue to be added in future years until there is a library complete with several on-demand training modules for governing boards to use to train new board members and continue to develop existing board members knowledge of board responsibilities. The State Charter School Board asks that each governing board member take the current GBOT module pre-test during the month it is created. To this end, please send this email to each governing board member at your earliest convenience. Pre-test instructions The link to the current GBOT pre-test is (http://www.myutips.org/tests/show_test.cfm?mypage=1&folder_ID=448388). Paste this link into the browser of your choice to go to the UTIPS page. Choose ‘Simple login.’ When prompted, please type ‘mburns’ in the Teacher Username field. Under First Name, please enter both your first and last name. Under Last Name, please enter the complete name of your charter school. Please contact me if you have any difficulty with or questions about UTIPS. This pre-test contains 13 questions about charter school governing board member responsibilities specific to Utah’s Open and Public Meetings Act (public transparency). The questions are numbered, and the suggested answers for each question are lettered. For each question, decide which answer is best. Then, check the box next to your selected answer. Governing board members will receive instant feedback during the pre-test indicating whether or not they answered the question correctly (green check) or incorrectly (red ‘x’), as well as will receive an overall score at the end. Governing board member proficiency is met by attaining a score of at least 85% on the pre-test. The State Charter School Board recommends that governing board members with non-proficient scores review the associated training module and take a post-test to ensure proficiency is reached. The first module, Open & Public Meeting Act is available on the State Charter School Board’s GBOT website. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions or require additional information. Warm Regards, Marlies Burns Director of Charter Schools Utah State Office of Education marlies.burns@schools.utah.gov DOCUMENT E - Backup Parent Statements “I Understand and Agree” The purpose of the following statements is to clearly state all expectations for UTVA Learning Coaches. For students to be successful it is important that Learning Coaches are in agreement with the following curricular and attendance requirements and expectations: • I understand and agree that I am enrolling my student in a public charter school and schooling at home is not homeschooling. My student is unable to be enrolled in any other public school at the same time. • I will supervise my student in using the K12 curriculum, checking work and verifying understanding after each lesson is completed daily. UTVA does not consider it acceptable to leave a student home alone or unsupervised all day to complete coursework. • I agree to communicate regularly with our assigned teacher, participating in conference calls and returning K-Mail, emails and phone calls in a timely manner. I will follow the guidance and support of a professional teacher in implementing the UTVA program with my student. • I agree that my K-Mail account needs to be reviewed daily and contains information from the teacher that I need to be aware of. If I do not understand the information, it is my responsibility as a Learning Coach to contact the teacher and ask for clarification. • I understand and agree that my student will have monthly work samples and weekly math checkpoints due which must be submitted on-time regardless of technical issues. • I understand and agree that there are student progress requirements which must be met weekly. Teachers will consider this progress as well as other requirements completed (i.e. work samples, weekly checkpoints, Elluminate attendance) when making student advancement decision. • I understand that teachers and/or administrators may require additional proof of progress verification during the school year. Additional progress verification may be requested in the form of (but not limited to) Elluminate sessions, written work samples and phone conferences. • I understand that I have enrolled my student in a public school with attendance requirements that I am expected to meet. • I understand and agree that I must log student attendance daily and that students may not use LC account to do so. I will create a student log-in which my student will use to access the OLS work. • I understand and agree that I am required to have access to a computer with Internet access at all times during my student’s enrollment in the Utah Virtual Academy. • I understand and agree that my student is required to complete Scantron Performance Series web-based assessments as assigned by teachers and/or administrators. Both Math and Reading will be assessed during enrollment and at the end of the year. • I understand and agree that, as a public school, UTVA students are required to participate in state standardized testing. My child is expected to fully participate in the testing at his/her grade level. • I understand and agree that, as a public school, UTVA students are required to participate in state standardized testing. My child is expected to fully participate in the testing at his/her grade level. I understand that if my child does not participate in all mandatory state and school assessment, they can be withdrawn from the school. • I understand that my K-Mail account will show a date stamp for receiving the Parent Orientation Guide and that will serve as my agreement for compliancy of all policies and regulations listed in this document. 2011-12 UTVA Teacher “I Understand” Statements By signing this form I am confirming that I will return to UTVA for the 2011-12 school year and agree with the statements below: 1. I believe every student has the ability to achieve academic success. 2. I believe all students benefit from encouragement to maximize their academic potential. 3. I will establish a distraction-free work environment and office space in order to provide an optimal learning environment for my students. 4. Strong academic achievement as measured by the Criterion Reference Test (CRT), Scantron Assessment Series, and OLS progress is a common goal for teachers, students, and learning coaches. 5. I am expected to become an expert in my content area, the K12 curriculum, and relevant academic content standards for my grade level assignment and courses for which I am Highly Qualified. 6. I will be flexible, understanding, and supportive of students’ and learning coaches’ individual needs for teaching accommodations and programmatic or curricular modifications. 7. Consistent, professional, and quality communication between the administrator, teacher, students, and learning coaches is a critical practice that contributes to positive student achievement, increased parent satisfaction, and student retention. 8. I will remain actively engaged with my students and learning coaches, so I am able to respond to their individual learning needs. 9. I will provide differentiated individualized instruction, engaging ClassConnect/Elluminate sessions, and alternative learning activities to increase student achievement and retention. 10. I will provide appropriate, meaningful feedback on student performance to enhance academic achievement within the assigned timelines. 11. I will maintain current and accurate student performance documentation. 12. I will utilize all available curriculum resources and teaching tools to enhance academic achievement. 13. I will develop a collaborative partnership with my grade level team, academic team, and with all my UTVA colleagues. 14. I will support the maximization and adaptation of K12 lessons to meet individual student learning needs. 15. I will be knowledgeable of, implement, and abide by all policies and procedures in the UTVA employee Handbook, UTVA Student/Parent Handbook, and according to departmental practices. 16. I will provide direct academic support to my students within the school hours of 8:00am-5:00pm. 17. I am employed by UTVA and am required to work not less than 40 hours a week. 18. I am required to be on Instant Messenger (IM) for a minimum of 6 hours daily to better assist my students and foster teamwork and collaboration with my department. Further, I understand I am permitted to mark myself as “busy” if I am in a meeting, Elluminate session, or on a work related phone call. 19. I understand all communication (email, Kmail, and phone calls) with UTVA families and other staff members must be returned within a 24-hour period during the work week. 20. I will work from my home office daily unless I have pre-approval to work remotely from my supervisor. Documentation is required. 21. If I will be out of my office for personal reasons during the official work day for more than 2 hours, I will notify my supervisor and make up the time away during that same week. If I will be out of my office for personal reasons during the official work day for more than 4 hours I will submit a time off request and speak with my department lead. Additionally, I will notify my supervisor upon return. 22. I will participate in regular and ongoing professional development opportunities to support the school’s student academic improvement initiatives. 23. I am required to maintain a current, valid Utah teaching certificate. I am required to remain Highly Qualified according to the No Child Left Behind Act. Failure to meet these requirements will result in immediate unpaid leave and possible dismissal. 24. I will proctor the Criterion Reference Test (CRT) in a professional manner. I will be assigned to a testing location according to school need and may be required to travel to an assigned, possibly remote location. 25. I am expected to be available for periodic travel outside of my city of residence in order to attend events such as outings, training, testing, and marketing events. 26. Utah Virtual Academy will periodically announce updates to policy and procedures. It is my responsibility to stay abreast of all changes and comply accordingly. By signing below I acknowledge my understanding and agreement with the 2011-12 UTVA Teacher “I Understand” Statements. Teacher Signature: _____________________________ Date: _______________________ Printed Name:_________________________________

Notice of Special Accommodations (ADA)

We are compliant with all ADA requirements and will make our information available in any way needed. Jeffrey Herr is the contact for Utah Virtual Academy. Phone:1-801-262-4922 ext 202.

Notice of Electronic or Telephone Participation

Electronic and telephonic means are available for these meetings.

Meeting Information

Meeting Location

310 East 4500 South #290
Murray, 84107
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Contact Name

Meghan Merideth

Contact Email

mmerideth@utahvirtual.org

Contact Phone

(801)262-4922

Notice Posting Details

Notice Posted On

September 14, 2011 09:18 AM

Notice Last Edited On

September 14, 2011 09:18 AM

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