Dear Parents, Students, Staff, and Friends:

Much has occurred since I last posted to the blog, and I would like to provide an update on what has occurred. First of all, many have asked when and where next meeting is. The Board of Education will review the contracts and likely take action on the contracts Tuesday, February 23rd at 6:00 pm. The meeting will take place in North High School’s Commons.

I know not everyone is familiar with the events that have brought us to this meeting, so I want to use this as an opportunity to bring people up to date. On Tuesday, February 9th, the charter school contracts that govern IDEAS Academy, The Mosaic School, and The Elementary School for the Arts and Academics (ESAA) were up for renewal in front of the Board of Education (for more on the contract renewal process and the contract, check out my previous blog). After reviewing the documents and asking some questions, the board decided to table the motion to approve the contracts until February 23rd. The board then directed the administration to come back with new documents better detailing the attainment of the contracted goals.

In the last week, I have met with a number of parents and students to discuss their questions. On Friday, I invited all of our parents to a coffee at Paradigm to discuss any questions they might have had about the February 9th board meeting. We had about 20 parents attend. Many parents expressed their frustration with how our schools were characterized at the meeting and wondered how they might express their frustration. Additionally, I have been asked to clarify, via blog, the information the board has requested. As I have reflected on the conversations last week, I am preparing a few blogs leading up to the February 23rd Board Meeting that will address our contract goals, our approach to math education, our accomplishments, and where we are going as a set of schools. It is my hope that this will help you put a complete picture together of our schools ahead of the board meeting.

As we move ahead, I want to make sure that everyone understands this is not a “save our school” campaign. I am confident that our contract will be renewed. We, like any organization, have strengths and areas we need to address. We use a continual improvement process to address these concerns. In upcoming blogs, I will share my reflections on what our strengths and our identified areas for growth and improvement.

I appreciate the comments, questions, and support from all of you over the past week. Please continue to contact me with those comments and questions.

Sincerely,

Ted