Joanne Doherty

The AMSA Student Opportunity Act (SOA) Plan outlines the organization's strategic direction to meet DESE expectations for SOA funding. It focuses on five primary outcomes: reducing persistent achievement gaps for identified student subgroups, strengthening academic supports for students with the greatest needs, improving literacy through evidence-based intervention, increasing student readiness for post-secondary education, and building staff capacity for data-driven continuous improvement. Key goals include launching a Tier 3 academic support class, restructuring reading intervention to be evidence-based, providing staff professional development on continuous improvement science, enhancing authentic post-secondary planning, and implementing targeted support for the lowest-performing student subgroups.

This document, referred to as "This Year's Game Plan," outlines a strategic approach encompassing an Accountability Plan and an SOA (Student Opportunity Act) Plan. The Accountability Plan details a five-year commitment to enhance academic performance, post-secondary readiness, and skill acquisition across diverse student populations, including goals for Biliteracy State Seal, advanced coursework participation, higher education attendance rates, and AP exam scores. The SOA Plan outlines a three-year strategy for academic support, evidence-based reading intervention, staff professional development in continuous improvement, and targeted support for specific student subgroups. Additionally, the plan addresses a new Competency Determination (CD) Policy, defining requirements for earning credit and demonstrating mastery.

The Board discussed the Executive Director's report, including the school's Platinum Level recognition on the AP Honor Roll and an analysis of internal academic performance data, including student failure rates and targeted support interventions. Fundraising updates were provided, noting successful grant applications and upcoming initiatives. Planning for a strategic retreat was addressed, and committee reports were received from Finance, Governance, and Education, which included discussions on tuition budgeting, bylaws revisions, and AI policy feedback.

The meeting includes a public comment session, review of financial statements, and various organizational updates including reports from the Executive Director, faculty, and parent representatives. Key discussions involve strategic planning, committee reports covering development, finance, governance, and education, as well as a review of both previous and new action items.

The meeting included several votes, specifically the approval of minutes from the October 16, 2025, and November 10, 2025, meetings (with an amendment regarding attendance for contract negotiations). Key discussions involved the updates to the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan and the unanimous approval of the revised Approval Authority Policy by the Finance Committee. The Board also approved a New Counselor Evaluation Tool. The fundraising update highlighted new business partners and planned outreach to alumni, including events and social media rejuvenation. Operational concerns were raised by the Faculty Representative regarding missing science countertops in the new building and building heating issues. The Executive Director provided an extensive report detailing ELA performance data, noting areas for instructional adjustment, and presented PSAT scores which generally exceeded state and national averages. Committee reports addressed budget planning for unforeseen capital expenses and a review of the Staff and Family Survey results, which showed slight dips in satisfaction in areas like school climate and communication rationale.