And we are live. Thanks, John. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us on Zoom today, and congratulations on making it to the interview portion of the application process. So we recognize that this is an arduous process, but we truly believe it is, aimed at making sure that all options for Texas students launch as high quality options. Normally, we'd go around the room and introduce ourselves, but today I'm going to take the liberty of introducing our TEA staff and our State Board of Education members, as they may join the call too. So hi, everyone. I'm Mary Anne Shetty. I'm our deputy associate commissioner,
the Department of Authorizing and Policy here at the Texas Education Agency. And from our division of charter school authorizing team, we have Britney Glenn, Sarah Khan, and John Garland. From our finance team, we have PJ Southern Ryan and David Marks. And then from our special populations team, we have Ed O'Neil, Morgan Hubbard, and Doctor. Roja. From our legal team, we have Bridget Ramesh. And from our instructional materials team, we have Linda Autrey. Great. I think I've got everybody from our end. On our State Board of Education members,
it looks like we have, Member Clark and member Rebalus joining us. And if there's anybody else, that might join us this afternoon, we will announce them as they join. Alright. So for our recording purposes today, today is Thursday, May 8, 2025. It's 1PM, and we are interviewing Volenta Academy or Volenta Academy. So we ask that you remain on mute today. If you're not talking and only come off of mute to talk, for our panelists or to answer a question, for our applicant team here. We'll set aside two hours for the capacity interview today.
We'll hear a ten minute overview of your proposed public charter school, and then we'll have time today for questions from TEA staff and State Board of Education members. We hope to hear from both your governing board as well as the proposed leadership of your school. And based on your interview today and the strength of your application, the commissioner will make a recommendation, and the State Board of Education will consider those recommendations at a future meeting. It's our hope today that your application stands on its own merits and will not have any contingencies. However, if there are any items that need to be addressed, staff from our division of charter school authorizing will be in touch to address any
items of concern or omission. Wanna do one last introduction. Kildi Oser, our deputy commissioner of educator and system support is joining us as well. So we'll now have you introduce yourselves with your name and your role only, and then I'll give further directions. Thank you very much, everyone here as well as our members of the state board. My name is Tim Ironman. I'm superintendent of Volenta. Good afternoon. Ashley Martinez, proposed Board Chair. Hello. Tricia Padilla, board member. Good afternoon. Ernesto Munoz, board member. Hello. Sandra Wilson, Volenta Academy board member.
Hello. Tommy Ewing, board member. Thank you. So we'll have you, now have ten minutes to provide the panel an overview of your proposed public charter school. We'll start the timer when your overview begins, and we'll announce when time is up. If you haven't finished by then, please bring your overview to a close at that time, and then we'll begin to in our with our questions. Please know that today is not a time to add or expand your application. And with that being said, we'll begin with the presentation of your vision. Thank you very much. As I said earlier, my name is Tim Ironman, and I'm honored to serve as a superintendent for Volenta Academy,
which is a proposed new school model in Bastrop, Texas. For the past eighteen years, I've had the privilege of working in education as a teacher, a school leader, and an advocate for students and families across the country. My journey began with Teach for America in 02/2007. And since that first day I walked into a classroom, I've been guided by a belief that every child, no matter their background or ZIP code, deserves access to an excellent education. As a teacher, I struggled how to get all of my students to the appropriate level while balancing multiple subject preparations. As a principal and a former director of charter school growth, I realized the importance of impacting every student,
and that growth only grew exponentially as I had more insight into multiple classrooms. At Valenta, we're not just opening a school. We're introducing a model that reimagines what learning can look like. Hired by powered by two hour learning technology, we're able to offer truly individualized learning plans that allow each student to grow at their own pace with the support and challenge they need to thrive. This means more time for passion projects, mentorships, and real world learning, all while maintaining academic excellence. Our afternoons will be full of relevant life skills, taught the robust project based learning where students will have the ability to succeed in
skills that will prepare them to be future leaders. Bastrop is a vibrant and growing community, and with that growth comes a responsibility. A responsibility to provide educational opportunities, not only meet today's challenges, but prepare our students for tomorrow. That's why I'm excited about Valencia Academy, and I'm proud to bring this vision to Bastrop. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to partner with families, educators, and the broader community to make it a reality. Thank you. Thank you, Tim. Good afternoon, everyone. And thank you so much for having me. My name is Ashley Martinez, and I am both honored and excited to be here today as a proposed board
chair for Volenta Academy. From the moment I learned about Volenta Academy's mission, it really pulled on my heartstrings, not just as an educator and an advocate, but also a mother of two young children. In my current role as senior manager of customer success at Renaissance Learning, I have had the privilege of working alongside hundreds of school districts across multiple states to support the effective implementation of high quality instructional materials. Prior to this, I served as an elementary school administrator,
a passionate classroom teacher for many years, and a curriculum writer. At my core, I'm a forever educator. And as a parent, I know firsthand what is at stake. Our current educational system is simply not yet delivering the outcome some of our children need or deserve. That's why I believe so strongly in the mission of Volinta Academy. Volinta is not just reimagining school, it's redefining what is possible. With this innovative two hour learning model, we have the opportunity to achieve meaningful academic growth in all core content while also
forging powerful community connections through real world hands on learning. What we're building here is bold and transformative. It's rooted in research and grounded in the unwavering belief that education should empower all students and not just some. I'm incredibly proud to be a part of this movement, and I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to share this vision with you today. Thank you for your consideration, and I'm happy to be here. Hi. As previously stated, my name is Tricia Padilla, and I'm an attorney here in San Antonio with thirteen years of experience. And more importantly, I'm a mom to two wonderful kids ages eight and five who both attend public
school here in Bexar County. As a parent, I have also seen firsthand the challenges of a one size fits all education model, and that's why I am so inspired by the vision of the Valena Academy and honored to serve on the board. Valena's two hour learning model and commitment to project based learning is exactly the kind of innovative student centered approach that education needs. I love that this model allows each child to really progress at their own pace without being limited by the traditional classroom structure. But what excites me even more is Valente's focus on the life skills portion.
In today's world, students really need more than just academic knowledge. They need confidence, communication, critical thinking, and real world problem solving skills. Valente prepares kids not just for tests, but for life, and that's extremely powerful. I'm choosing to serve on this board because I deeply believe in this mission. And as an attorney, I bring a strong understanding of compliance, policy development, and risk management, areas that are really essential to building a solid foundation for any school. But as a parent and a community member, I bring passion and a desire to help ensure that every child has access to
an education that truly prepares them to thrive individually, independent of others. And Volena Academy is really a bold step forward for Bastrop and for Texas, and I'm proud to be a part of it. Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Ernesto Munoz. And, I'm very excited and happy to be here. In my life and in my career, I have had the opportunity to view education through various lenses. And, my early experiences as a, as a student inspired me to become the best teacher that I could for my
students and to advocate for those who may feel unheard or ignored. My services began as a bilingual teacher, in the Austin area. And my curiosity and desire to always do better led me to pursue roles in special education, school administration, teacher education, leadership development, working with education, non profits, project management, and, my current role in grant monitoring. I have lived in Central Texas and have dedicated my career to serving communities and scholars who don't always have opportunities and choices that others might take for granted.
This is what attracted me to Valenta Academy. Volenta Academy is an opportunity to pay it forward for me. I want families and students in the Bastrop community to have options, choices, and opportunities that are currently not available. Valencia brings a fresh perspective and an approach to teaching and learning along with new ideas and possibilities. I believe all families and students deserve access to high quality learning experiences, in their home communities and should not need to leave their communities to access high
quality educational opportunities. I am very proud to serve on this board. And, thank you again for, for the invitation. Thank you, Ernesto. Hello, everyone. My name's Sandra Wilson. I'm a licensed professional counselor, and I'm honored to be here today as a board member at Volenta Academy. I have a background in mental health and child development, and I believe in the importance of both emotional and academic growth for students. I'm passionate about creating an environment where children can not only excel academically but also develop the emotional resilience that they need to succeed in life.
As someone who had my own struggles in school, I can relate to the challenges that many students face. I often felt like I was falling behind in a system that only seemed to value one kind of learner. And looking back, I truly believe that a model like Valenta's, one that recognizes each child's unique needs, interests, and learning styles, would have helped me thrive. I also remember, a moment in my, education during high school. My dad insisted that I take a typing class, a skill that he believed was essential, especially for girls.
But by the time I took that class, computers were becoming the norm at work, and a class on computers would have been more relevant, but that didn't exist yet. As an adult, that experience has informed my thinking about how important it is for schools to stay current, adaptable, and responsive to the world our students are growing into. And as a parent, I faced the same frustrations many families do today. In my area, there simply weren't enough good options. Most of the private schools were cost prohibited,
and charter wasn't really an option. I didn't have the time or honestly the desire to homeschool, so I ended up having to cobble together my kids' education based on their unique needs. It shouldn't be that hard. I joined this effort because I believe deeply in Valenta's model and in expanding access to it. Every family deserves access to high quality choices, and I believe Volenta will bring this to the community of Bastrop. Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Tommy Ewing. And it is an honor to serve as a board member of Valenta Academy.
I come to this work not just as an education leader or a finance professional, but as someone whose life was forever changed by caring teachers and a supportive school community. I grew up in the foster care system and spent several years homeless, but the educators who saw potential in me, who showed up when no one else did made all the difference. Their belief in me set me on a path that I never imagined possible. That ex experience is why I've dedicated my life to making a difference in my community through education. I spent a decade working in charter schools as an educator, coach, and administrator, focused on building systems that ensure all students,
regardless of background, have access to high quality learning. I transitioned into public finance and now serve as the budget and finance analyst for the Texas Department of Transportation, where I help manage a multi billion dollar budget that shape infrastructure and impact communities across the state of Texas. This shift reflects my commitment to becoming the kind of leader who not only understands the needs of students and educators, but also the financial insight to build sustainable and high performing schools. Valencia Academy reflects the kind of school I needed as a child, the The kind of school I want for my own children. I'm a proud father to a beautiful daughter and have another child on the way
this year. I want them I want them to grow up in a learning environment that values both academic excellence and emotional resilience. That's that's what Valenta is building and I'm proud to be part of bringing that vision to life in Basron. Thank you. Alright. Thank you. We're right at time. So before we get started with our questions, want to verify the number of campuses, the grade span, and maximum enrollment. To ensure we reflected, your request, you're seeking to serve a maximum student body of five forty students in grades k through eight at one campus.
Is that correct? Correct. Thank you. So we will begin with our questions, and I get the privilege of asking the first set of questions. So, since you've submitted the application, the proposed superintendent has changed for the school. Would love to hear what considerations shaped the board's decision to make a shift in the leadership. Excuse me. Couldn't find the mute button. Yes. I'm happy to speak to that. As a board, our core responsibility, of course, is to really ensure that we have the right leader at the helm of Volenta Academy. And we do,
of course, feel that Tim is the right leader for Volinta Academy. We did have to make a shift, of course. Hilary had to step away for personal reasons. And so, Tim did step in. So, we did have to make that shift, as a team. And we fully recognize that. But as a board, like I said, our core responsibility is really to ensure that we have the right leader at the helm. And with that, our governance at Volinta is not static. Similarly to how we are continually refining and progress monitoring, with our students and how we function as,
as a school and as an organization. It is formative, it is reflective, and it is rooted in data and evidence. So with the right leadership and with the right performance metrics and management system, we are really poised to deliver exceptional outcomes for both our students and our families. Tim really brings unmatched experience, for this position as a proposed superintendent. And just even starting nationally with his experience, he has had a national impact on,
charter school growth and advocacy. He He has opened five campuses in three states, serving, 2,700 students, creating two fifty jobs with a $30,000,000 budget at basis. Ed. He has also led proven academic results. He led the number one ranked school in DC and improved both student academic and parent satisfaction within only one year as principal there of a K through eight school with over 600 students.
Additionally, his policy and advocacy efforts really stand out throughout, his resume and his work. He was appointed to the Arizona State Board of Charter Schools, engaged in national political campaigns and charter school advocacy with them. And then additionally, and of course, regarding really drilling down to Volenta Academy and the future of where we're headed, his work, of course, with the two hour learning model. He brings that hands on experience that we're so excited about with Volenta Academy due
to his work with Alpha. So, as current Dean of Parents, with Alpha, and of course, he is recusing from his position with Alpha due to Volinta, but as his Dean of Parent Position at Alpha, he has been supporting families across various campuses. He also founded the GT School in Georgetown, Texas, so not too far from, our Bastrop, our proposed Bastrop location, bringing those strong Austin roots and strong Texas roots there. So he has seen our model firsthand and brings the two hour learning model directly.
So he has, bring brings just a plethora of experience, both nationally, but then really drilling down, to our two hour learning model. So we are thrilled to have him on board as our proposed superintendent. Thank you. I would love to hear a little bit, now from Tim, about how you plan to leverage your experience, and then I would love to just hear a little bit more about your experience with the two hour learning model as well. Thanks very much, for the question. I am beyond excited to bring this way of learning and this model to to as many people as possible.
As I mentioned in my introduction, I have spent the last, eighteen years in public education in different facets, through both my work as a teacher and an educator as well as a principal and director of charter school advocacy for the BASISEd network of charter schools. While I enjoyed my work there, I had the privilege of joining the team at Alpha last year and learning more about how the two hour learning can work to truly individualize education for students. Being able to, as opposed to my former role of walking into a classroom of 30 students and hoping to teach 30 students 30 different ways,
this way of learning, this two hour learning model allows for individualized learning for each student through an app based dashboard with an AI tutor working in the background to curate individualized knowledge gaps and needs for each student. It provides a truly one stop shop for the student to be able to find out particularly what they need subject by subject, day by day, hour by hour, curate the data in such a way to provide real time formative assessment and mastery based learning, and allow for students to have as much insight as possible as well as our teachers to a day to day progress of how their year is going.
My work with Alpha has shown me that there is so much to this model in terms of opening up doors for students in regards to what they can achieve and what they can learn. We piloted this program and and a small campus down in Brownsville, our Alpha Brownsville campus, and we saw students go from 35% proficiency in reading to upwards of 80% proficiency in reading in just one year. We know this model can work, and we're excited to bring it both, to as many students as possible through this new school, Valenteo. Launching a a school comes with a and being the superintendent of a school comes with, a number of components and not just the academic,
direction of the school. So how will the board hold the superintendent accountable for all startup launch activities, and what measures might be taken if those activities are not on track? Absolutely. I'm happy to speak to that. As a board, we are proud to show that Valensa Academy will be highly data driven in our approach. We will, of course, leverage the TABSI framework in ensuring that we are, again, highly data driven in our, in our governance process to ensure that we are really following the milestones to progress
monitor our approach. And when I think about how we are going to do that with our governance at Volinta Academy, I really think about four key pillars. The first is performance evaluation. So we will, of course, conduct a formal annual review. We will have our quarterly check ins. As a board. We will conduct our midyear data reviews. All of this, of course, is highly documented, shared, with TEA. The second pillar, I would say, is data driven oversight.
That would include our monthly board meetings. And within that, the superintendent would be submitting a data dashboard in advance of every board meeting so that, to use a term I use a lot, we would really be able to hit the ground running in those meetings. Those meetings would, of course, be highly transparent. Integrity and transparency would, of course, be really critical, in our board meetings. The third pillar I think about in our governance is committees. So, upon moving forward, with Volenta, we would be focused on committees who oversee finance,
attendance, operations, academic excellence, and community engagement. So within that, we would have committees that really drive each of those efforts, in really clear ways. And each of those committees would be executing those milestones. And then the fourth element or pillar, if you will, to really provide strong governance, to ensure that we're hitting all of our goals would be, again, communication and transparency. That is really, at my core and at the board's core is that communication and transparency piece,
not only amongst our board, and really all key stakeholders at Volinta, but also within our community and our parents and our, and our students, our teachers, anyone who really touches Volinta Academy. So, we will govern with transparency and candor, ensuring that all key stakeholders are in lockstep, really proceeding towards those milestones we have set, in tandem with each other. Thank you. And I will also add, I do have experience with, identifying facilities, whether, new or shared use, previous work with financials, establishing these budgets,
opening up in new markets and new areas. And then as as a board, we will ensure that we have we adhere to our startup plan, and we'll work with board members and then make sure those progress and those benchmarks are being met. And all, all subsequent committees and ideas are are holding me and our team accountable. And just to follow-up on the second part of your question, I know that you had asked what steps will be taken if the superintendent is not on track. Just dovetailing off of what, miss Ashley was just talking about as far as having clear benchmarks, transparency, and communication, just really addressing each step as it comes.
And if there is a place where progress is lacking, having that communication, documenting, and implementing a plan moving forward and really providing targeted support to get back on track. So that way we know at each benchmark and at each timeframe, you know, where are we at? Let's assess it. And do we need a plan? Do we need to shift the plan? And do we need to have more targeted support moving forward just to make sure that everything is staying on track? Thank you for that. I'm now gonna hand it off to Britney with our next question. Awesome. Thanks so much. So here's my question. Given that Alpha is currently operating as a private school,
and is frequently referenced throughout your application, what specific lessons or practices, do you plan to adapt or then implement in this public charter school setting? Are you referring to the curriculum or just general practice for operating a school? You can answer in both ways. Awesome. Thank you. In regards to curriculum, we will, of course, ensure that all instructional materials are high quality and exactly aligned and tied to TEEX. That is, of course, a nonnegotiable for our program. But, additionally, we have learned,
about the need for increased supports, for literacy and time to ensure that students are reading and getting through the requisite material. So on our daily schedule, we've built in a daily, block of intervention for students to attack different skills that might be hindering their knowledge progression throughout the day. That specific intervention skill time is not necessarily, built throughout, Alpha's current model. So having that in front of us on a daily basis will help to ensure that we make those practices work best. Addition additionally, we have taken what can work from them,
but we are going to be our own school. And while we're excited to utilize the two hour learning and learn from what can be done academically, we're going to be our own charter school, ensure that we are putting forth practices that work best for the Bastrop community. Meaning that if we see, things that are not working within specific, knowledge, skill plans, student needs, gaps, those those natures, we will attack them and approach them from our standpoint in, in Belenta's way. Thank you, Tim. And I'm also happy to add on to that as well, Brittany, if that's okay. Okay, great. I just wanted to add on from a high quality instructional material standpoint,
that ensuring that our Volinta students have access to and are utilizing high quality instructional materials will, of course, be, paramount, to us. Instructional materials will, of course, be, paramount, to us at Volinta. And as a governing board, we will be ensuring, that that is executed with fidelity. We will follow, TEA's instructional materials adoption cycle, and we'll be, staying ahead of that and tracking those trends to ensure that we are very proactive, with our execution towards that, ensuring that all core curriculum is vetted,
to ensure TEA compliance, adopting materials approved, or on the route to be approved through HQIM, processes. Our instructional team, will truly conduct annual curriculum audits and rigorous curriculum mapping to maintain alignment with the TEKS. And we have outlined in our application who that core curricula is that we will partner with, to ensure compliance of HQIMs. Awesome. Thanks for that, Mary. Thank you. Thank you. I'm gonna go to Sarah with her next question now. Thank you.
Good afternoon, everyone. My question is around enrollment. So you're you propose to enroll 300 students in year one. So my question is, what experience do you have in meeting the recruitment goals, and what considerations shaped your enrollment projections and your decision to serve kinder through fourth grade? Happy to help with that. I have had vast experience with, enrolling students across multiple different markets, those including such as San Antonio, Northeast San Antonio, and Austin. And, through parent community events and involvement with, both, Bastrop community members and students,
we believe that it will obviously take, a lot of lift from the board, the superintendent, and staff to ensure that we are getting the requisite number of students enrolled from day one. We believe that, given the population increases year over year, according to census data and recent polling, that the, population density is there to support. About 80% of our students will come from within Bachelors ISD, with 20% coming from the neighboring districts. We know that that process will require continual, involvement, community engagement, advertising. And we also believe that it is a process that's necessary,
because the more students we get enrolled to begin with, the more, obviously, word-of-mouth and and interest will gain from neighboring communities as well. The k through four start up, is a logical progression in terms of, attacking the curriculum and ensuring that students are getting access to this model and learning it as we continue to band up. We believe that that's a logical, entry grade point for students and families as they either decide to enroll as new kindergartners or potentially change schools before they hit to the fifth and sixth grade range. As we continue to balloon out towards k eight,
we know that we will continue to get new students in each year and and bring those students in, provide requisite skill plans, get them excited about coming to Volenta. Thank you. Marion, back to you. Alright. We're gonna go to John with our next question. Good afternoon, everybody. Timothy, I'm gonna stick with you for a second. Thank you for that robust answer explaining the rationale for your enrollment projections. But I kinda wanna do a what if. Right? So what if, you all are only able to get a hundred students? You know, right before you open your doors, you have a hundred students enrolled. If we look at your budget, we don't offset anything with in terms of,
staff or, you know, contractors, anything like that, that difference in enrollment, if we went from the 300 to the 100, you're in a negative operating income of about $1,300,000. Can you walk me through how you all would approach that, kind of recalibrating, balancing that budget, and then what areas would you prioritize? Awesome. Thanks for asking. I'm happy to talk a little bit about, what I would do from a, superintendent standpoint, then I'm I'm gonna loop Tommy in a little bit to talk about our finances. But from a purely staffing standpoint, the staffing ratios as it stands are 20 to one.
So, if we had that fewer number of students, we would obviously contract staffing to to reflect that. It's a difficult decision to do. When I opened a school in 02/2014 in Phoenix, we were approximately a 50 underenrolled. Day, it quickly went back up, but it didn't involve staff contraction or redistribution. And it's a it's a difficult conversation to have, but it's something that's necessary. After that, we would begin to look at other operating costs that might be able to be, redistributed if needed. Things such as, budgetary constraints specifically spent towards community engagement and programming might need to take a hit
long enough to sustain and grow more enrollment. And then might also need to be, an examination of what we're spending per pupil in regards to day to day operations. But I'll also let Tommy, chime in with a little bit of an idea. Yes. Thank you, guys. Yeah. So we enrollment is very important, and we currently, have certain plans in place for, if, you know, those enrollment numbers aren't aren't hit. And so we have it's currently have a plan for 10%, 10% reduction and 2030% of enrollment. And that requires some of our in our budget line,
we have contingency, budget set in place, that's included in our expenditures. And so that will help cover some of that cost. And then along with, some of the programs that we might wanna just have to cut in. As Timothy said, it will be a decision that, you know, that we made based off a hard decision a hard conversation, decision that we made based off of that. And I'll I'll conclude with we we believe in this program. We know that this program will work and it'll be a valuable addition to to Bastrop. And we are prepared to spend our weekends fundraising, doing whatever we can to help meet those shortfalls because this bottle belongs,
to the community and we believe that it should be there. Great. I think I have the next question, Marion. Okay. Timothy, earlier you referenced Brownsville and you all seeing some academic gains, there and some closing some of those performance gaps. I kinda wanna talk a little bit dig dig a little bit deeper in your application. You do discuss quote, academic performance challenges, as a significant issue in your proposed community. So, in theory and most likely, you will be having students come in, with sizable gaps. Can you talk to me a bit about your model and any specific design elements or features of your model that would provide,
the most evidence based data to support that you're gonna meet your target goals for math and literacy, specifically? Appreciate the question. Thank you. And that is arguably what I'm most excited to talk about when it comes to this model. The ability to give students original assessments, whether we're using the MAP Growth, DIBELS, STAR test form, summative assessments to kind of benchmark where the students are, we are then able, with the use of the data wizard and the requisite apps to build a knowledge skill level plan that is specific to that student. And what it can do is it can incorporate all varying levels of student need,
across the grade level. So if the student comes in preliterate, we have apps that will help them access and work through those specific needs, in terms of literacy, fluency, decoding, sentence comprehension. And then we also have if the student the student very well could be behind in reading, but very excited and and and above the grade level in math, they will be able to log in on a daily basis and have access to grade level appropriate reading while also continuing to excel and go beyond in grade level math. And that dynamic alone as a teacher, being able to go from student to student and ensure that they're going through their
individual skill plans while maintaining classroom management and order is is something I've never been able to accomplish in my many years in the classroom. And so we are beyond excited to be able to bring that into our classroom. The intervention time in the morning will also allow for that specific skill plan and specific knowledge gap filling for each student. Because, ultimately, we want our students to not just get the bare minimum for each grade level's content, especially with things like reading and literacy and math. They scaffold and spiral so much year over year that to have those knowledge gaps at a early grade level that aren't filled,
and they're continuing to move along foundationally, converting fractions without knowing your multiplication tables is going to be that much more difficult. So our program can recognize those gaps, fill them appropriately, have the students engage in fun and gamifying ways to necessarily learn those timetables, work through their language, work on grammatical practices, and have that all in one stop place for them while they're working with their teacher to stay motivated and excited on a day to day basis. I appreciate that response. Thank you. Marion? All right. We'll go to Britney with our next question. Awesome. Thank you. So we're gonna talk a little bit,
about your startup plan. So in your application, you state, currently, the two hour learning program provides comprehensive digital coverage of 92% of teak standards. The remaining 8% are addressed through project based learning opportunities delivered through afternoon workshops. So this is going to ensure that 100% of those takes are met. So here's my question. Can you speak to the plan for training teachers to ensure that the instructional model is implemented with fidelity and that 100% of those takes are met?
In addition, to obviously summer in service and pre training that all of our teachers will go through, a large portion of this will be dedicated to ensuring a % of those takes are are delivered to the students. And that comes from, a, identifying where they're being addressed in the morning sessions and then those afternoon project based workshops, identifying what TEKS will be implemented, how they will be implemented, and ensuring that there is a an assessment and a, objective measure to how the student is doing on the representative TIC. Now, for that, it can be a couple different a couple different avenues.
We can have, a specific rubric, for instance, if the student was working through, their ability to work on their gross motor skills and accomplish x number of skills by the end of the year, we would have some metric to measure that they've done that, how often they've done it, and where they've done it. Additionally, for things such as art, music, we'll have, whether it's a, formative assessment or summative assessment based on each individual standard and ensuring that the students are measured, that that data is collected and being able to be presented to both the student and the parent so they can understand where the student is progressing.
We will ensure that through those before school trainings, as well as, regular staff meetings, routine, professional development within our staff to address those needs, and then collaboration across, grade levels in classrooms to ensure that students are getting exposure to these these life skills and these teaks in different ways, while also building upon a foundation of skills that we believe, and know are necessary for them to succeed grade over grade, year over year. And then as a follow-up, can you, talk to me about the systems that you have in place during, like, your startup year,
to ensure that those personalized learning technology platforms are implemented with fidelity, with your teachers? Absolutely. Thank you for the question. The students will, obviously be coming into what will be a different model for them, starting the day with a launch and then working their way through intervention time and then ultimately into their their two hour learning, it will feel slightly different than what they're probably used to. Most of us are used to a teacher in front of the classroom for seven hours a day, and then we get what we can out of it. We know that having our teachers be, dynamic and, trainable in terms of how to implement this practice for the students throughout the day
will be critical to their success. So we will ensure that, the teachers on a day to day basis are, bringing forth best practices, working through classroom management procedures, working on routines, daily expectations. We have a dynamic, in the afternoon once a week called town hall as well, where students get to share their concerns and share statements in I agree, I disagree type, format where they can go through best practices practices for how to learn, what to learn, and when to learn. And we will also ensure that our teachers have routine access to each other and, resources for the varying workshops that come within the two hour learning.
We're talking about how to implement those best practices. And then from a technical standpoint, we'll work with, to our learnings IT team and data and collection team if there are any concerns in regards to access or, any technical difficulties, bugs, things of those natures. Awesome. Ashley, did you wanna add something? Yes. And if I may, Britney, I'd love to add on. Okay. Two components that popped up, that I'd love to add on. One, backing up slightly to high quality instructional materials and coverage of the TEKS. I just want it to be known to the team that we will ensure,
you know, as a board, that we are following for curricula and then supplementing as well. So we we have outlined in our application the curricula that we will be following for the core content areas. So for example, math, we have Eureka as the main curricula. Science, we have McGraw Hill, ELA, we have Amplify, Social Studies, we have Savvas. And then, of course, life skills, we have our PBL workshop curriculum, that is already pre developed. So we have a very robust curricula for the core content areas that we're pulling
from and then supplemental curriculum as well. So just wanted to, put that out there that it's already, pre developed, research based, those high quality instructional materials there. And then from a teacher professional development standpoint, we are excited for our Belinda teachers, to have twenty one days total. We have ten days, in advance of the school year, and then we have eleven days, throughout the school year. So preopening PD, they'll be coming together for a lot of, really high high quality learning. And like Tim said, really onboarding to learn about that data wizard, the data dashboard,
quarterly PD days, weekly data reviews during prep periods, in class observations, and coaching from the dean. So a lot of formative, cycles of observations, to ensure that, teaching is really high quality, but also benchmarks of success to ensure compliance as well, that our students are receiving the instruction that they need. Perfect. Thank you. Back to you, Maryann. Thank you. I believe we are now going to Sarah with our next question. Thanks so much. In your application, you mentioned two hour learning gauges student mastery and adapts to their current level of
understanding. So my question is, how will you ensure students receive grade level instruction daily? It will identify, knowledge gaps within their current grade plan, but also, supplement those within daily grade level appropriate instruction. So, even if a third grader, for instance, has a litany of knowledge gaps, some that might date back to kindergarten, we'll still ensure they have access to third grade curriculum on a daily basis while supplementing that with knowledge gaps. Perfect. Thank you so much. Mary Anne, back to you. Great. I'm gonna go to Morgan with her next question.
Hi. Good afternoon. I'm gonna ask questions related to special education, just to frame it. In your enrollment work workbook, you project a total of 27 students identified with dyslexia served in grades k through four. It is safe to assume that many of these students will require specialized dyslexia instruction. My question is, what is your plan for ensuring students are properly identified and receiving treatment as defined by the dyslexia handbook? Thank you for the question. So, for instance, if, you know, a young young man or woman was identified with dyslexia, they will have access to, the curriculum and the appropriate accommodations
within, our curriculum. So, we can use things such as Speechify. We will also ensure that they have, the requisite minutes met, through any IAP instruction or specialized services, be their resource or inclusion. So what it might look like on a day to day basis is, a young a young man walks into the classroom. He, begins to launch with his peers, and they have fun. They do a group team building activity, a level set for the day. They get excited about what's ahead of them, and then we'll launch into our intervention time. That intervention time would be a great opportunity for the student to receive specialized services or access the generalized curriculum with those accommodations and necessary supports in place for that
student. That intervention time, is currently blocked for thirty to fifty minutes depending on what the student needs. The student then, would transition to the two hour learning or the two hour instruction. That will, with it, if needed, also transition to the student's specialized services or requisite minutes depending on what they need. So, access to different apps, access to different accommodations accordingly, access to different specific goals and lessons that are tailored towards those students' needs. And then after that, we'll have their break. They'll have their lunch. And then they'll have the life skills workshops in the afternoon.
Depending upon the instruction, depending upon the content they're in, accommodations are necessary, or if there are things tied to their dyslexia that would prevent them from succeeding within that workshop, we'll ensure that the appropriate systems and people are in place to give that student the support they need to make it through the rest of the day and engage and and meet their their needs both academically and emotionally. Thank you. And then I have one other question for you. Students primarily will be accessing the curriculum online through your two hour learning platform. Can you talk to me about the accessibility features for students with different abilities?
Yes. As I said, there is a we are able to to utilize Speechify, for every app, for every program. It also works quite well in regards to, students who have, issues with, potential vision impairment or hearing impairment. We're able to work with them on what that might look like on a day to day basis. The the platform works extremely well with recognizing how students are interacting with material. It is a visual AI in the sense that it will take, account of how they're using the screen, what they're doing on the screen, and what mistakes they may or may not be making, whether they're anti patterns within their choices.
And it'll help provide different ideas and different accommodations on what might be of use for that student. Thank you. Mary Anne. Thank you. Thanks. I'm gonna go to Britney with question. Thank you. If you can explain to me how much time will a student spend on the two hour learning program per day versus how much time will they receive direct instruction? The student will be, in a classroom with a teacher providing assistance, providing, work and, supports throughout the day while they're on the two hour learning platform. If you look at the, proposed schedule, we do have that two hour learning block blocked for approximately two hours.
But during that time, the students will be working on various academic skills, lined with boutiques. And, they will have a teacher present to help with direct instruction and needs as they work through the different, skills and lessons for the day. Thanks so much, Marion. Thank you. All right. Bridget, we're going to you. Hi. Good afternoon. I know we touched a little bit on the Alpha School earlier. I was wondering if there's a relationship, with the Alpha School, or is the Alpha School gonna going to be providing any support to Valenta? The two hour learning pieces, the the data dashboard,
the the way the AI tutor, the data wizard works, and the and the background, that is currently being utilized at Alpha. And the workshops in the afternoon, we have over a library of over a hundred that have been used at Alpha School. But, again, those are being compiled and put together through two hour learning. So, while there will be similarities in terms of instruction, we will be our own school with our own systems and our own model in place. Okay. Thank you. Your website, which was listed in one of the attachments to the application, indicates that you are accept accepting applications,
but there are fees to hold spots and then fees for enrollment. I was wondering if Volanta Academy is currently operating or planning to operate as a private school for the twenty five-twenty six school year for which fees actually could be charged? Thank you for the question. Currently, Valenta, not the board and not me that we're speaking to right now, has a proposed plan for a small private charters or sorry, small private school to operate in the fall of twenty twenty five. That's what the fees are associated with. That website is not for our current, proposed charter school. If, if granted a charter, we will have a separate enrollment process and a separate,
website for the students to access and parents to enroll their student. If, if approved as well, we were excited about, that private school subsequently ceasing operation and becoming part of our our becoming, hopefully enrolled within Volenta. There was such a demand, for this model and for this ideal that there has been an effort, outside of me as superintendent and the board to start a small micro school to hopefully get enough interest to show that this model could also work when it becomes a charter school, hopefully. Okay. And then, your application mentioned real estate in a specific area of Bastrop,
and I was wondering if maybe, you had any any prospects or where you are in searching for a site. I'm happy to speak to that. Geographically, Volinta is exploring real estate and facility options North Of Highway 7121 along FM 969. It's an area experiencing significant population and infrastructure growth. Our number one target is to build in zip code 78602. And then the alternative would be to be in 78621.
Although we currently do not have anything under contract or bid, we are looking for the right property for Volenta's needs currently. Thank you. I'll turn it back to you, Maryann. Thanks, Bridget. I think I'm going to go to, Linda now with our next question. Hi. I'm here representing HQIM and academic experiences and student support. What planning and interventions for state assessment results will there be? Let me know if you need me to repeat the question. No, I apologize. Thank you. And I would love for you to repeat the question. Thank you. Sure. No problem. What planning and interventions for state assessment results will there be?
Okay. So, we are proud of our curriculum and how it will, not only, prepare the students for excellent results on Devils and STAAR, but also ensure that they are meeting and exceeding their their grade level peers across the state. To do that, we will, give a formative I'm sorry, a a benchmark assessment to begin the school year, with the MAP growth as well as practice, STAAR tests and the requisite grade levels and and see what knowledge gaps and what level of mastery already exist for students across all of the standards and skills they're
in. We'll then use that to help inform individualized skill plans for each student, ensuring that they can get upwards of 90% mastery across all grade level peaks and content within that specific examination. We understand that this will be a process that will take, several iterations and multiple, pre and post test coaching for each student. We're excited about the possibility of allowing students to identify those skills that could really use more, attention while also still addressing this totality of grade level content that needs to be addressed throughout the year. If I may,
I will also add on that we appreciate that there is alignment between NWEA MAP as well as, STAR. So, we appreciate that, there's some predictability there in reading those MAP scores and looking at future alignment. So, we as a board in our meetings would be reviewing that data to make future predictions about STAAR readiness for our Belenta students. I did have one question also about the two hour learning program. I'm a little less familiar with it. So, I was curious, is it a learning management system or the curriculum itself as it's referred to in
the narrative? It it encompasses the curriculum itself. It also helps ensure, learning management and how the student's progressing through each, individual TIG. So there are data cycles with target interventions, that ensure that students are getting what they need, when they need, and what other knowledge gaps might exist. So the curriculum is inherent within there. That's all I have. Back to you, Mary Anne. Thanks, Linda. I'm gonna go back to Morgan, who had a follow-up question. Thank you. So let's go back to the topic of dyslexia. One of the requirements according to the dyslexia handbook is to have a research based
dyslexia program. What is your plan to satisfy that requirement, and who do you envision as your provider of dyslexia instruction? Happy to hop in. Obviously, we wanna use Systems that are most, effective and useful for each student, Orton Gillingham, Wilson, Fonda Spinel, like attacking the, the skills and needs for each student will be up to, our special education and dyslexic staff. So what we would plan to do is adopt a, a research based and proven curriculum, things like Oregon L and M, ensure that it is,
of utility for the student. And then that would be delivered by a staff member trained and certified in dyslexic services. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. We're gonna go to P. J. With our next question. Hi. I'm from finance, and I wanted to ask about the two hour learning, model that's based on the AI technology. There's a significant amount, 45,000 that's been budgeted for this. So, is this 45,000 calculated based on per student enrollment? So if the enrollment numbers change,
will this figure be also adjusted and will it also change? I'm sorry. 450,000, not 45,000. Yes. I was wondering where the 45 but, yes, the the the the amount that's allocated there for technology and, the software is is is for our enrollment number. And those, I I will I will let Timothy speak more on those kind of those programs that we that we have set aside, but those allocations are based off of the enrollment numbers that we have.
K. So if the enrollment numbers go down, then that number will go down too? Yes. Okay. Yep. And I'd like to sorry. If I could just add, I'd like to, add that that, that fee and that programming provides students with, access to all of the the data wizard and the AI integration that I spoke to earlier in terms of ensuring that the students are getting individualized skill plans, tailored, knowledge gaps, access to the the suite of apps, and and licensed, Tieks Align and HQIM, based materials. So it's it's it's critical to us, that that model helps ensure the students are getting access to this full suite of
this type of learning. Okay. And just following up on that, is this, is this, something that you are getting from a vendor, or is yours is your school going to create this model? We would be getting it from a vendor. And who's that? Did you I mean, I don't know if it was in the application. Was it listed in the application? The two hour learning is the vendor. Oh, they're they're they're name and practice. Yeah. I see. And then I heard you talk about the an AI operator. So how,
I mean, how will this learning model, how will it impact the role of the teachers, and hiring of the teachers? Will it mean that you don't need as many teachers because of this model and the AI operator? Quite quite the opposite. So, first, to kinda give an overview of how the AI AI works, in in the last few years, I know we've all heard those letters put together quite often. And most of our experience over the previous years has been with a chat based AI, with chat g p t, Gemini, all sorts of different platforms that a lot of you, I'm sure, have used for different different needs and different things. The AI tutor, the the data wizard is an a visual AI, meaning that it captures the screen of the student in regards to how much time
they're spending on problems, how how they're clicking, what they're doing, how they're utilizing the platform on a day to day basis, and ensuring that they are getting requisite skills and also getting recommendations on coaching on how they can go through each requisite lesson. The teacher is there, as well to provide that that, support and ensure that the students are interacting and using, the platform and the AI that's in front of them in such a way as provide high quality instruction. Meaning, they are helping provide individual motivational models for the students. They are excited to get students involved and also go through pre and post test
coaching with the students, ensuring that they are talking about, why they answered a question the way that they did going question by question with the student. They are there to also ensure that the students are, working through stuck points of various instructional needs. So, for instance, if the student can't do it, we help the student realize that they can't do it yet. And we're going to work with a student to, make sure that they have access to as much of, their own fire and their own capability as possible. That teacher is there to make sure that the student is really, performing beyond what they believe is possible before they came to Valenta.
It's important to note that, we believe that the 20 to one teacher ratio is in place so that teachers can have those individual conversations and ensure the students are getting their high quality instruction and having those, relationships to help forge forward and find the motivation, find what mentorship and mentorship and motivation each student needs every single day of the week. Because maybe one student is really excited about math while the other can't stand it. Finding that balance across the classroom while also providing those excellent instructional instructional ideas and materials and aids to students is what the teachers are there to do.
And then in the afternoon, and throughout the workshops and the project based learning, the teachers are leading the charge throughout that process. They are designing, and implementing some of these workshops, providing the direct instruction to the students on how to accomplish those tasks, measuring and monitoring their progress through rubrics, formative and summative assessments, and also ensuring that the students are excited and learning those life skills that are gonna make them future leaders across the world. So while the AI is a great curator of data, they are not the one that is doing the work of the teacher. Thank you. Do we have time for me to add on one comment to that?
Sure. Okay. Thank you for that. I wanted to add on that this was incredibly important to me, in understanding that as well. As we all know, teachers are of critical importance to any school. And at Volenta Academy, teachers will really be the heartbeat of it all. And we all know and understand that teachers are, paramount to instruction. And at Volenta, they will truly be, human connection will be paramount. And what I mean by that is,
at Volenta, we will have weekly town halls where the teachers will come together and parents will actually be invited. So the community member's parents will be invited to the weekly town halls. And as Tim mentioned earlier, we'll actually be practicing habits of discussion, within those weekly town halls. So those are examples of the human connection that, we will have within the community, within the schools. And the school days start with the limitless lunch, where limitless launch, where those lessons are already pre made. They will, of course, be re refined by the teachers in the summer. But those are examples of those connection moments where the children are in a circle,
they're talking, they're engaging, they're doing the turn and talks. And so, yes, there is the AI component, there is the tech component, but what's so beautiful about VaLinta is the two are coming together in that progressive model of really matching what's happening in the Bastrop ecosystem. It's really at a critical inflection point as a community. There's so much booming growth in Bastrop, but we haven't seen that yet with academics. And so, our model really marries the two together beautifully, where we have, that growth, with technology that can really spur the academic growth with it rooted in high quality
instructional materials, but adding in the human connection piece and really raising up teachers to do what they do best and marrying the two together. Thank you. Mary Anne. Thank you. I'm gonna go to doctor Rocha with our next question. Thank you, Mary Anne. I will ask the questions with the lens of the emerging bilingual students in mind. So in your application, you mentioned that you will be, implementing a transitional late exit program for Spanish speakers and ESL for other languages. So my question is around the one bilingual teacher for each grade level that you
mentioned in the application. And what is the plan if a grade level has too many or too few students identified as AB in the bilingual program and they have parental consent to participate. And then the follow-up would be, how many ESL certified teachers are you planning on the first year? Thank you for the question. I can jump in. And, Tim, if you could follow-up and fill in anything that I leave out. Currently, we are working off of projections based on, what we see in the Bastrop community,
right? So we see, a need for, at least one bilingual teacher and, you know, and depending on actual enrollment, those numbers can change. But we are prepared to pivot and, hire additional bilingual teachers or additional ESL teachers depending on, the makeup of the students that end up enrolling. So we are, again, operating based on trends and the information that we see, currently in the Bastrop community. But once enrollment actually happens and we see, who our students are, then we can pivot and make those necessary changes.
We are, intentionally making sure that any, any and all of the teachers that we are hiring, are, certified, that they have completed the, the certification process as outlined, by DEA. So making sure that they've taken their certification examinations, that they are certified to teach in the content areas and in the, the environments that, that they're needed. And, in the event that we need to provide additional training for, ELPS instruction, or ELPS strategies or anything like that, we are,
again, prepared to provide that professional development and training to all of our teachers as needed. Thank you. And we are projecting, five for year one, five bilingual ESL teachers, knowing that, if there is a preponderance in one grade level versus another, we are, we are prepared to adjust our staffing accordingly, whether it is shift staff members up or down a grade level depending on what is needed, and and adjust our our staffing model accordingly. Thank you for that. Just knowing that the bilingual teacher can also serve in both purposes of both capacities. K. So my next question is I see the description of what is essentially a language
allocation plan. This is on page 69. Starting with the fact that kindergarten students will receive 10% of their daily instruction in English and then adding on a content year, every year, after each year. And then I have two questions pertaining to that. How will that work with the two hours of online instruction each morning? Will students select Spanish or English based on their grade level? That's the first question. Thank you for the question. I'll go ahead and jump in. So, one of the benefits of the two hour learning platform is that it allows for
a lot of linguistic accommodations, into the curriculum, right? So, students are able to access translations, immediately as needed. And the, the curriculum is adapted to the students' linguistic needs. So, that's one of the benefits of that, of that model, of that platform. And, additionally, we are planning to rely on home language surveys and any historic, data that we have if a student is transferring to our school,
and has participated previously in TELPAS, of course taking into account their, their level of proficiency as they're entering our school. And again, being intentional in how we are really tailoring each, each student's instructional programming based on their linguistic needs. One of the, I guess the thoughts of implementing this transitional model is that we are, again, making sure that students are transitioning into an English setting, when they are ready. And that we are there to support them along the way so that,
so that we will have that successful transition into English while, you know, still providing them, their instruction in in their language of of strength. So, just to clarify, is the two hour program also available in Spanish? It's, it's available in a multitude of languages, including Spanish. We've we've used it in dozens of different languages, but Spanish, obviously, the most dominant. Thank you for that. And then thinking of the same the the language allocation plan in fourth grade, it is mentioned that you will be adding English,
and language arts with some literature to support. Will there be time allotted at every grade level to continue offering Spanish language arts and in tandem with English language arts for students at PETA? So, those, access to those will be in place as long as the student, needs it, right? But, again, as we are implementing a transition model, our goal is to, support our students to reach that level of proficiency to where they can, just engage in language and English language instruction,
for most of their day, to where they can exit and continue to have those two years of additional monitoring, so that, you know, hopefully by the time if a student enters in, in kindergarten or in the early grade levels, they can transition into an English setting by the time they meet, reach middle school. And I will also say that we will implement, you know, the LPAC process as, as outlined, by TEA, to make sure we are, again, reviewing student progress and student outcomes, yearly to, to make sure that any decisions that we're making about the linguistic accommodations are appropriate
to, the student's level of proficiency in English. Doctor. Great. Thank you. And just one final question in regards to, to and I think you've answered a little bit in in the prior questions, for PD. So on page 17, you say that bilingual teachers will be trained to implement the ELPS and to help students acquire social and academic English. You also talk about HQIM being available in English and in Spanish, and thank you for mainly and calling out the HQIM products. When will teachers be trained to support EV students in ways other than accessing Spanish language arts translations?
So, I'll, thank you for the question. I'll go ahead and jump in on this one as well. Part of our our model, right, is, to have the students engage in workshops and, afternoon activities in project based learning and so on that will give them that opportunity to engage in social language, interactions with, you know, with English speaking, peers and students. Again, to develop those social skills and that social language, which we know is very important when, you know, an important, component to a full linguistic program. If I may, I'm also happy to jump in here, if that's okay.
From a bilingual teacher training standpoint, I'm also happy to add that the teachers will have their weekly data reviews. And so as our Belinda teachers are reviewing their data of their EP students, there could be an opportunity, for those teachers to review the data of the specific subpopulations and, you know, pivot that time to B4 trainings, or we could, reimagine some of that, those PD hours to be for specifically, bilingual trainings. So we have a lot of those PD hours built in.
So, yes, they will be purposed for, for data planning time. But that also could be used, for bilingual professional development time if needed as well. Thank you. Back to you, Maryann. Thank you. I'm gonna go to Bridget with a follow-up question. I just had a follow-up on the on the microschool. Currently, the proposed charter has the same name, the same logos as this micro school. How is it communicated to families that one is a micro school and the other is a proposed open enrollment charter school?
I'll, I'll I'll add to that that the the plan is for the proposed open enrollment charter school is, a total, total removal of the existing website from from the internet and a new open enrollment process in school for those students who are interested. We understand the confusion with the name, but we also believe that the beginnings of a small micro school, no matter how small, can prove, interest for families. And then when it transitions to a free public charter school with, with approval from the state,
obviously, we would hope that any students who are currently enrolled there would want to enroll with us. And we've already had families indicate that they would be, interested in such should they decide to do so. But has there been any follow-up with families that there's a difference between the two? Has that been communicated at all? To I am again, I'm not over the the private school, but, to my to my knowledge and and so I can make it crystal clear, we are, endeavoring to open Volenta Academy public charter school. And, any affiliation or existence of the private school upon approval,
will cease to exist when we open our doors as a public charter school. Okay. Just as a follow-up, just to clarify, you said that you do not have the same board as the microschool. Is that correct? There's not a communication there? Okay. Okay. That's all the questions I had, Marion. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So we now have time for our State Board of Education members who might have questions. I see member Clark, member Revalis, and maybe member Childs was with us for a little bit, but maybe she'll hop back on. So, do any SPOE members have any questions? Hello. I'll I'll start if,
no one else is jumping in, if it's okay. Great. You know, I wanted to I wanted to confirm that to our learning model, can you tell me where it currently is being used? And I know the proposed superintendent mentioned a difference between the private school using it and the applicant, the proposed charter school, but I know that the private school was thoroughly mentioned through the application, so I think there is a correlation there. So could you tell me, other than the Austin School, where else this two hour model is being used?
Thank you for the question, member of the list. I appreciate it. Currently, this model is being used across five schools in the Austin Metroplex, GT School, NextGen Academy, Texas Sports Academy, Alpha and Alpha High. We're also, the model is also being used at Alpha Brownsville, Alpha Miami. There are other proposed Alpha micro schools that are being used currently. We also have, used the two hour learning model at a small, charter school and, called Texas Prep, Texas Preparatory Academy. And, they have seen, a previous growth of students at the the time of of implementing it.
They had approximately 10% of their students were at, were at grade level. They've seen that number already grow to 50 to 60% of their students approaching grade level within one year of using the two hour learning curriculum. Great. Great. Thank you. And in that charter school, given the fact that some of some of the private schools that use this two hour, learning method and model charge up to $40,000 a year, dollars 65,000 a year, how is that, implemented with Fidelity when the funding for a charter school would be significantly less?
Great question. Thank you, Member Revalis. There is a stark dynamic between the afternoon, life skills workshops and project based learning that are, that is being utilized at the, the current private schools versus what is being proposed for, Volanta Academy. Volanta Academy's, integration of the TEKS in the afternoon project based learning will be more, closely aligned and, incorporate TEKS, whereas the, the afternoon workshops and, and life skills that are being worked on at the private schools, often are tied with, culminating trips or involved purchases.
For instance, the fifth and sixth graders at one of the private schools, you know, are working within their life skills workshop towards an a culminating trip, out of the country. Those sorts of, engagements and activities, while we're happy to look to fundraise them, we we understand that are looking far different, for our school ambassador than they are for the the high priced private schools. Right. Right. And and and to that point, I'm I'm wondering if if you can provide us with some insight into the, you know, the socioeconomic breakdown of your expected enrollment in comparison to other successful,
two hour learning method usage in other schools? You know, how do you intend to serve a population that's going to have a different type of student population, to its full effect, given your experience with that learning model? Thank you for the question, member, Aurelius. Couple things there. One of which being, the integration of the AI tutor is critical in the sense that the data wizard does not, is not impacted or or concerned with the socioeconomic background of the student. It wants to provide high quality instructional materials and access to knowledge gaps as needed.
But Valenta is going to be built on what Valenta means, the strength and the background of what our community needs. We designed this afternoon to not only be life skills workshops and project based learning, but to incorporate what Valenta can bring to Bastrop and what Bastrop can bring to Valenta. We want to make it a school that is built and tailored for the community with the with within which in it is. You'll see across some of the private schools, some of the some of the afternoon time will can go across from Miami to Austin without much without really skipping a beat.
What we're going to be doing in the afternoon is going to be far more tailored towards supporting our community and meeting those needs, whether it's through environmental impact, community and socioeconomic and, social awareness impact within the community. We're excited to launch some of these projects, form partnerships, and be one of the reasons people want to move to Bastrop Is Volunteer Academy. Okay. Great. Thank you for that answer. I also see in your application that you're you will be using other online instructional materials. I think you mentioned, even today Eureka, math, Alpha Read, Amplify Texas Data Wizard.
So, what is to our learning exactly? What does it do and how does it incorporate into these other, instructional materials? Again, I like to think of it as a a dashboard. Thank you for the question. Essentially, the students will have access to these varying, TEKS aligned apps and materials. And what it does is it visually curates and compiles lesson plans and learning plans that will put forth the student on a track to meet their academic goals for the year in a way that every student can have an individualized learning plan within the classroom environment.
It is a means of curating and collecting data, scraping through daily lessons. We use a platform that will allow for the screen to be recorded of the student to see what they're working on, how they're working. It can, at the end of it each day, produce coaching tips for the teacher to help deliver with the student of, hey, you missed this question today. And when we offered an explanation for it, you skipped through the explanation. Here's what you can do in the next thing, to make sure that they are going where they need to go. And all of this will be based off of diagnostic assessments the students are taking
and required to take in the state of Texas. So, we're able to ensure that we are getting them that data and it is formulated in those plans. As a former teacher who spent hours lesson planning for individual students going home and grading countless tests to get ready to just get my plan for the year. This will help take all of that data and in the blink of an eye populate individual lesson plans for each student and individual skill plans and knowledge gaps to ensure that our students are met not only meeting the grade level standards, but exceeding them. And and I did see QR Learning specifically listed in your application as an HQMI.
Is that a state approved HQMI? Is it on the list that you know of? It is not. No. Two app learning is a learning model, and it also, has curricula for the afternoon life skills. So did you do you did you mean to list it as an HQMI since the SBOE approves HQMI? Yes. So and I can see I can see how that need that that, clarification is important there. So the two hour learning model includes our HQIMs. And so what I mean by that is the two hour learning model itself will
include our core curricula, and will deliver the core curricula. Am I saying that right, Tim? And so within that, we will our students will be using, Eureka Math, for example, for their math tier one curricula, McGraw Hill for science, Amplify for ELA, Sabas for social studies. And so our Volinta students will be using those high quality instructional materials for those core content areas. But what the AI technology is doing is it is helping provide that those personalized
learning path pathways with the core content, the the high quality instructional materials. It is taking that core content and curricula that is already state approved and vetted, and it is personalizing that instruction through the data with wizard, and through the data dashboard that is created through the two hour learning model. I see. I'm just wondering then if you you, because the application does mention the two hour two hour learning model as, being used as a high quality instructional material.
It it's specifically listed like that. So it's it could be confused by the public as something that is approved by the State Board of Education and the State, therefore. Just to clarify that out. Thank you for calling that out. I appreciate that. Another question I have is the, you know, can you provide us with analysis of the results of the two hour learning model, as this being used currently in other schools? You know, where, you know, are these results going to is the expectation that these results will mirror the ones
that you've seen so far in, in the in in to our, learning in other campuses? Is that what you're expecting to see? You're expecting them to be the same? Or what? We are expect as thank you, thank you, member Revalis. As we mentioned in our application, we have, we have, realistic goals in terms of students out performing their, their Bastrop neighbors and peers, in terms of performance year over year. 40%, exceeds 70%, meets in regards to their assessments. At the private schools, you'll see a number thrown out far more often about students learning two x or
learning twice as much. Our goals are more individually tailored to, statewide assessment and ensuring that students are, meeting certain thresholds of, the standard and exceeding those of their of their grade level peers. We anticipate that using this model will allow students to accelerate their curriculum at a far greater rate. We do have the the the case study and the examples of that year over year in terms of how this is being used across very end campuses at Alpha. But we do believe strongly that there is the ability for students to take their core curricula in that amount of time,
the two hour learning in the morning, and accomplish the same, level of growth at a typical school and then exceed that throughout the year as they become more familiar and more, integrated with how it works. Great. Thank you for that. For the two hour learning, in your budget, you specify that you're paying, dollars 1,500 per student. You're allocating that amount for, two hour learning. Is that a one time payment or is that a recurring payment every year? And can you tell us what what that fee, will pay for? What exactly is included in that fee? As mentioned earlier,
and thank you for the question. As mentioned earlier, it will help, it will be a recurring fee for student year over year, that will give them access to the data wizard, the, the dashboard of apps, which again are, as I mentioned, are, HQIM, and also allow for, access to the over 100 life skill library, project based learning, different activities that students can be doing in the afternoon. It will also allow for access to, technical support and the app and data team in regards to any, need the students may have in regards to app usage or, any difficulties or technical issues within the platform on a day to day basis.
K. Thank you so much. I'm done with my questions. Thank you. Thank you. Excuse me. Thank you all for being here today. My first question is gonna hit based off, the the two hour learning that you just spoke about and the individualized knowledge in building the profile out, what does the data store storage look like in that, and who actually owns the data? We'll work closely with, Tricia. Obviously, she's she's, she's our our legal expert on the board. But in regards to, the data storage, the students, individualized learning plans will be,
accessible and stored, on their individualized, kind of dashboard for each student. That data will then, be housed within a separate repository for for Valenta. That will ensure that the student is the the data is commingled and only accessible, obviously, because of FERPA and other reasons through, appropriate parties. Thank you. And then going or still staying with the, two hour learning platform. Is it on your website, teachers are called guides who shift from traditional roles like grading and writing lesson plans to supporting students' emotional and motivational needs.
Can you confirm that instruction is gonna be delivered online and not by your teachers? Thanks for the question. And, it's funny you mentioned, the guide versus teachers. I've I've gotten, feedback about that and how it can be confusing. For those of you, for those on the call, there there is some historical context, in terms of, Montessori schools often call their their teachers guides, and, there are other different models throughout the state that can sometimes use that. We use the we we kinda use the terms interchangeably, and I wanna emphasize that our teachers are there to help deliver those HQIMs,
particularly in the afternoon when it comes to, teachers' needs and instruction, students' needs and instruction, and teachers will be teaching at our school. They'll be pulling small group. There'll be direct instruction. They'll particularly during the intervention time, the teachers will be there to help ensure that the students are getting the access and the the help that they need. There also will be lots of, emphasis, as I mentioned earlier, on early childhood literacy and ensuring that students can read and access the materials in an appropriate manner. Our teachers are there to do that. That's why we hire them. If we if we needed data technicians, we would we would hire them. We want we want people our teachers to teach.
Okay. So on that same line, because a minute ago, you spoke about the lesson planning, and doing doing that work and the grading of that. Recently, we saw here in Dallas ISD, the AI grading did not do its due diligence, and we had to go back and pay to actually have it reevaluated. So how will you all handle that situation? Well, we are grateful to have our teachers and our staff to help ensure that there is there is human oversight when it comes to some of the grading. I will, also add that a lot of our assessment procedures are based off of pre and post test coaching, meaning that the students are worked through,
in terms of what the assessments may look like. And then after the assessment's actually delivered, they will have the opportunity to go through question by question with their teacher and discuss what went well, what didn't go well, was it a careless error, were they, were they rushing, did they not know the content, is there a foundational skill that's missing, and help populate those individual skill plans. We, are grateful for the expediency that AI can bring to our technology, and we're excited and happy to be a part of the the frontier when it comes to that in in public education. But we also understand that there is, there is a human necessary component,
and that's why we're so excited to hire, highly, trained and excited teachers for our school. Thank you. When you talk about your project based learning in the afternoon session, it almost reminds me of, like, the IB model. So are you using some of those, skill sets to incorporate your Hacker News model? Thank you for the question. We have, we have no official affiliation with International Baccalaureate, the early years program, or the middle steps program. But in regards to what those project based learning times can look like, there will be some similarities and just in terms of, how it could look to an outsider in regards to what skills they'll be,
working towards. But we have some foundational skills we believe in, financial, acumen, entrepreneurship, grit, teamwork, giving and receiving feedback, that we're able to incorporate workshops that also mirror and then and use the TEKS to ensure that we're meeting all those standards. And, while it it may have some similarity, I wanna I wanna emphasize we have no official affiliation with that, that distinction. Thank you. And on your private school website, it also talks about the admission test before enrollment. What will that look like for your students who are in the lottery process? Will they also be required to take a test before enrollment?
Thank you for the question. And and, no, they will take a test once they are enrolled and come to our school so we can have a benchmark assessment of where we where they are and what we need to do to work with them, but we will not have an entrance examination for our school. Okay. And then earlier, someone spoke about the TASB model when they were talking about governance and the four pillars. Will you all board meeting to be streamed live, and will that, will your data meetings, your meeting minutes be posted? Thank you for the question. And that is the plan. I will I will lean into our our legal, representative on the board for any,
missteps there. But we will we will have a public facing entity. Yes. We will absolutely conduct open meetings and, provide at least seventy two hours notice, and make sure that our minutes are accessible and, the links are accessible to the public. Thank you. And then going back to our self projects, how you align those to TEKS, and has TA approved how you account for instructional minutes during those activities? As far as the afternoon, workshops go, we're excited because not only are we pulling from a model that already already exists
and, is successful, But we will also have our academic leadership team pull from that model and streamline it and lesson plan and and help plan that scope and sequence in the summer PD sessions pull in those teachers to refine it and ensure that it's highly TEKS aligned in the summer. And then will you please repeat the second part of your session? Or, excuse me, of your question? Has TA approved how you account for those instructional minutes for those activities? For the instructional minutes, yes.
My understanding is that we have approved that we are hitting those instructional minutes throughout the day. That they do add up, that we are hitting those. That is my understanding as of this minute. Okay. And you just chime in. That's sorry. Yes. Please do. Yeah. The so there's two different sets of minutes that, happen. There's a two through four hour rule, which is the basic instructional minutes, basically says that as long as the student's being offered four hours of instruction, in this case, the part of your instruction would be the project, based instruction that you're doing,
that would count. And then there's also the seventy five thousand six hundred minutes, which is actually from bell to bell. So, start of the day to end of the day. And pretty much everything counts within that seventy five thousand six hundred minutes. Perfect. And thank you for that. And then you just spoke about professional development. Can you I know earlier, you said a number for professional development. I don't quite recall, what you stated earlier. But can you just break down to me what your professional development look will look like? Because it seems like there's a lot of different moving parts that you all are
bringing to the table. So how are you adequately prepare your staff for all of these different moving parts? I'm sorry. Go ahead, Ashley, and I'll I'll I'll follow-up. Thank you for the question. I'm happy to speak to that. We recognize that professional development for our teachers is critical. And we want our Volinta teachers to be highly trained, of course. Yes. And going back to my previous statement, we have in our application that we have twenty one days total of professional development, so ten days prior to the school start date and then eleven days throughout the
school year. Our teachers will be highly trained, throughout those sessions. We will have quarterly PD meetings. Our teachers will have data, excuse me, weekly data reviews during their prep periods. And then our academics team, including the dean, will also have in class observations and coaching times, and remediation as needed and support as needed. We will have a robust academics team as well to help support the teachers. And so we really look forward to that ongoing professional development for our teachers.
And if I may just add, Member Clark, I also believe that there is, there is strength and flexibility when it comes to these professional development sessions. We will have, some targeted and objective metrics we need to hit as a staff, as we begin for those days prior to school starting. We're also fully aware that, as, as they say, preparing to fail is failing to prepare. Or as I always told my teachers when I was a, when I was a principal, if you don't have a plan for your students, they'll have a plan for you. And so we will we will absolutely have, ideas in in that of what the next sets of professional development can encompass.
But we also understand we may be hit with, a large litany of issues in regards to science instruction, or perhaps there are larger issues when it comes to how the students are taking to certain workshops or different skills in the afternoon. We wanna have the flexibility to tailor our professional development to meet those needs and focus on what is truly critical for the students as we go on. We'll be forward thinking and ensure that we have some some metrics that we will continue to hit, But we also understand that we wanna we wanna meet the needs of the students that walk in our building on day one. Alright. Thank you for the information. So my question is really centered around page 50 of your application where you speak
to the one day of training for your project based, learning information. And we we know that that part is super extensive. It takes a lot. Again, as someone who went through IB training, the training was and I know you said that's not y'all's models, but a lot of the components are very similar. I do understand that it takes more than one day to actually be successful in that in that area. So what's the plan? Because the application literally shows one day. Thank you for the question. I think in terms of of delivering instructional material,
I understand that the one day might seem insufficient in regards to the whole totality of the scope. But how are are are teachers are interacting with the students, mentoring, getting them excited and motivating, that's training that's going to be happening throughout that time. And then the specific delivery in regards to timing of the project will only take a day in regards to logistics. In terms of planning out, the the workshops and what might be encompassed within them, as I mentioned, being being, utilizing the two hour learning, library of over a hundred projects will allow the the teachers to have a foundation
to build off of and then workshop together what that may work look like in terms of delivery. The continual refinement and improvement is going to take place over that time as well as long as we can identify the objective and the the unit plan, so to speak, of where it's going to go over those weeks, that will help refine and inform what else needs to be accomplished to make that successful for the students. Thank you. I'm done with all of us. Thank you. Thank you. I don't see any other SVOE members. So we will bring our, capacity interview to a close at this time.
So I want to thank everyone for their application, and their efforts. Both our, thanks to our T. E. A. Staff and our esteemed Board of Education members for joining us. So our, applicants will receive, the commissioner's proposal by May 28. For our viewing public, this concludes our interviews for today, and our next interview, will commence next week on Wednesday, May 14. So, thank you, everyone. Thank you. Thank you.