Griffin Technology Academies Signs New Memorandum of Understanding with Vallejo City Unified School District – Times-Herald

Griffin Technology Academies and Vallejo City Unified School District released the memorandum of understanding in response to a notice of violation the school district issued to the academy last spring.

According to a GTA news release, this provides “benchmark remedies to ensure transparency, accountability, and strong academic programs.”

Last spring, the school district sent the GTA a draft Notice of Violation and Opportunity to Correction last month. Notice of violation is the first step in initiating the charter cancellation process for the four charter schools.

At the time, VCUSD overseer William Spalding said one of his biggest concerns was that the company hadn’t addressed the presence of toxic mold in the building and hadn’t held classes for nearly a month after the mold was discovered. I said.

The agreement came a week ago when the District Board unanimously decided to accept Spalding’s Memorandum of Understanding and Partnership with the GTA.

“Our Board is excited to continue our tireless efforts to improve campus facilities and enhance student learning options,” said GTA Board Chair Shauna Gilroy in a news release. “In addition, I look forward to working with Superintendent Spalding and members of the VCUSD Board to address and resolve their outstanding concerns.”

Under the agreement:

• GTA and VCUSD have agreed to work together. All discussion of the closure has been dropped for the next 11 months. All his GTA schools are open and educating students.
• GTA and VCUSD have established benchmarks to address remaining concerns. Original violation notice. This “blueprint” serves VCUSD and the entire school community. With confidence that GTA is moving in a positive direction for students.
• The GTA and its four schools have made significant progress in five key areas since VCUSD raised concerns with the schools through violation notices.
• The GTA Board of Directors approved the GTA 1800 Pathway Forward Plan, highlighting the measures already taken in five areas (academic programs, facilities, student and school accountability, finance and governance) and the GTA’s commitment to transparency. We have highlighted the steps we are taking to ensure that.
• This summer, GTA announced a series of director and managerial appointments. Each new board and team member brings a unique and extensive experience in sports, education, administrative duties and leadership skills to his GTA.
• The GTA provides Superintendent Spalding, the VCUSD Board, and the school community with regular progress reports on what school officials have done to improve the learning environment for students and staff. All three of her GTA campuses have been transformed into safe, learning-friendly campuses to best serve Vallejo’s diverse student population.

“As a Superintendent, it’s my job to keep my promise to the GTA family,” said GTA Superintendent Nick Driver. “We recognize that Vallejo parents made a conscious decision to send their children to GTA School. These families believe our school is safe, supportive, engaging and rewarding. We recognize that we have provided, and continue to provide, a learning environment.We are making a strong and positive comeback and are confident in the direction forward.”

On June 6, Griffin Technology Academies administrators, teachers, and students submitted the school’s response to the violation notice. On the same day, the GTA Board of Directors released a legal presentation and a Pathway Forward Plan featuring his five priorities: Government/Leadership, Budget/Finance, Educational Programming, Accountability for Student Outcomes, and Safe Facilities. approved.

“We hope the Pathway Forward plan will give VCUSD and the entire GTA School community confidence that our school is moving in a positive direction for our students,” Driver said earlier this year. “Over the last three months, our management team has been working tirelessly with his VCUSD and various subject matter experts to fix many errors made by his previous GTA admin.”

Driver said earlier this year that progress had been made to solve the problem, but school communities have been distracted over the past few years, with the pandemic and failed school leadership “thumping our game.” He added that the situation was “a big wake-up call.

Driver said in a news release earlier this year, “While we continue to make great strides academically, our organization as a whole should have done better.” We stopped acknowledging and appreciating our great teachers, and we failed to involve our families in the great things that were happening at school. It’s my job to deliver, learn from the mistakes of the past, and become a stronger organization.”