OCS Board Bytes

In this edition, you will find information about:

* Board Committee Status

*Introduction to New Board Members

*Board Member Training

*Food Drive

*Status of School Projects

Please feel free to reach out to any of the Board members with your comments and questions at ocs-board@odyssey.k112.de.us

We look forward to our journey together as members of our charter school community.

This is the busiest time of year for Odyssey Charter School as we prepare for the arrival of students. New schedules with updated programming are underway that include new courses, professional development for teachers and leadership, designing of new cultural immersion activities for students, an upgraded MTSS process.

Facilities renovations include a new high school entryway underway as well as new high school classrooms, a new elevator and a lab addition. The Intermediate School has a fresh coat of paint. Our HVAC system has been repaired throughout the school and is ready to go. The middle school has new flooring and is also freshly painted. Our PTSA is providing new signage for our front gate area, and an Odyssey magnet for each student. Finally, our Performing Arts facility is also undergoing renovation.

Hiring to meet the needs of our students is also underway, and our new dean of middle school,

Dr. Phelps, is already preparing for fall. New hires are going through our new revised OCS Internal Welcome/Training process. This year we will have more counselors, diagnosticians, special education classes and better teacher support distribution based on class needs.

Professional Leadership Training took place in August and consisted of themes such as Critical Conversations, Effective Employee Relations, Title IX Supervisor Training, Code of Conduct and Title 14, DE Admin. Code 601 and Proper internal Investigation Protocols.

Finally, teachers will be held up to higher standards this year that include the existence of a daily lesson plan structure, daily student academic writing requirements, and evidence that coursework aligns with the State of Delaware SPAC evaluation requirements. All academic areas will be expected to incorporate the Higher Order Thinking Questions necessary to achieve high scores on the state's standardized tests, not just ELA and Maths. We want all students to have access to our Honors Programs and Odyssey is very proud to be one of the few schools in Delaware that offer AP credits to 9th graders.

Our aim is to help students quickly recover from the covid years' effects on standardized testing scores, and to help students new to Odyssey achieve our high score expectations and assimilate into our rigorous academic program.

A new Intermediate School Counselor, a new 5th Grade English Teacher, and an additional Greek teacher will be added this fall. The schedule has been revised this year to maximize learning time, incorporate a morning meeting time, and time for social-emotional learning through the new "Character Strong" program. The deans of all schools convened this summer to brainstorm leveraging consistency for the benefits of students and staff.

New counseling and office administration staff will be onboarded by September, and teacher assignments are underway for our lower and intermediate school. The administrative team's refined MTSS process, SEL programming, Positive Behavior Support (PBS) program and Tier 2 Behavior Intervention are underway, as well as the "Character Strong" and IREADY program that is aligned to the state's evaluation program. Calendar mapping for our year-long PD, staff meetings, team-building events and PLC schedules are scheduled in time for fall. Parent and student orientation will take place at the beginning of the new year. A new addition this year is our after-school Walking and Running Club! The Green Team will also be here again, as well as an after school Coding Club.

All Middle School teachers have now been trained on the new RTI system/curriculum, and elective course material is being prepared to foster choice in learning. The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) believes all students benefit most when educators operate under a system focused on continuous improvement. This new evaluation system is called the Delaware Teacher Growth and Support System (DTGSS). DTGSS replaces the state’s previous DPAS-II system for evaluating classroom teachers beginning in Fall 2023. Angela Socorso from DOE has been busy in August assisting and training Odyssey members to ensure proper implementation of DTGSS.

For students, I-READY is ready to be implemented, a curriculum that better aligns with the state's evaluation program. There will be a new intervention/enrichment class time that will replace study hall, as well as increased Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions in smaller sessions. A diagnostic exam will be given to all students to determine baseline knowledge in the beginning of the new school year.

The master schedule is up and AP courses have been released. Our old band room has become two classrooms and office space on the second floor. Our team has expanded for the 23-24 school year to include a new chemistry teacher, a social studies teacher, a math teacher, two new Greek teachers, a K-12 teacher academy teacher, an ELA teacher, a new science teacher, and an educational diagnostician. We still hope to have a new PE/Health Education teacher, two special education teachers, and a biology teacher.

This summer OCS students participated in the 45th Annual Technology Students Association (TSA) Conference, along with their advisor, in Louisville, Kentucky. The First State Delegation represented 130 of Delaware's finest student leaders from a dozen middle and high schools across the state. Odyssey was represented by computer science students Sarthak Datkhile, Chibueze Nwosu, Anshrin Srivastava, Arnav Taduvayi and their chaperone Ms. Sani Chalima. Congratulations!

Following a successful pilot, OCS will be rolling out a new K-5 Literacy Curriculum this year. The material for K-2 includes strong foundational and writing skills to support students' reading development on their journey to comprehending more complex texts. Professional Development will also be provided by Amplify CKLA through three site visits during the year o provide in-classroom observations, support and feedback. We also have a team of four interventionists in place for math and reading skills, as well as a K-12 instructional coach joining the CIA team to support best practices, teacher coaching, and assessment. AP training is also underway for teachers new to the AP curriculum, and New Teacher Orientation and In-Service Week will be completed by end of August.

Additionally, our assessment platform next year changes to iReady and a parent information session will be held on this in September. This new platform is aligned to SPAC and more accurately reflects student performance and growth.

Finally, a new Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Curriculum for grades K-5 called Character Strong: Purposeful People is ready for this new year. Social-emotional learning is an educational method that fosters social and emotional skills within school curricula. It is based on three outcomes:

* Be Strong (Respect, Empathy, Cooperation)

* Be Kind (Responsibility, Perseverance, Courage)

* Be Well (Gratitude, Honesty, Creativity)

At the Board Meeting held in August, Head of Greek Immersion Dr. Ioanna Lekaki shared with us the results of the recent ellinomatheia (Greek language) exams and all of Odyssey students in the immersion program passed. Also, Dr. Lekaki analyzed literacy and math standardized test scores of students of all grades enrolled in Greek immersion vs. those not enrolled in Greek immersion.

It was found that scores of students enrolled in the Greek immersion program are significantly higher in literacy and math that those students not enrolled.

New devices will be coming for K, 3, 6, and 9 grades, and the IT classroom set-up for the new year is finalized. A new 3-way camera is also being used for our public board meetings.

We welcome the following two board members to OCS:

Georgia Kollias, MPA as Community at Large Director, and Joel Porter, Parent Director. Please feel free to connect to their bios here: http://odysseycharterschooldel.com/board-of-directors/. New board members are currently undergoing training in school cybersecurity, IT OCS apps, charter school board governance, and financial training as well as getting their background checks done. Our first new board meeting was already held on Wednesday July 19th, and a second board meeting was held in mid-August.

Four board member along with the school headmaster also attended the Delaware Charter School Association Conference in Dover on August 3rd, and learned of the progress and support for charter schools in Delaware, at the DOE, and at the federal level.

On August 25th, our annual Back to School Bash will be held on campus from 4pm to 6 pm. Families will be able to purchase spirit wear, uniforms and other items. Follow our facebook page for more information.

Mark your calendars for our annual fundraiser 'Under The Stars" to be held on September 22 and the Blue Ball Barn. An exciting night of entertainment, food and raffles to benefit our school. Click on the picture for tickets and more info.

There are many more news updates and departmental insights from Odyssey Charter School, its wonderful teachers and busy administrative staff. These Board Bytes are just that, we share with you all the good stuff that has been discussed at Board meetings. The rest of the good stuff will be communicated to you through the school's many channels. You can also find Board Bytes on our website. Have a wonderful academic year!