Site Council Purpose

KUA families are invited to attend Site Council meetings, held monthly at 5 p.m. on Zoom (except in December). Each time they attend a meeting, families fulfill one volunteer hour of their required KUA hours for the year.

A school can only call itself successful when leaders, families and stakeholders all sit at the same table. At KUA Site Council, parents can share their concerns, listen to what is happening behind the scenes and, with everyone’s input, help us all keep on the same page. Meetings do not address budgetary decisions. Rather, we build bridges of understanding and trust so when challenges arise, our students know we all worked together to come up with solutions. KUA was built on this trust between our community, our donors, our staff and our families.

At our Site Council meetings, we show respect, but we also aren’t afraid to show our hearts. Together we make great things happen!

Monthly Zoom Meetings

All meetings are at 5 p.m.

Sept. 11, 2025

Oct. 9, 2025

Nov. 13, 2025

Jan. 15, 2026

Feb. 12, 2026

March 19, 2026

April 9, 2026

May 14, 2026

June 4, 2026 – in person

Zoom meeting link

https://kuacademy.zoom.us/j/85777275622

Recent Meeting Notes

Site Council members attending:

TEACHERS/STAFF: Emma Goularte, Monique Kruse, Sarah Lemon, Tyrone McDonald, Yaremi Mejia, Amanda Miller, David Thygeson, Lupita Vargas, Dallon Williams

PARENTS: Mayra Duran, Allison Merrell

PRINCIPAL: Lindsay Ochs

Date: Sept. 11, 2025

Time: 5-5:45 p.m.

Location: Zoom

The first Site Council of the 2025-26 school year highlighted afterschool enrichment, mathematics and reading curricula and the new parent-teacher organization at Kids Unlimited Academy.

KUA students enrolled in afterschool enrichment rotate through six different options throughout the year. In addition to ranking their choices based on activities, students also tend to indicate their preferences for which staff members are teaching enrichment, said Lupita Vargas, KU director of educational services.

Enrichment runs from the 3 until 4:30 p.m., when pickup starts. Parents have until 5 p.m. to pick up students from afterschool enrichment, explained new site manager Yaremi Mejia. A ParentSquare group specifically for afterschool enrichment that will debut this month communicates all the relevant details and updates, said administrative assistant Monique Kruse, encouraging all families in afterschool enrichment to join the group.

Principal Lindsay Ochs discussed iReady and Open Up mathematics curricula used at KUA, a departure from Medford School District’s use of a single curriculum. KUA instructional coach Cheryl Graham has spent a “ton of time” with teachers to make a “unified program for kids,” said Principal Ochs. “Kudos to her.”

Principal Ochs explained that the school doesn’t want kids’ math abilities to be judged on how well they can read a problem. To ensure kids with more limited reading skills can still access math content, KUA “scaffolds” math, she said. Statewide math assessments, similarly, should not be assessments of students’ reading, she added.

KUA promotes practicing math facts and doing flashcards at home. Principal Ochs said her favorite approach is integrating math into everyday activities and conversation: cooking, handling money, counting household items, estimating sizes and distances, etc.

“If they don’t have basic math down, they really struggle later in life,” she said.

KUA’s first math night of the new school year is in September, and it’s no longer called Pi Night, noted Principal Ochs.

Amanda Miller, KUA’s multi-tiered systems of support coordinator, discussed the school’s English language arts curriculum, Amplify, which is grounded in the science of reading. The curriculum is research-based, ties in social studies and science concepts and “spirals,” which means skills are revisited over and over again. Amplify contains foundational skills for grades K-2 and encompasses reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Once they get older, kids are “reading to learn,” rather than learning to read, said Principal Ochs. She said she’s impressed by how Amplify gets kids engaged in non-fiction reading.

Mayra Duran, president of KUA’s new parent-teacher organization, introduced KUA parents who are officers, along with Graham, who is the school liaison. Duran asked for volunteers for the upcoming Math Night. There also are volunteer opportunities for Jog-a-Thon and Trunk-or-Treat, she said, adding that many parents have expressed interest in the latter.

Duran invited all KUA parents to do the PTO survey on the school’s website, as well as fill out the school district’s form for volunteering. She said the PTO intends for volunteering opportunities and events to be updated on the KUA website every month.

Principal Ochs said Duran suggested combining PTO and Site Council meetings. A lot of the meeting topics overlap.

KUA leadership is working to adjust the date for the school’s annual Jog-a-Thon fundraiser to align with when Medford school district is not in session, said Principal Ochs. That makes it easier for KUA to use district facilities.

Principal Ochs joked that the school could shut down Costco and use its parking lot for Trunk-or-Treat at the same time as Jog-a-Thon — and then “everyone can have a hot dog!”

This year’s new KUA staff are Heather Young, fifth grade math; Amma Mirasol, fifth grade science; Alissa Podesta, fourth grade; Mariah O’Connor, PE; and Wendy Mayer, special education.

Upcoming events

Sept. 29 to Oct. 3 – Fall break

Oct. 9 – Site Council, 5 p.m. on Zoom

Oct. 10 – no school for statewide professional development

Oct. 14 – Family Night

Oct. 27 – Jog-a-thon

Oct. 27-31 – Spirit Week

Oct. 31 – Trunk-or-Treat

Nov. 6 – Family Night

Nov. 11 – no school in observance of Veterans Day