Site Council Purpose

KUA families are invited to attend Site Council meetings, held each trimester, according to the accompanying schedule, at 5 p.m. on Zoom. These are joint meetings with KUA’s Parent-Teacher Organization. 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. Together we make great things happen!

Zoom Meeting Schedule

All meetings are at 5 p.m.

Oct. 8, 2026

Jan. 14, 2027

May 13, 2027

Zoom meeting link

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

Recent Meeting Notes

Site Council members attending:

TEACHERS/STAFF: Julie Brunson, Cheryl Graham, Sarah Lemon, Tyrone McDonald, Amanda Miller, David Thygeson, Beto Vargas

PARENTS: D. Baker, Guadalupe Gomez, Allison Merrell, Tazmunai Nelson

PRINCIPAL: Lindsay Ochs

Date: Oct. 8, 2026

Time: 5-5:30 p.m.

While student performance is growing — or scores are holding steady — on statewide assessments, Kids Unlimited Academy is setting goals for improvement.

The first KUA Site Council of the 2026-27 school year featured students’ scores on last year’s standardized test and a discussion of state mandates for increased performance. KUA’s most notable outcome was fifth graders’ science scores during the 2025-26 school year, which improved more than 10% over the previous year.

“Science was really impressive last year,” said KUA Instructional Coach Chery Graham, who characterized the scores as the highest in five years.

“Inching its way up,” mathematics scores improved schoolwide by 2% last year, representing an overall 20% growth in the past five years, said Graham.

KUA schoolwide pass percentages in English language arts dropped by 1%. This year, KUA instruction will have a “huge emphasis” on writing, said Graham.

“It’s the writing that gets us every time.”

A goal-setting mandate by Oregon Senate Bill 141 requires schools to publicize their improvement plans for student achievement, said KUA Principal Lindsay Ochs. KUA intends to improve its attendance by 3% over the next four years, make a nearly 10% jump in third grade ELA performance and see 7% growth in science, she said.

The new law is aimed at school accountability, particularly for such student focal groups as students of poverty, English language learners and students with special education needs, said Ochs.

“Basically our whole school is a focal group.”

As a school with a high population of low-income students, KUA receives federal Title I funding, which comes with goals that align to Senate Bill 141, said Title I coordinator Amanda Miller. She presented the required school improvement plan and student-parent learning compact for 2026-27. The compact’s language aligns with KUA values to be respectful, responsible and safe, she said. One point Miller emphasized is regular attendance and arriving at school on time.

Miller explained KUA’s current student assessment system, STAR, and the goal to increase usage minutes in Ripple Effects, the school’s social-emotional learning curriculum, by about 10%. To receive Title I funding, schools are required to gather feedback about the school improvement plan and compact. Miller requested comments or questions. None were offered.

In the Zoom chat, parent Tazmunai Nelson asked about the “meets, does not meet and exceeds” performance measures on students’ report cards — if it actually reflects academic achievement. Fifth grade teacher Julie Brunson replied in the chat that “meets” correlates to students performing at grade level.

Via Spanish interpretation, parent Guadalupe Gomez said she would like to see more academic improvement across the school. She said she finds her daughter’s first-grade homework to be very simple. Ochs replied that first grade does pick up the pace as the school year progresses.

Gomez also noted a lot of wasted school supplies and she wants to know if there are ways to prevent it in school. If reusing and recycling aren’t valued, kids are being taught to receive. “We agree,” Ochs said.

Vice principal David Thygeson commented that most teachers are out of supplies about two-thirds of the way through the school year. Gomez suggested that instead of being asked for new supplies, families could donate supplies they already have in the house, adding that she wants to see an emphasis on caring for belongings, not procuring brand-new. Thygson said if there are extra supplies, they use them in KUA Afterschool and that he understands Gomez’s point — it’s the same challenge he has with his own son.

Free locally grown produce and healthy snacks will headline this year’s Harvest Festival, Oct. 27. The format is a mini farmers market alongside dinner prepared by the KU Food Program, said grant writer Sarah Lemon.

A successful Math Night warranted a shout-out from Graham to KUA’s Parent-Teacher Organization. Nelson is the new PTO vice president and mom to daughters Maybel and Etta, said Graham.

Alexis Perez is a new active member, whose daughter transferred this year to KUA. “It feels like she’s been here forever,” said Graham, adding a shout-out to Mayra Duran for being a foundational PTO member.

KUA’s PTO will be working with Miller for literacy night, said Graham, who also asked for candy donations toward Trunk-or-Treat and advertised the need for PTO classroom liaisons who will take part of the load off teachers.

The next Site Council is planned for Jan. 14, 2027.

Upcoming events:

Oct. 9 – No school

Oct. 13 – Bingo/Lotería Night

Oct. 26-30 – Spirit Week

Oct. 27 – Harvest Festival, 5-7 p.m.

Oct. 30 – Trunk-or-Treat (in-school event)

Nov. 3 – Jog-a-Thon (in-school event)

Nov. 4-6 – Royal Awards assemblies (in-school event)

Nov. 11 – No school in observance of Veterans Day

Nov. 19 – Family Night

Nov. 20-21 – Royal Kids Theatre fall production