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Washington Latin

Minutes

March Board of Governors Meeting

Date and Time

Thursday March 4, 2021 at 6:00 PM

Location

Directors Present

A. Dean-Lovett (remote), A. Graham (remote), B. Caldwell (remote), B. Williams-Kief (remote), C. McFadgion (remote), C. McGurn (remote), C. Wilkinson (remote), K. Merritt (remote), L. Ballenger (remote), L. Rucker (remote), N. McCoy (remote), P. Mara (remote), T. Morgan (remote)

Directors Absent

H. Rawlings, K. Osagie, R. Dalal

Directors who arrived after the meeting opened

A. Dean-Lovett, C. Wilkinson, L. Ballenger

Directors who left before the meeting adjourned

A. Dean-Lovett

Guests Present

C. Gifford (remote), D. Smith (remote), J. Kelly (remote), K. Cromwell (remote), P. Anderson (remote), Tiffany Bufort (remote), Y. Tse (remote)

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

T. Morgan called a meeting of the board of directors of Washington Latin to order on Thursday Mar 4, 2021 at 6:02 PM.

C.

Approve Minutes

K. Merritt made a motion to approve the minutes from February Board of Governors Meeting on 02-04-21.
A. Graham seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
C. McFadgion
Aye
C. Wilkinson
Absent
B. Caldwell
Aye
L. Rucker
Aye
L. Ballenger
Absent
K. Merritt
Aye
P. Mara
Aye
B. Williams-Kief
Aye
T. Morgan
Aye
N. McCoy
Aye
H. Rawlings
Absent
R. Dalal
Absent
A. Graham
Aye
A. Dean-Lovett
Absent
K. Osagie
Absent
C. McGurn
Aye

II. HOS Report and School Update

A.

Update on what is happening at the school right now

  • Reopening of the school in April
    • Teachers are getting vaccinated, many more comfortable returning
    • Studies are showing that schools are not major sources of virus spread 
  • Hybrid model will be implemented: 
    • Grades 5-7 will be on campus 2 days a week for full days
    • Grades 8 and 9 will be on campus 2 days a week for half days
    • Grades 10-12 on campus for 1-2 classes in the afternoons for select classes
  • All families will choose a model - hybrid or remain all remote
  • Parents will make a choose by next week and the current distance learning model will be ongoing 
  • Safety protocols will be in place
  • Weekly testing will be required - done by outside third party on campus 
L. Ballenger arrived.
A. Dean-Lovett arrived.

B.

Q&A on written HOS report

  • Opened up to questions in the Head of School Report
  • Added that the Science Fair went well and thanks Alyse Graham for serving as a judge 
  • Question about the resolution in the DC Council to appoint a commission to reexamine the governance structure of public schools. This resolution is not going forward as of now. 

C.

Update on charter renewal

  • Draft of new charter agreement submitted to PCSB, including new mission-specific goal related to exclusionary discipline.
  • Select board committees working on review of relevant sections.
  • Shared first draft of mission specific goal and sought feedback from Board members. 
  • New agreement goes into effect in July, should be settled by May. 

III. Guest Presentation/Q&A

A.

Spotlight on At-Risk Program

Presentation by Tiffany Bufort on the At-Risk Program at Latin
  • Tiffany is the at-risk program manager and is a licensed counselor and trauma specialist 
  • Reviewed goals of the program 
  • Program provides support to students and families that are classified as at-risk. Interventions include:
    • early intervention summer school 
    • collaboration with case managers, mental health professionals, deans, and teachers
    • RTI and FBA, creating academic plans, and family engagement 
  • Services that are provided:
    • Home visits/porch visits and family meetings
    • community outreach 
    • social and emotional support 
    • Case management/academic support 
  • Reviewed number of students who are currently classified as at-risk, both by OSSE and other students who have been referred by teachers or family 
  • Expect that we will need to address increased trauma when we return to campus from COVID and its effects. The At-Risk team is preparing for this now. 
C. Wilkinson arrived.

IV. Finance

A.

Existing Staff Salary Approval

  • Annual Board approval is required for annual Letters of Engagement for the faculty 
  • Finance Committee is recommending that the Board approve staff salaries 
  • City did better than expected in terms of revenue by about half a million dollars, unsure of coming increase in per pupil funding, somewhere between 1 and 4% is expected 
  • Question about if Latin has considered how the school would potentially use increased federal spending coming as a part of COVID relief
T. Morgan made a motion to Approve the proposed salaries for existing staff, as presented by the finance team. .
K. Merritt seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
K. Osagie
Absent
C. McFadgion
Aye
N. McCoy
Aye
B. Williams-Kief
Aye
H. Rawlings
Absent
B. Caldwell
Aye
C. Wilkinson
Aye
T. Morgan
Aye
C. McGurn
Aye
P. Mara
Aye
L. Rucker
Aye
R. Dalal
Absent
L. Ballenger
Aye
A. Graham
Aye
K. Merritt
Aye

V. Development

A.

Campaign Update

  • Update from Barry Caldwell on Capital Campaign 
  • Notable increase since last meeting toward the overall $12 million goal  
  • Much of it has come from Board participation, which is now close to and on track to soon be at 100% 
  • Gratitude for the Board's commitment towards this effort 
A. Dean-Lovett left.

VI. Executive Session

A.

Dashboard

The board went into executive session at 7:07 pm to discuss current contract negotiations regarding facilities and personnel matters related to leadership.  This is in accordance with the Open Meetings Act §2-575(b) subsection (3) To discuss, establish, or instruct the public body’s staff or negotiating agents concerning the position to be taken in negotiating incentives relating to the location or expansion of industries or other businesses or business activities in the District;

 

and subsection (10) To discuss the appointment, employment, assignment, promotion, performance evaluation, compensation, discipline, demotion, removal, or resignation of government appointees, employees, or officials, or of public charter school personnel, where the public body is the board of trustees of a public charter school. 

 

  • Dashboard presented on leadership pipeline for Latin A and proposed leadership structure for Latin B
  • Included talent pipeline for potential new leaders 

B.

Update on negotiations

  • Update on continuing negotiations for potential space for a second campus.

 

 

The Board returned to Open Session from Executive Session at 7:29 pm.

VII. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

A. Graham made a motion to Adjourn the meeting.
T. Morgan seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
K. Osagie
Absent
A. Graham
Aye
R. Dalal
Absent
B. Williams-Kief
Aye
L. Rucker
Aye
T. Morgan
Aye
C. McFadgion
Aye
C. McGurn
Aye
L. Ballenger
Aye
P. Mara
Aye
H. Rawlings
Absent
A. Dean-Lovett
Absent
N. McCoy
Aye
C. Wilkinson
Aye
B. Caldwell
Aye
K. Merritt
Aye
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:37 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
C. Wilkinson
This meeting is governed by the Open Meetings Act. Please address any questions or complaints arising under this meeting to the Office of Open Government at opengovoffice@dc.gov