Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School
Minutes
Governing Board Monthly Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday March 20, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Location
Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School - Elementary Campus Library
688 Grant Street
Atlanta, GA 30315
Directors Present
Amber Suitt, Cory Tiede, Daron Joffe (remote), Drew Waddell, Emily Hansen (remote), Jonna Martin, LaNiesha Cobb Sanders, Mark Boswell (remote), Oriol Mirosa, Ruth Link-Gelles (remote), Shannon Rutledge
Directors Absent
Rebecca Wagner
Guests Present
Alastair Pullen, Chiquetta West, Lara Zelski (remote), Mark Sanders (remote), Paige Teusink (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance & Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Public Comment
D.
Approve Meeting Minutes from 2-27-25
II. School Leadership Updates
A.
Spotlight Area: ANCS After Care
B.
Principals' Open Forum
Lara Zelski, EC: highlight of Women’s History Month and BHM celebration. Leadership team went for new ELA standard training and will be redelivering to the staff. Finishing up parent-teacher conferences. Administrative observations for GaLEADS. 5th grade extended day trip is coming up, as well as a Women’s History Month performance on 4/1. Focus on the amount of hours teachers put into student-teacher conferences and the appreciation of the time and effort.
Mark Sanders, MC: provided an update on recent activities (MAP testing, schedule rotation, student-led conferences, spring musical). Make up date from January for the Service as Action Day (rescheduled due to weather). Teacher Appreciation week and Spring Break are coming up, followed by portfolio exhibitions and milestones testing.
C.
Executive Director's Monthly Report
ED Monthly Report: appreciation for the team and public recognition for Charter School of the Year award from GCSA. Signed the MOU with Kennesaw State for aspiring leaders program partnership. Update on the lottery for 2025-26 school year. ED student applications increased year over year. Major increase in number of applicants for 6th grade with a slight reduction in student applications for Kindergarten. 34 total seats offered between EC and MC.
FY26 Budget: presented the budget to staff during the recent teacher work day. Efforts on increasing salaries to be at 95% of APS salary bands. Increased costs for TRS. Change in funding approach (no longer funding both SS and TRS, now only doing TRS and saving $500k).
Chiquetta West presented the proposed budget for board review and vote.
Finance Committee will vote on approval.
III. Committee Updates
A.
Educational Excellence Committee Monthly Report
B.
Finance & Operations Committee Monthly Report
C.
Advancement Committee Monthly Report
D.
Governance Committee Monthly Report
Updated on process for board officer and committee chair nomination process. Opening up nominations for board officers and committee chairs.
IV. General Announcements
A.
Reminders
Reminder from Shannon to complete board training. 100% commitment for board donations.
Dr. Pullen introduced Kelly Dennis (virtual) to present on the EC after care program. She detailed the daily activities of the program, the workshop model which is an hour long enrichment program. Workshops are faculty led and allow students to pursue fun projects and sports with student choice on what they pursue. 80-160 students on any given day, with highest attendance from K-2 grades, with 15-17 staff members supporting per day. Corey asked for potential improvements - Kelly replied that turf on the upper field would be ideal.