Everyone received a "mini-packet" with some items that will be reviewed today. All other information in the full packet was shared with the board was shared prior to Thanksgiving for board review. 

We have a Senior with us, Gabriella Rodriguez. She has plans to join the national guard and pursue a career in Medicine. 
Her favorite thing about IHSNO is the staff as she considers is like her second family. 
If she could change something it would be the time that the regular day starts at. She would advise freshmen to do what they have to do to get out and succeed. 

We are halfway to the school year, this is a good time to evaluate our strategic plans set at the beginning of the school year. 
Today: 
Facilities will talk more about We continue to work in securing a long-term lease of the building
Governance will share more about the HOS evaluation 
Academics will share more about the SPS 
Development will talk further about some talking points to further our development efforts 

There is a link that was shared in the Head of School report to complete the ethics training and get the certificate to Lynette by 12/20/18 

Reminder to board members of the holiday cocktails this Saturday. 
J. Lampton and S. Cunningham are not getting emails sent through the board listserv. LL will check into that. 

The HOS report was shared for review. Other than that there is no further discussion. 

Graduation date was updated, the new date is Friday 5/24 at 10:00 am at Xavier University. 

This year we are being more intentional about engaging with different colleges/universities to get interns to collaborate  and support  IHSNO

SL asked what disciplines are the ones we are using tier 1 curriculum, SW stated that is Math and ELA 

SL asked when the audit information will be available. DD responded that the auditors have taken longer this year with results than usual. We will have that information shortly. 

Shoutout to the team members who were nominated for the 40 under 40. We nominated four staff members. We had a former student awarded as one of the 40 under 40 candidates. 
We had a team member recognized in the "Who to watch" section of ......... Ms. Noyola is the Sped Coordinator. 


 

SR is absent, so MR will share the committee work from this month's meeting. 
We need to submit to the BESE board the reviewed charter. MR asked if any admissions review would be considered for the 2019-20120 SY. SW explained that the reviews could come in effect for the 2020-2021 SY after approved by BESE. 

School Performance Score
There has not been a change on the overall score. Under the new scoring criteria, we remain with a C score. We have had significant growth in some areas and we have scored shortly in other areas. We are definitely not where we want to be as a school and continuously seeking ways and strategies to improve. 
ACT is an area we need to improve on 
Strength of Diploma is an area we had significant improvement 
Graduation rate is an area we didn't show significant growth 
Growth was an area that has had great attention under the new scoring criteria. Students marked as 9T (transitioning 9th grade students) get points for graduating in 5 years. If elementary schools don't mark them as such, the High School would not get growth points. There has been a push to identify 9T students before the cut-off date in September. 
9T students are measured by completing 8th grade successfully and their scores in state standardized test scores. This is not automatically marked, but the schools have to do so. There is no incentive for elementary schools to mark students 9T. 
DB asked what does IHSNO has in place to diagnose incoming students. SW explained that we do have an incoming assessment for students in Math and Language Arts. 
ABerger explained that we assessed our students based on the LEAP 360 diagnostic assessment. Once we have those results become available we are able to schedule them for the appropriate classes. We usually double-block them in Math and English as a support for the needed skills. 
DB asked what is the time in between the test and the scoring results - ABerger explained that this process is not done in-house, rather by the state. Inclusive of the writing assessment, the results are available a couple of weeks after the test. 
GL asked how is instruction monitored once the results become available. ABerger explained that one course is focused on instruction and the other block is focused on application. 
AT asked by when does the school determine when does the school determines what needs to change to improve the outcomes? SW explained that such decisions are finalized over the summer the plan is finalized based on the items teachers produce in closing the year. This year we participated in the New Schools for New Orleans grant - Instructional Quality Initiative to improve our outcomes. We are also participating in the John Hopkins Redesign initiative with the same objective in mind. 
ABrown asked what do we do in the case that we identify students struggling in spite of the resources and strategies applied? ABerger explained that when that happens, we put in place Response to Intervention process to identify what is it that the student needs to get the material they are struggling with. Should the student need further tutoring or moving them into another class or section and at last have the student evaluated for any learning disability. 
GL asked what can the board do to support IHSNO to get to a B status. 
MR encouraged GL to bring this question to the academic committee to agree on initiatives and then bring them to the full board. 
SC suggested being strategic with College/University interns to improve our academic gains. 

 

The committee didn't have a meeting this month, yet a meeting was had with OPSB regarding our facility. 
One of the things the board can support with is to get our building in better shape that is conducive to learning. KK has spoken with a tax broker to find out more about tax credits for the school. 
The Small Center will finish their visioning project now in December. They will have the final product for us in January.  

At this month's meeting, the committee discussed the monthly financials. The committee also discussed to hold off on the PRFQ on our own and wait for OPSB to engage with a contractor. AT suggested to not have iHSNO spend money on procuring an architect, instead have OPSB to get this evaluation done. OPSB shared that they expect to have an architect on board by January 2019.  

The budget had to be readjusted based on the enrollment numbers and MFP. These adjustments do not compromise the school's operational ability. 

The legislative auditor has put out a questionnaire. This is an annual practice. 

RK is absent. 

This month's meeting covered the HOS evaluation and the Board evaluation. The committee reviewed a description for the HOS evaluation committee. This was adapted from materials from BOT. The languages for this evaluation was attached to the full Board Meeting packet. 
The HOS evaluation committee would not be an ad-hoc committee, but a standing committee like the rest of the committees. 

There will be three meetings for this committee to meet this year. The committee will report back to the board on their findings. 

The committee discussed to develop their own form for a monthly assessment after each meeting including 3-5 questions. 
SC asked if there will be an annual evaluation of the board. JL explained that the vision behind this is to do a quick evaluation to change course if needed. KK suggested doing a more in-depth evaluation at the annual board retreat. 

AT disagrees with evaluating the board meetings

The vote will differ until RK is in attendance. 

MR shared the list of DDD businesses for board members to identify their connections in the community. 

 

AW provided an "elevator speech" sample for board members to refer to as they engage with their contacts. 
Board members will receive an informational folder including our profile, the Sponsorship form, elevator Speech and Ms. Williams business card along with a promotional gift. 

Gala - April 6 at UNO ballroom from 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
This year's gala theme is "International Night around the world" 
We will be asking for silent auction gifts 

MR suggested to the board to approach their employers now as they plan for their annual corporate gifts. 
 

S. Cunningham asked that whoever is attending the LAPCS conference to report back information acquired at the conference.