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Wesley International Academy

Minutes

September Board Meeting

Date and Time

Tuesday September 7, 2021 at 6:00 PM

Location

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7229250184?pwd=QjRkZlFLRjBFendOMWlZWCtBVW1nUT09 
Meeting ID: 722 925 0184
Passcode: WIAevent1

Public Comments:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13iJ4g8T5iWaWEsJ-Iopmana4UcevHdq3C1EA1nLMxY0/edit?usp=sharing
The September 2021 meeting of the WIA Board of Directors will take place on Tuesday, September 7, 2021 beginning at 6:00pm. This meeting will be held virtually via Zoom. We hope to see as many stakeholders attend as possible.

Directors Present

A. Hunter (remote), B. Mitchell (remote), C. Hill (remote), D. Hrabe (remote), E. Cater (remote), F. Carroll (remote), G. Burnett (remote), J. Wright (remote), K. Boyer (remote), K. Jones (remote), M. Guertin (remote), T. Ryan-Lawrence (remote)

Directors Absent

J. Hansen

Directors who left before the meeting adjourned

C. Hill

Ex Officio Members Present

J. Marshall (remote)

Non Voting Members Present

J. Marshall (remote)

Guests Present

C. Hudson (remote), D. Satterfield (remote), L. Price (remote), R. Goodman (remote), R. Pavone (remote)

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance and Guests

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

D. Hrabe called a meeting of the board of directors of Wesley International Academy to order on Tuesday Sep 7, 2021 at 6:01 PM.

C.

Agenda Adoption

C. Hill made a motion to Adopt the Agenda as provided.
E. Cater seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

D.

Approve Minutes - August Board Meeting

G. Burnett made a motion to approve the minutes from August 2021 August Board Meeting on 08-03-21.
C. Hill seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

II. Public Comments

A.

Public Comments

No public comments. 

III. Finance

A.

May 31, 2021 Financials

  • No unexpected items to report
  • Financials attached to the agenda and provided
  • Questions can be addressed to Chip Hill, Brian Mitchell, and/or Lisa Price. 

B.

June 30, 2021 Draft Financial Statements & Audit/Reporting Timeline

  • Auditor routinely works with charter schools in Georgia
  • Strong tradition of clean audits without modifications, points, or findings - validating the incredible work of our fiscal team
  • Finance Committee will be reviewing the audit process over the next couple of months
  • Samples & compliance documents submitted for auditor's review in conjunction with school policies and procedures
  • Current status: final draft being reviewed by Lisa Price and finance team
    • Initial impression is good and meeting expectations
    • Non-cash transactions will occur at closing of the FY21 books
  • Auditor presentation scheduled for September 22, 2021, 8a at the Finance Committee meeting
  • Will soon need to review and submit the annual 990
C. Hill left.

IV. Executive Director Updates

A.

Wesley DEI Project

COVID over the last month
  • 6 adults tested positive for COVID
  • 22 students tested positive for COVID
  • Surveillance testing every Monday (except holidays) for those who consent 
    • Testing about 350 students each week
  • 86% staff vaccination rate
Wesley Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Project 
  • Space for meaningful engagement on social justice movement resulting from death of George Floyd in 2020
  • MYP Students read & discussed Stamped
  • Wren Consulting - Patrice Holt
    • Formal relationship began in May 2021
    • Committed to authentic inclusion, social justice, and racial equity to help create cultures that embrace the same
    • Work will rest with the Wesley DUI Council upon completion for sustained, long-term engagement
      • Council: faculty & staff - deep level diversity (e.g. life experiences, longevity at Wesley, teaching experiences, etc.)
      • Encourages Council ownership going forward such they become the ambassadors to the entire Wesley team over time. 
    • 5-Phase Approach includes identifying gaps at Wesley and concerns the school had identified along with survey and data gathering (occurring now) along with creating a Vision and Implementation Support
  • Focus Groups: Sr. Leadership Group & Counselor/School Support Group
    • Help with collection of DEI related information
  • Interviews: confidential, deep dive, with anonymity 
  • Open call to all staff & faculty to participate on the initial team working with Wren and then selected by consultation between administration and Wren Consulting 

B.

Wesley Strategic Plan Update

5-Year Strategic Plan 
  • Committee: mirror committee that wrote the last plan to include staff, parents, students, counseling staff, and administrators.
    • Board: Gayle Burnett, John Wright, & Kate Boyer
  • Charter Renewal will be impacted both by the Strategic Plan and DEI work

C.

Virtual Learning Opt-In Plan/First Semester

Rachel Goodman and Debbie Satterfield Reporting
  • Phone calls from and to families provided anecdotal evidence of a desire for virtual learning option
  • Community survey distributed
    • 423 responses
    • 118 interested in virtual option
  • 60 students have signed up for virtual learning
    • 40 PYP students
    • 20 MYP students
  • Additional opt-in and opt-out points in October and November
  • Technology in play - Owl Camera (360 degree capability and enhanced audio)
    • Enhances the concurrent classroom and virtual instruction

V. Board Chair Updates

A.

Committee Membership

  • Academic Excellence: Jan Hansen resigned from the Board today, so that roster will change in the coming month
  • Committee Rosters will be tabled for potential ratification until October 2021 Board Meeting
  • Committee Goals will be tabled for potential ratification until October 2021 Board Meeting

B.

Board Training for Fall

Dates/Times Under Consideration
  • September 28, 2021
  • October 26, 2021 
  • October 28, 2021
Board member should send their preference from among the above dates to Doug as soon as possible. Training is a 4-hour block of time and is expected to be 5p until 9p and held virtually.

VI. Academic Excellence

A.

Academic Excellence

  • 3% increase in MAP
  • 60% of teachers trained in by end of the year in restorative practices
  • IB reauthorization in early 2022
    • Want to creates an IB certification team to assist

VII. Development

A.

Revenue YTD 

  • No report tonight

B.

Matching Gift Update

  • Jason to reach out to anonymous donor by end of September with status update (with updates continuing throughout the school year)
    • Donor's challenge is $20,000 for the match
    • Donor wants to cut check by the end of the 2021 calendar year
    • Donor will base financial gift on pledges, but collections can continue through school year
    • Need pledge form from each Board member to have complete data for funder update
      • Deadline: September 15, 2021

VIII. Governance

A.

New Member Mentor Program

  • New opportunity for orientation & support
  • No negative feedback to date
  • Initial training, while long, was perceived as worthwhile
  • Will continue to gather feedback throughout the year from new members

B.

ED Evaluation Subcommittee

Members: Thomas Ryan-Lawrence, Ewa Cater, & Kwende Jones

Three Annual ED Evaluation Tools
  • BOT - 360 degree assessment 
  • Annual LeaderKeys Assessment (GA DOE-required)
  • Charter-Related & Personal Goals
    • Initial meeting: September 1 - goals set
      • Teacher retention: 82% (stretch: 87%) with June 1 cutoff [inc of 2% over FY 21]
      • Fundraising: $110k (stretch: $125k)
      • Student Growth: lacking historical data for typical growth calculations; this year, using MAP, ELA & Math growth goals of a % in each area from August baseline to end of year assessment 
        • % to be set in consultation with administrative leadership
      • 60% of teachers trained in Restorative Practices (stretch: 65%)
        • 3-day training
      • Increase number of Gifted-certified teachers (27 now) by 25% (7 additional, 34 total) (stretch: 30%, 8 additional, 35 total) 

C.

Approve Executive Director Goals for 2021-2022 SY

T. Ryan-Lawrence made a motion to approve Executive Director's five personal goals with understanding that Academic Excellence Committee will be responsible for setting the student growth % goals at their next meeting.
B. Mitchell seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

D.

Virtual versus in-person meetings

Kwende Jones Reporting for the Committee
  • Reference to email distributed to the Board earlier today
  • Open Records Act Discussion
    • Emergency Conditions: shall include declarations of federal, state, or local states of emergency (not limited)
      • Economic Emergency remains in place in Georgia
  • Believes Board is able to legally continue virtual meetings
Inquiry: where should our Board stand in acknowledging the science, especially as an educational institution? 
  • Governance discussion was not focused on science aspect. It focused more on the spirit of the law being open and ready access to public meetings and reality that meeting attendance and participation has increased during virtual meeting. Return to offering virtual education model for students diminishes some of the concern previously expressed about asking students to meet in-person while Board meets virtually.
  • Will likely have on-going discussions on this topic.
T. Ryan-Lawrence made a motion to continue to meet virtually for any and all Board-related meetings through and including the October 2021 Board meeting.
G. Burnett seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

E.

Alternate Board and Committee Meetings

T. Ryan-Lawrence made a motion to update our meeting schedule such that the full, regular board meetings occur in August, October, December, February, April, and June and committee meetings occur in November, January, March, May, July, and September.
A. Hunter seconded the motion.
  • Brief discussion to ensure required public budget meetings can be accommodated
  • Underscores need to stay current on committee work to avoid excessive delays, especially where Board oversight/ratification is required
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

IX. Executive Session

A.

Staffing Matters

  • Contract review for new teacher

X. Post-Executive Session Matters

A.

Vote on Executive Session Matters

B. Mitchell made a motion to to approve personnel contract discussed in Executive Session.
G. Burnett seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
New Business
  • Need to replace Jan Hansen due to resignation (effective today)
  • Jan's exit requires replacement of Academic Excellence Chair
    • Expected to occur at the September 2021 Committee Meeting
  • Governance Committee will move forward in an attempt to fill Jan's seat per the Bylaws
    • With priority given to ensuring comprehensive skill set of the Board is maintained or enhanced
    • Relatedly, Governance is updating the Bylaws with a goal for completed draft by December 2021.

XI. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

T. Ryan-Lawrence made a motion to adjourn.
G. Burnett seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 7:51 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
M. Guertin
Documents used during the meeting
  • May_2021_-_Financial_Report-1.pdf
  • Wesley Board Member Pledge Form - Fillable.pdf