Living School

Living School Board Meeting

Date and Time

Tuesday April 21, 2020 at 7:15 PM CDT

Location

Online using Google Hangouts:  meet.google.com/pwj-arux-rgr
 
Phone Numbers
PIN: ‪133 349 161#‬
All are welcome at Living School Board Meetings.  Translation is available with 24 hours notice.

Public comment is welcome on any item on the agenda.  At the end of each agenda item, there will be a time for public comment.  Members of the public wishing to comment on any agenda item, may raise their hand at this designated time and be recognized by the Chair to speak for up to 2 minutes per person, per agenda item.  On any matter up for a vote, public comment must be heard prior to taking the Board's vote.

For members of the public wishing to address the Board for longer than 2 minutes on any given agenda item, please give the Chair at least 24 hours notice to be added to the agenda.  We will strive to accommodate longer items but cannot guarantee room on a given meeting's agenda.

Agenda

     
I. Opening Items
 
Opening Items
  A. Record Attendance and Guests
  B. Call the Meeting to Order
  C. Approve Minutes from previous Board Meeting
    Approve minutes for Living School Board Meeting on April 3, 2020
II. Academic, Culture, & Evaluation Committee
  A. Committee FY20 Goals
   
GOAL 1: Conduct a comprehensive & effective end-of-the-year CEO evaluation
- Task 1.1: Conduct baseline CEO evaluation (8/30/19).
- Task 1.2: Develop a way to incorporate student & family feedback into the CEO evaluation (4/1/20).
- Task 1.3: Conduct Year 1 CEO evaluation (6/30/20).

GOAL 2: Develop annual evaluation tools, processes, and metrics for academics & culture
- Task 2.1: Develop Academic & Culture dashboard to track data at monthly meetings (8/31/19).
- Task 2.2: Align Graduate Profile, Staff Development Rubric, & Academic/Culture dashboard to the mission (10/31/19).
  B. CEO Report
   
Refer to CEO Report
  C. Approve 2020-21 Calendar
   
Approved by Student, Staff, & Family councils.
  D. Review 2020-21 Org Chart & Master Schedule
III. Finance & Development Committee
  A. Committee FY20 Goals
   
GOAL 1: Monitor Organizational Sustainability
- Task 1.1: Develop protocol for using monthly dashboard (8/31/19).
- Task 1.2: Conduct annual audit (6/30/20).
- Task 1.3: Monitor FY20 Budget and revise as needed (6/30/20).

GOAL 2: Plan for expansion
- Task 2.1: Build variations in our financial model for different future circumstances.
- Task 2.2: Build facilities plans and decision making timeline for future circumstances.

Goal 3: Recruit students for each class 
- Task 1.1: Recruit 80 students for Class of 2023 (10/1/19)
- Task 1.2: Recruit 80 students for Class of 2024 (6/30/20)
  B. Finance Dashboard & Report
  C. Spring 2020 Renovations Update
   
- Demolition completed
- Phase 3 Permitting underway with start date ASAP
  D. GiveNOLA Day Pledges
   
GiveNOLA Day has been postponed until 6/2 and we want to be able to make a big public statement about 100% Board Participation in launching our campaign.

 

Our suggested goals:

 

Early Giving Goal: $5,000 from 12 Board Member & 6 Advisory Board Member donations (these are private goals, and we did not have any early gifts last year)
  E. Check in about Board Supports for Staff
   
Debrief how letters to staff went, how the family support fund is growing and being used, and preparing for visiting online classes.
IV. Governance Committee
  A. Committee FY20 Goals
   
Goal 1: Clarify Board recruitment & composition strategy
- Task 1.1: Meet with Richard about donor cultivation events.
- Task 1.2: Create list of Board needs: please let Tris know if there is anything we can do to help you fill your role more effectively. This might be education, clarification, one-on-one discussion/coaching, etc. Even though I have been on the board for more than two years, I am still painfully aware that there are a lot of things that I am unfamiliar with. 
- Task 1.3: Create list of community members to cultivate: We have discussed in the past a strategy to start cultivating high profile and influential potential board members. If you have the name of someone you feel would be additive to the mission of the Living School, please provide to Tris. You do not have to know the person personally as I am happy to approach anyone about the school and cultivate the relationship. 
- Task 1.4: Host board cultivation events: This is going to be on hold until COVID-19 is less of a threat to our community.

Goal 2: Implement & improve Board development plan
- Task 2.1: Improve Board participation, effectiveness, independence, & consistency.
- Task 2.2: Raise funds for Board development & refreshments: There is a financial cost for the refreshments and the preparations for the meeting. Would like to ask the board to consider making a contribution to save the school money that could be put towards the students. Tris will fund the first 3 meetings with a donation to set the tone.

Goal 3: Improve communications
- Task 3.1: Utilize Board Members with large social media followings to increase communication across lines of difference.
- Task 3.2: Create an emergency communication plan: 
with current pandemic and Louisiana's history of natural disasters (both potential and realized) the Board should have a communication plan in place:

 

1. Board member's contact details should be provided across the whole board. While on BoardOnTrack (https://app2.boardontrack.com/org/7vg07T/user/list) it would be most convenient to have contact cards emailed out so that we can download to phones. If everyone is amenable to this idea, we will make it happen.

 

2. In the event of an emergency a group text will be sent to the board clearly stating that there is an emergency. All board members should respond ASAP. If a response is not received within 45 minutes, the original sender of text message will call members who have not responded and relay emergency information and response. If board member is still not reachable, communication will be made to other telephone numbers and email addresses provided.
  B. Updating Board Goals
   
Committee Chairs - please review your goals as listed in BoardOnTrack. Mark as completed anything that is completed and add any goals that your Committee is working on that isn't documented.

 

  C. FY20 Board Assessment
   
We will be launching our FY20 Board Assessment this month.  All board members will be asked to conduct a self-assessment to benchmark different skills related to serving on a board.  100% participation from all Board Directors will be vital to truly assess state of board and the progress we have made.   Thank you in advance for dedicating time this next month to completing the assessment.
  D. May 17 Board Retreat
   
We are scheduled to hold our Annual Board Retreat and final meeting of FY20 on Sun 5/17.  Along with approving our FY21 budget, we want to know what everyone wants us to prioritize?
V. Closing Items
  A. Adjourn Meeting