Living School

Minutes

Annual Board Retreat & Quarterly Meeting

Date and Time

Sunday March 25, 2018 at 9:00 AM

Location

A Studio in the Woods, 13401 Patterson Rd, New Orleans, LA 70131

Directors Present

A. Herrera, D. Lister, F. Olajide, I. King-Robins, L. Delpit, M. Lehnherr, Q. Davis, R. Ashmore, T. Millard, V. Jones

Directors Absent

D. Smith, J. Ojo, M. Davis, M. Hash, N. GATES, N. Mock, T. Glover

Directors who arrived after the meeting opened

A. Herrera

Directors who left before the meeting adjourned

A. Herrera

Guests Present

S. Pasternak

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance and Guests

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

D. Lister called a meeting of the board of directors of Living School to order on Sunday Mar 25, 2018 at 9:20 AM.

C.

Approve Minutes

D. Lister made a motion to approve minutes from the Special Election on 02-20-18 Special Election on 02-20-18.
F. Olajide seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

II. Team Building

A.

Norms & Team Building

Board members recorded a brief 10-30 second video (for promotional use on the website) of themselves answering one of the following question:

- Why do you think Living School is so important for New Orleans?
- Why are you volunteering your time to bring Living School into existence?
A. Herrera arrived.

B.

Elect Alfredo Herrera to the Board

D. Lister made a motion to Elect Alfredo Herrera to the Board.
R. Ashmore seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

III. Committee Updates & Work

A.

Development Committee Report

We remain at about half of our fundraising goals of $500K to cover operating expenses between now and launch.  Committee is working on applying to more grants to fill that gap.

We will launch a capital campaign in the future to fundraise for our eventual permanent campus.  In preparation for this capital campaign, we are asking the entire Board to help us identify prospective donors we can cultivate by filling out the form at tinyurl.com/livingschooldonorreferral

B.

Overview of the application

A. Herrera left.

C.

Design Protocol

Tristram, Victor, and Mark L. discussed the boarding option and concluded that it would be worth investigating more, but should likely not be part of Living School's initial launch.

Mandi, Richard, and Lisa discussed the project-based learning model and concluded that it is likely best to begin with a hybrid model to create space for direct instruction where it's important and help scaffold New Orleans students' transition from more traditional schools to a project-based learning environment.

India, Qasim, and Frances discussed the best ways to vest institutional power in stakeholders' hands and concluded that our current 3-branch proposal is promising, but that it ultimately depends on the capacity and interests of the stakeholders who end up signing up for our school.

D.

Lunch Break

E.

Facilities Committee Report

Committee is focusing first on the identification of a strong temporary site to launch in while considering longer term options for the permanent facility.

IV. Committees

A.

Form Standard 5 Committees

D. Lister made a motion to Transform the Facilities Committee into a Finance & Operations Committee; create a Governance Committee; and create a CEO Support & Evaluation Committee.
Q. Davis seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

Strategic Planning: Setting Objectives & Key Results (OKRs)

Committee chairs will ratify OKRs at next committee meetings and report back to the whole board at the next meeting.

V. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

D. Lister made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
L. Delpit 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 5:00 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
D. Lister