Living School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday August 8, 2023 at 6:00 PM
Location
Maroon Workspace
1206 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130
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.
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.
Directors Present
A. Medley, C. Smith, D. Lister, D. Smith (remote), M. Davis, M. Lehnherr, R. Ashmore
Directors Absent
D. Cager, K. Mutepfa
Guests Present
A. Winzy, D. Armstead, David Jackson, K. Ward, M. Dunn, R. Fuller, S. Pasternak, S. Porges, W. Dickerson (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
M. Lehnherr called a meeting of the board of directors of Living School to order on Tuesday Aug 8, 2023 at 7:15 PM.
C.
Approve Board Meeting Agenda
A. Medley made a motion to approve the agenda as posted.
M. Davis seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Approve Board Meeting Minutes
M. Davis made a motion to approve the minutes from Emergency Board Meeting on 07-31-23.
R. Ashmore seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Committee Meetings
A.
Finance & Development Committee Meeting
B.
Academic & Culture Committee Meeting
- Preview Data Visualization & Dashboard ideas with Ryan Fuller
- Hope to have student data to triangulate - portfolio, data, grades, testing
- Discussion around the Tableau data visualization tool
- Include family engagement/involvement data/information in dashboard
- Focus on attendance, STAR testing correlation to LEAP, ACT practice testing
- Review APPROVED 23-24 Community Handbook & Handbook at a Glance -- Documents to ensure understanding of policies with Stefin Pasternak (attached)
- Continue to work on CEO Evaluation process & metrics with Mandi Lehnherr
- Discussion of CEO Evaluation process; currently being created - will review at the next committee meeting
- Discussion of CEO objectives
- 1. Improving Student & Staff Retention
- 2. Developing a 5+ year facility plan
- 3. Raising $150k
- 4. Developing leadership succession & emergency plans
- For next meeting:
- CEO Evaluation draft/template review and brainstorm of items; review timeline and process (Mark Lister)
- Discussion of parental engagement and support strategies (Connie)
III. Voting Items
A.
Approve updated Fiscal Policies & Procedures
M. Davis made a motion to adopt as amended in the Committee Meeting the Financial Policies & Procedures.
R. Ashmore seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
IV. Discussion Items
A.
Committee Reports
Academic & Culture Meeting
- Ryan Fuller, Director of Data & Results, is working on a visual data dashboard to help us better understand our progress on key metrics that drive our Strategic Plan
- Discussed the Community Handbook at a Glance and the CEO Evaluation Process
- Discussed plans too improve family engagement & support
Finance & Development Meeting
- Draft EOY FY23 financials look like we'll be in a better place than we anticipated.
- Draft MFP #s from NOLA-PS also look better than we'd modeled so we may be in a slightly better budget position for FY24 as long as enrollment exceeds 200 students by 10/1.
- We must prioritize recruitment & retention to drive long-term financial sustainability and Stefin will give the Board weekly updates over the next month on enrollment progress. After enrollment, we'll work on fundraising & events.
B.
22-23 Board Assessment
C.
Alumni Council
V. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
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. Lehnherr