River Valley Charter School
Minutes
Board of Trustees Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday March 20, 2024 at 7:00 PM
Location
River Valley Charter School, 2 Perry Way, Newburyport. Middle School Great Room
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of the River Valley Charter School is to provide a rigorous academic program
based on the Montessori philosophy and rooted in the history, culture and ecology of the
Merrimack River Valley. Students will reach their full potential as scholars and become self-
reliant, productive members of society. They will be adept at critical thinking and creative
problem solving and will be fully prepared to succeed in future schools, careers and civic life.
Trustees Present
A. Ting, C. Getz, C. Martin (remote), C. Whitford, D. Herrera, E. Bradley, E. Rankin, E. Simone, M. Connerton, T. Murdy
Trustees Absent
A. Fields, E. Seaton, N. Durkee
Trustees who left before the meeting adjourned
C. Whitford
Guests Present
Christian Dunbar, Fionn Dunbar (E2 student), Jonnie Lyn Evans, Kristin Donahue, Mary Carpenter, Owen Donahue (E2 student)
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Board Expectations
D.
Public Comment
None
E.
Approve Last Board Meeting Minutes
Add Jonnie Lyn Evans to present in 2/24 BOT meeting
II. Montessori Minute
A.
Montessori Minute
Mary Carpenter- Overview of structure of the outdoor classroom.
There is project curriculum map with different activities levels 1 - 4 with a required level 1 in a given area. Areas included geo cache, witling, cooking
Daily workshop period-- lots of choices/follow the child based
Read outload period followed by 5 minutes of mindfulness
Daily notice-- reflective part of the day where each child shares something they have noticed
Owen Donahue and Fionn Dunbar field Q and A from the board
III. Prior Board Business
A.
Committee Roles & Responsibilities
Accountability Committee had content changes from last vote so review of the document completed in real time and passed
IV. Director Report
A.
Director's Report
Discussed new trend where we Amesbury is the highest enrolled sending district. Unclear is the applications from NBPT dipped or just chance enrollment.
Chronic absenteeism- discussed and while it requires monitoring we don't need to focus or be reactive too. Unclear where we compare when looking at our sending district.
Tuition reimbursement came in lower than anticipated.
Came in around $75,000 lower than initially anticipated "We are being advised to plan for FY25 to be lean in comparison to the past few years."
The Board, Development and Foundation all need to work together in order to be strategic and allow us to fundraise to the needs of the school
CG-- Reminder that the money is in the Foundation is there because of the previous 25 years of fundraising
B.
Board Business
C.
School Calendar Start Date- VOTE
Start date 8/27--
JLE and BOT members agree the idea of easing students into the year has historically served our students well and is very consistent with the Montessori philosophy
Allows for a slow transitions for new Kinderhaus students
An earlier start date also takes into consideration that the spring term at RVCS is heavily focused on MCAS prep and outings, overnights and real community engagement.
See above
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| E. Seaton |
Absent
|
| C. Whitford |
Aye
|
| C. Martin |
Aye
|
| N. Durkee |
Absent
|
| A. Fields |
Absent
|
| M. Connerton |
Aye
|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| E. Bradley |
Aye
|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| C. Getz |
Aye
|
| E. Rankin |
Aye
|
| D. Herrera |
Aye
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
D.
Grounds Project- Update
See attached https://app2.boardontrack.com/org/9o7BzX/media/viewer/314551?scope=
3 companies looked at in final details with proposals
E.
Landscape Architect- Vote
AT-- Spoke as the BOT member engaged in a lot of the discussions with protentional landscape architecture and this company was excited about the idea of working with a Montessori school and creating a space that develops and improves over time.
Clarification schematics will be done by 6/30
Hancock will still be the company pond dredging
Still looking into how things get settled with Diane's Fine Pastry and their potential impact on our ponds.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| E. Bradley |
Aye
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
| N. Durkee |
Absent
|
| E. Rankin |
Aye
|
| D. Herrera |
Aye
|
| C. Getz |
Aye
|
| A. Fields |
Absent
|
| M. Connerton |
Aye
|
| C. Whitford |
Aye
|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| C. Martin |
Aye
|
| E. Seaton |
Absent
|
V. EC Committee Business
A.
Approve EC Minutes
ER-- Wanted to clarify PBE being referenced as 1/3 goals of JLE in her last few months. DH and EB clarified this goal was listed to allow JLE to really make sure PBE has everything it needs to continue w/o issue after JLE has departed
VI. Accountability Committee
A.
Approve Accountability Meeting Minutes
Minutes were difficult to follow
There will be another member recording minutes next meeting
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| N. Durkee |
Absent
|
| C. Getz |
Aye
|
| C. Martin |
Aye
|
| C. Whitford |
Aye
|
| A. Fields |
Absent
|
| D. Herrera |
Aye
|
| E. Bradley |
Abstain
|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
| E. Seaton |
Absent
|
| M. Connerton |
Aye
|
B.
Accountability Update
Survey goes out tomorrow.
This survey is in the 5th year cycle and next few months will focus on development of new survey.
VII. Development Committee
A.
Approve Development minutes
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| D. Herrera |
Aye
|
| C. Martin |
Aye
|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| M. Connerton |
Aye
|
| E. Bradley |
Aye
|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| E. Rankin |
Aye
|
| N. Durkee |
Absent
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
| E. Seaton |
Absent
|
| C. Whitford |
Absent
|
| C. Getz |
Aye
|
| A. Fields |
Absent
|
B.
Development Update
Launched our first ever Read-A-Thon, we invited students and families to commit to reading - listening to an audible, reading alone, together, or FaceTiming with a loved one.
141 RVCS students have dedicated 8,500+ minutes to reading, and garnered the support of family and friends who collectively generated over $10,000 in donations for River Valley!
Ice cream social next Wednesday.
There has been pros and cons but overall very positive.
Looking ahead- how do we engage people across the board? Has it felt good for families? Teachers? etc.
Circle backing to 8 C's next months
VIII. Finance Committee
A.
Approve Minutes
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| E. Rankin |
Aye
|
| A. Fields |
Absent
|
| M. Connerton |
Aye
|
| C. Whitford |
Absent
|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| C. Getz |
Absent
|
| C. Martin |
Aye
|
| E. Seaton |
Absent
|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
| N. Durkee |
Absent
|
| D. Herrera |
Aye
|
| E. Bradley |
Aye
|
B.
Finance Update
Chris W.-- Redirected group to On-Site, Insight
IX. Committee on Trustees
A.
Approve Minutes
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| M. Connerton |
Aye
|
| A. Fields |
Absent
|
| E. Seaton |
Absent
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
| E. Rankin |
Aye
|
| E. Bradley |
Aye
|
| N. Durkee |
Absent
|
| C. Martin |
Aye
|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| C. Getz |
Aye
|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| C. Whitford |
Absent
|
B.
CoT Update
Board Retreat May 18th.
Recruitment for BOT is underway, application ideally in 4/1
Membership will be 12 at end of the year, 4 members will hopefully brought on.
Posting in the Current--
River Valley Charter School is seeking new members for our Board of Trustees. We are looking for individuals who are passionate about education and who are committed to promoting Montessori values and principles. We welcome applications from current parents and caregivers, as well as encourage individuals who may not have children attending the school but who are committed to supporting public Montessori education to apply.
We believe that a diverse group of individuals with a variety of backgrounds and perspectives can help us achieve our mission of providing a transformative educational experience for all students. If you have experience in education, finance, construction, or other areas that would be helpful to the governance of the school, we invite you to join us. If this is of interest to you – please send an email of interest to bot@rivervalleycharter.org for next steps.
X. Director Search Update
A.
Update
Provided by Albert Ting--
Search Committee just formed 3/18/24, meeting tomorrow night again
7 Faculty/staff members volunteered; 5 BOT members (Denise, Albert, Meg, Chris, Ali)
Search Committee will be under Executive Session
XI. Closing Items
A.
Public Comment
None
B.
Board Survey
Request for each member to complete now.
C.
Adjourn Meeting
- Director's Report to the BOT_MARCH 2024 Meeting.pdf
Reviewed, laminated and available to board members on tables in front of us