River Valley Charter School
Minutes
Board of Trustees Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday May 15, 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. Fields, A. Ting, C. Getz, C. Martin (remote), C. Whitford (remote), D. Herrera, E. Bradley, E. Rankin, E. Simone, M. Connerton, N. Durkee, T. Murdy
Trustees Absent
None
Trustees who arrived after the meeting opened
N. Durkee
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Board Expectations
D.
Public Comment
II. Montessori Minute
A.
Montessori Minute
PODS!! Mixed aged group work. Each POD referred to as a family.
Driving force behind this idea--
Children who feel a sense of belonging excel both academically and socioemotionally.
Insert link to slide slow:
Example of activities-- "Family name" for each pod, created yoga pose unique to their family; Winter Solstice Celebration with wish slips-- burned in a fire or given away and a collective song
Community Service Activity-- created Easter Bags for those in need
A Read together
Spring Community Clean Up
III. Review Previous Board Minutes
A.
Approve Last Board Meeting Minutes
Erin-- asked for correction about countries that were presented because she thought it was incorrect. Confirmed Vietnam.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| C. Getz |
Aye
|
| N. Durkee |
Absent
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
| A. Fields |
Aye
|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| D. Herrera |
Aye
|
| E. Bradley |
Aye
|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| C. Martin |
Aye
|
| E. Rankin |
Aye
|
| M. Connerton |
Aye
|
| C. Whitford |
Aye
|
IV. Director Update
A.
Director's Report
No Director's Report Submitted this month.
Correction made to the number of student being retained "repeating current grade"
There will officially be two retained student-- both were parent
EB- Are we fully staffed?
JLE-- It is unclear as not all contracts have not gone out to staff but JLE anticipate they all will be soon, all completed just some still on her desk.
Known individuals/position with ind. not returning--
Psychologist- JLE has promising interview tomorrow w/ a candidate who may fill more than the part psychologist role
Director position- Filled
B.
Grounds Project- Update
Insert JLE slide show---
Three proposals generated Monday by C and W, feedback given already back to C and W as the goal is to have a big reveal June 6th.
Discussion after slideshow--
ER-- is it feasible to move the entrance for traffic flow?
JLE-- We have a meeting with the city next week,
ND- Dedicated space for kinderhaus?
JLE- No but...
AF- I had similar feelings but I can share that the E2 and KH have overlapped this year
JLE-- Nature of the wetlands-- jurisdictional versus not jurisdictional. We have been told deficiently it is not in the past but now maybe but really all it changes is how far back the easements need to be.
JLE-- still exploring neighborhood parking options for staff but all current plans
Donations today-- $100,000 from a donor specific to the grounds project
BOT members are expected to attend the Reveal event on June 6th
V. Board Business
A.
Board Business Topics
B.
New Trustee Vote
4 Prospective Trustees voting on tonight-
Derek Mitchell
Achala Mathew Godino
Patti Ganley
Jonathan Nickerson
C.
COL Sign Ups
Reviewed in person any hole and adjustment needed.
D.
Leadership Transition
E.
Search Committee Update
Pivoting to Director Search now that the interim director search has been completed.
Calendar set up for started date: 5/15 - director picked by 12/20 ish ideally
VI. Committee on Trustees
A.
Approve Minutes
B.
CoT Update
VII. EC Committee Business
A.
Approve EC Minutes
VIII. Accountability Committee
A.
Approve Accountability Meeting Minutes
Winter Assessment reviewed ?
Edits need to be made as certain agenda items that were not discussed
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| D. Herrera |
Aye
|
| C. Martin |
Aye
|
| N. Durkee |
Aye
|
| T. Murdy |
Aye
|
| E. Bradley |
Abstain
|
| E. Rankin |
Aye
|
| M. Connerton |
Aye
|
| A. Fields |
Aye
|
| C. Whitford |
Aye
|
| E. Simone |
Aye
|
| A. Ting |
Aye
|
| C. Getz |
Aye
|
B.
Accountability Update
"DESE will be in touch to review better practices regarding governance review of disaggregated data" was noted on our charter renewal but was a quiet almost footnote
Patrick_______ has reached to schedule meeting with Denise, Albert and Eric to discuss our practice as it related to governance review of disaggregated data
90 ish participants completed caregiver/parent survey completed. (In the past 130 ish-- overall consistent with past views with most concern being centered around E2 math
IX. Development Committee
A.
Approve Development minutes
B.
Development Update
X. Finance Committee
A.
Approve Minutes
B.
Finance Update
Budget/surplus has been tracking as anticipated and reported in past meetings
3 HVAC units will be replaced
Finalized on health insurance for staff
Laminated 12 expectations of BOT members-- passed out and available in front of all board members in person, available on board documents for our remote trustees.
Denise asked members to draw their attention to the tenant of being timely and prepared.