F.W. Parker Charter Essential School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday April 13, 2021 at 6:45 PM
This meeting will be held remotely via Teams and can be accessed using the following short link: http://parker.school/boardoftrusteesmeeting
Trustees Present
C. Regan-Davi (remote), G. Penna (remote), J. Saxe (remote), M. Lindsey (remote), M. Silva-Rosa (remote), M. Turnbull (remote), M. VanderWilden (remote), S. Reinhorn (remote), S. Roach (remote), T. Sumner (remote), T. Testa (remote), Z. Basma (remote)
Trustees Absent
B. Balasubramanyam
Guests Present
D. Van Patten (remote), K. Tedstone (remote), M. Beganski (remote), M. McKenna (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
S. Roach called a meeting of the board of trustees of F.W. Parker Charter Essential School to order on Tuesday Apr 13, 2021 at 6:47 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
M. Turnbull made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 03-09-21.
M. Silva-Rosa seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Discuss Option of Future In-person Meetings
Steve Roach asked the Board to consider a return to in-person meetings. Steve said he would follow up with a survey to collect feedback.
II. Principal's Report
A.
Principal's Report
Todd Sumner said:
- Parker is moving toward welcoming over 95% of students back to campus on April 26.
- DESE and DPH suggestions are informing the planning of graduation and Div 3 events.
- Graduation will look like last year - it will be outside with limited non-student participation.
Todd asked Board members to think about what pieces of the last 13-14 months were good and worth keeping.
Steve Roach said the Board has executed an agreement with Todd Sumner and Todd has signed a contract to continue on as Principal.
III. Committee Reports
A.
Facilities
Martin Turnbull said the Facilities Committee will meet this month to determine future projects.
B.
Finance
Michelle McKenna presented the Quarterly Financial Dashboard Report for Q3 (included in meeting packet).
C.
Development
Katrina Tedstone presented highlights from Development work (included in meeting packet).
Katrina said graduate families are offering a donation matching opportunity that would augment technology needs.
Zayna Basma said the Alumni Council has welcomed two new Steering Committee members.
Jennifer Saxe said the Development Committee is doing outreach to families of graduates.
D.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Mario Silva-Rosa said the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee has met several times. He said the Antiracist Task Force had been invited to discuss their work with the Committee and he had asked the group what role the Board could take in their future plans.
Tiffany Testa said the Antiracist Task Force hoped the DEI Committee would bring their work to the Board so the Board can be advocates of the work and can develop a shared vision.
Mario said the Committee would like to share and present their work at an upcoming Board meeting.
E.
Governance
Christine Regan-Davi said the Governance Committee is preparing a slate of Board nominees for the June meeting. She said the Committee has looked at the success Zayna and the Alumni Council have had by tapping the energy of remote participants and they are considering the idea of recruiting remote Board members.
Christine said the current Parker bylaws are more restrictive around remote Board participation than what Massachusetts Open Meeting Law (OML) allows. Board members discussed the idea of allowing for remote Board participation.
Todd Sumner said the Governance Committee should consider proposing a bylaw revision to align with the current OML.
F.
Principal Eval & Support
Christine Regan-Davi said Board members should have received a notification from Board on Track that Todd Sumner has completed his self-evaluation and it is available for Board review. Christine said a portal will be available for Trustees to further participate in the process next week.
IV. Other Business
A.
Comments from the Public
There were no comments from the public.
V. Votes
A.
2021-2022 School Calendar
M. VanderWilden made a motion to approve the 2021-2022 School Calendar as presented.
C. Regan-Davi seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VI. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
T. Sumner made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
J. Saxe 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 7:58 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
M. Lindsey