F.W. Parker Charter Essential School
Minutes
Board of Trustees
Date and Time
Tuesday December 14, 2021 at 6:45 PM
Location
Parker School
Remote access to this in-person meeting is available using the following link: http://parker.school/boardoftrusteesmeeting
Trustees Present
A. Jolly, C. Regan-Davi, J. Saxe, M. Lindsey, M. Silva-Rosa, M. Turnbull, N. Odekirk Hatlevig, S. Reinhorn, S. Roach, T. Sumner, T. Testa
Trustees Absent
G. Penna
Trustees who arrived after the meeting opened
A. Jolly
Guests Present
D. Merriam, D. Van Patten, K. Tedstone, M. Beganski, M. McKenna
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C. Regan-Davi called a meeting of the board of trustees of F.W. Parker Charter Essential School to order on Tuesday Dec 14, 2021 at 6:47 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
M. Turnbull made a motion to approve the minutes Board of Trustees on 11-09-21.
M. Silva-Rosa seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| J. Saxe |
Aye
|
| C. Regan-Davi |
Aye
|
| A. Jolly |
Absent
|
| S. Roach |
Abstain
|
| G. Penna |
Absent
|
| T. Testa |
Abstain
|
| N. Odekirk Hatlevig |
Aye
|
| S. Reinhorn |
Aye
|
| M. Turnbull |
Aye
|
| M. Lindsey |
Aye
|
| T. Sumner |
Aye
|
| M. Silva-Rosa |
Aye
|
D.
Approve Minutes
J. Saxe made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 01-12-21.
M. Turnbull seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| C. Regan-Davi |
Aye
|
| M. Turnbull |
Aye
|
| G. Penna |
Absent
|
| M. Silva-Rosa |
Aye
|
| A. Jolly |
Abstain
|
| M. Lindsey |
Aye
|
| S. Roach |
Aye
|
| T. Testa |
Aye
|
| T. Sumner |
Aye
|
| N. Odekirk Hatlevig |
Abstain
|
| J. Saxe |
Aye
|
| S. Reinhorn |
Aye
|
II. Search Committee Update
A.
Search Committee Questions from November
Deb Merriam said the search process is moving faster than expected. Deb said the Search Committee will be prescreening candidates over the weekend and interviewing candidates on Zoom on January 8. Educational Consultants recommends moving toward a final round of interviews by the end of January and making an offer by the beginning of February.
Deb discussed determination of the salary range for the Head of School position. Deb discussed the need for the Board to discern strategic priorities and organizational structure and reporting for the new Head of School. This will be done at the January Board retreat.
A. Jolly arrived.
III. Principal's Report
A.
Principal's Report
Todd Sumner said that DESE will be visiting Parker for a one day accountability visit as part of the 5-year cycle of charter renewal. Todd will reach out to Board members to participate in a discussion of governance.
Todd said the school is currently accepting applications for next school year and he will have data about applications for enrollment at the next meeting.
IV. Retreat Preview
A.
Retreat Preview
Christine Regan-Davi said the retreat is January 11, 2022 from 2-6:30pm. Christine said pre-work material will go out next week. Christine said the retreat will allow time to reflect on an article shared by Board member Amy Jolly, speak with students, discuss the Head of School position, and plan for the second half of the year.
V. Committee Reports
A.
Search Committee
Deb Merriam delivered the Search Committee update at the beginning of the meeting. See above.
B.
Facilities
Martin Turnbull said he shared the facilities PowerPoint with the Sizer Foundation Board.
C.
Development
Katrina Tedstone shared highlights from development work:
- The Giving Tuesday social media campaign focused on alumnae. Over 40 gifts were received with around half coming from new donors.
- The Essential Fund is at almost $97k. This is just about even to last year
- Todd and Katrina created a one page explanation of the Fund for distribution to Div 1 families.
Jennifer Saxe led a development activity. Jennifer asked members to break into pairs and discuss why they give time and money to Parker and then share with the wider group.
D.
Governance
Matt Lindsey said the Governance Committee met and discussed the Board retreat and recruitment efforts. Matt said the Board skills assessment will be reviewed at the next meeting.
E.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Mario Sila-Rosa said the Committee met in the first week of December.
Mario said the Committee has been working to define the scope of their goals around:
- community / sense of belonging / recruiting new students/ influence the pool of students considering Parker
- faculty and staff / recruitment / retention/ development
- amplify the work of the community and support the work being done by faculty and staff / supporting special events
Tiff Testa said at the last faculty meeting, faculty was asked to provide information to the committee around work being done in classrooms.
F.
Finance
There are no updates from the Finance Committee.
VI. Consent Agenda
A.
Restraint Policy
Todd Sumner said that while restraint is not a part of Parker's practice, DESE requires the school to have a restraint policy and that it be approved by the Board.
B.
Approve Consent Agenda
S. Roach made a motion to approve the consent agenda.
T. Sumner seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VII. Other Business
A.
Comments from the Public
There are no comments from the public.
VIII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
C. Regan-Davi made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
S. Roach 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 8:42 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
M. Lindsey