1. To discuss student and staff recruiting

2. To reflect on the work of the New Teachers Collaborative

3. To discuss Special Education at Parker

4. To review the Head of School evaluation

1. Please RVSP through Board on Track

2. Read this agenda and the packet

Kathy Russo, Special Education Coordinator, and Jesse Lowe, Parker parent and SEPAC Co-Chair, presented a SEPAC update.

They reviewed the topics covered in SEPAC meetings this year:

• Meet and greet with SE Staff
• Understanding basic rights in SE
• SEPAC survey results for school year 2022-2023
• Closing the SEPAC board
• Supporting students' executive functioning at home 

Glenn Penna asked if the number of students on IEPs and 504s is going up.  Kathy Russo confirmed that they are.  Kathy and Jesse discussed reasons for this and how Parker is suited to meet the needs of students on IEPs and 504s.

Kathy Russo said she is retiring and Angela Greiner will be the new Special Education Director.

Mara Edgar said there have been 8 proposals and 7 of the 8 submitting groups have been vetted- one was a late find.  The four possibilities on the basis of vetting are:

• Credo
• Greenich Leadership Partners
• Mass Insigh Education and Research
• Pacific Consulting Group

Mara said people find Parker compelling and are interested in working with the school.

Brian reviewed the Strategic Plan Timeline. Brian said that when agencies are presented with the budget for this project - they are able to rescope and rescale their usual services.

Glenn added that agencies are interested in being part of the implementation.  Glenn said there is the possibility of opening the Board season with a retreat in September.

Brian presented dates for the BOT meetings for 2023-2024.  Meetings will be held the second Tuesday of each month with the exception of December - which will be December 5th due to the Hanukkah holiday.

Stef Reinhorn presented the Head of School Evaluation for 2022-2023.  She reviewed the evaluation process and presented evaluation highlights and a summary of survey results.  Stef said it was notable that so very many respondents felt Brian demonstrates integrity.  She said some respondents felt the Board on Track evaluation questions were not well suited to Parker.

Stef said takeaways were:

• This was a really positive review of Brian's first year
• The process showed clear Board and Staff endorsement of Brian's work
• Overall, this has been a very successful first year and a strong start for continued success

Stef shared a sampling of comments.  She said some of the more critical comments were related to strategic focus areas and reflect the need for a clear strategic plan.  Stef said Brian needs the Board to complete a strategic plan to guide his efforts and  support conditions where he can focus on strategic priorities.

Glenn thanked Stef and Pam for their work. Glenn thanked Brian for his work this year.

Brian said it was a harder year than he expected - there was so much to learn but he is thrilled to be entering year two and to be part of a great collective effort.

Ruth Whalen Crockett joined the meeting at 7:15pm.

Ruth presented an overview of the New Teacher Collaborative (NTC) program and described the NTC1 and NTC2 years.  Ruth said that the NTC 2 year program is a true professional pathway for securing excellence in teaching at Parker NTC and it has been the best way for Parker to build diversity in its staff..  Ruth said, next year, eleven NTC2 graduates will work at Parker as co-teachers and mentors to new interns.

Ruth presented a breakdown of requirements for teacher licensure in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Ruth said there is a teacher shortage in the country and in Massachusetts.  When applicants can apply for an emergency, provisional licensure and make a higher salary, they are less likely to be interested in joining NTC.  Applications are very low.  Domain leaders are not able to count on filling positions with NTC teachers and need to post positions to assure that teachers are in place for the fall.  Ruth said recruiting for NTC is becoming more than 50% of her job.

Brian Harrigan addressed student and teacher shortages.  See below.

Brian discussed current student and staff shortages and presented goals:

• maintain student enrollment above 390 for 2023-24
• increase student applications to 300 and budgeted enrollment to 396 for 2024-25
• recruit and retain additional students of color from 13.1% in 2022-23
• increase the number of NTC applicants to prepandemic levels of 35-50 applicants
• enroll at least 2 Parker NTC teachers and 5 NTC teachers from other schools for 2024-25

Brian discussed piloting a staff position to market Parker to students, families, teachers, and colleges. 

The position would be:

• externally focused, managing outreach and follow-up
• responsible for creating additional opportunities for Ruth and Brian to tell the Parker story
• one year pilot-funded using assets from the one-time CD previously earmarked for a van

Christina Soderman said FinCom had discussed this and noted that the budget is already approved and the new position would need approval.  She said FinCom had concerns and was not comfortable endorsing the new position tonight.  She said outcomes might not be seen in the coming school year and that the issues need to be addressed but there needs to be more clarity around the idea, scope, and costs.  She said perhaps this would be built into strategic plan.

Glenn said the mid-year lottery had an effect and said there could be some benefits this year if a dedicated role was assigned to these issues.  Glenn said perhaps the role could be a consultant on a 1099.  

Stef asked if Ruth if the NTC program could accept people entering mid-year.  Ruth said the internship is a full year and mid-year entry compromises the structure of the program.

Sonia said the issues deserve a strategy and asked if a new hire is a stop-gap measure.

The Board discussed thoughts and concerns around hiring a staff person for this work and longer term strategies around recruitment and enrollment of students and teachers.

The Board discussed how the issue should be addressed before the next school year and how finances would be approved if a paid position is agreed upon.

Ruth Whalen Crockett left the meeting at 8:32pm

The Finance Committee had nothing to report.

The Governance Committee will report later in the evening, during the Annual Meeting.

Martin Turnbull said construction on the Sumner Sidewalk project has been delayed to next school year.

There were no questions or comments.

The DEI Committee had nothing to report.

Katrina Tedstone said The Parker Fund is currently at $152K.  She said this is below the target goal of $200K but two large giving commitments are outstanding.

Katrina asked Board members to look at the Advocacy section of the Development Report which is included in the meeting packet.

There were no questions or comments.

There were no comments from the public.

Glenn Penna thanked outgoing Board members, Jennifer Saxe and Mario Silva-Rosa.

Nicole Odekirk Hatleving said the Governance Committee had worked to increase Board membership to 15.  Nicole said the Board would be asked to vote on five Trustees - three new members and two renewing members -  and the slate of Officers.

Nicole presented the slate of Trustees and Officers:

New Trustees:

• Julie Fredericksen currently on GovCom
• Luciana Hayner currently on DEICom
• Richard Madamba currently on FinCom

Renewing Trustees:

• Glenn Penna
• Martin Turnbull

Officer slate:

• Glenn Penna, Board Chair
• Pam Gordon, VIce Chair
• Christina Soderman, Treasurer
• Matt Lindsey, Secretary

Glenn thanked the GovCom for increasing the Board's size and diversity.