Hope Academy
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday February 23, 2021 at 7:30 AM
Location
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/95697545383?pwd=R0lGSTRmM0JPTTVUbm1HelFlRFBuUT09 Meeting ID: 956 9754 5383 Passcode: 5LVV9j
Directors Present
A. Levander (remote), A. Tomlin (remote), C. Kenney (remote), J. Gabe (remote), J. Shopp (remote), K. Turner (remote), M. Austin (remote), M. Manlove (remote), P. Usher (remote), U. Oruche (remote)
Directors Absent
J. Finke, L. Mannweiler
Guests Present
Brian Anderson (remote), J. Panyard (remote), L. Gagyi (remote), M. Williams (remote), R. Gardner (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
M. Manlove called a meeting of the board of directors of Hope Academy to order on Tuesday Feb 23, 2021 at 7:31 AM.
C.
Approve Minutes
Motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 12-15-20.
Approved by consent
II. Public Comment
A.
Open comment period
No comments by the public.
III. Finance
A.
Finance Committee Report
Janine Shopp reported the committee has reviewed cash projections. The student count and Average Daily Attendance (ADA) were below budget, but development revenue is above budget.
The committee addressed the need for the committee to have adequate information to be fiduciarialy responsible. Jane and Rachelle have worked with Brian to keep the committee informed of source and uses on a regular basis to keep the focus on cash flow and be aware of when we might need to tap into the line of credit that is available.
At the next board meeting, there will be additional conversation about cash flow and the status of the financial position, especially looking towards the future rather than the past.
Brian Anderson reviewed the financials at the halfway point of the year at the end of December with emphasis on specific areas to be aware of.
We ended up in very good shape at December's year end with $408K on hand. The meeting with the mayor's office went well - we are meeting goals and doing a little better than we had planned.
Total revenue vs. total expenditures show that we are ahead in revenue - due to Community Health Network's capital transfer and contributions. We are behind in basic grant money which is based on enrollment, which is expected. Now that we know what our expenses are in the new space, we can see that our projections were good.
With additional unbudgeted grant funding, we were able to increase expenses in staffing and technology, so some expenses show over budget, but this is covered by the additional unexpected funding.
January's financials show that the cash available had declined to $330K which is not unexpected.
Brain showed a graph of cash flow from the beginning of the fiscal year and net cash outflow. Our cash flow is not even due to timing of the alternative education funding. The dip in September was related to the repayment of debt to Fairbanks. This was a one-time event since we will not have debt to Fairbanks in the future. There will be another spike in revenue next August, but not a similar drop in September.
In January, revenue was accrued but is not reflected as cash. Expenditures were mostly cash, so the bottom line for January was less than in December. We anticipate February to continue that trend and in March we will see reimbursement grants of $510,000 to reverse that trend and leave us with a $250K cash balance at year end.
B.
Arianna Martin of the Mayor's Office joined the meeting
C.
Goal Progress
See the board tracker spreadsheet in the meeting materials.
D.
Deb Leser, Director of Guidance, joined the meeting
E.
Collaboration/Concerns
The focus will be on cash flow which looks to be on target. We had anticipated having a backup of a line of credit available for this time of year. It's not clear that we will have to use that funding yet.
IV. Academic Excellence
A.
Principals Report
Linda Gagyi reported current ADA (average Daily Attendance) revised target was 35 (from 50) and we currently are at 35. There is one new student interview scheduled this week.
We have had conversations with Enroll Indy about making sure that students assigned to Hope Academy understand the mission of the school. No new students have enrolled for next year through Enroll Indy.
Graduation is scheduled for May 22 at the University of Indianapolis.
Professional Development - we are working with Susie's Legacy on Social and Emotional Learning for the staff on early release days.
We are using Exact Path for Math and English which is tied to NWEA scores (taken 3 times/year). This identifies areas for individual remediation. This is a good tool and helps the teachers' lessons planning.
See the data tracker in the meeting materials. Highlights include:
35% of parents attended the parent orientation in January. It is well received and we expect a growth in attendance.
Afterschool activities have increased attendance significantly thanks to Caroline Hartman, our GPS coordinator, and is averaging 10-15 students in afterschool activities.
Deb Leser reviewed the updated data sheet which shows an increase in enrollment in January and two more new students since then. Lots of boys! Race and ethnicity predominately Caucasian - we will continually strive to improve the diversity of the school.
The number of students from Marion County is increasing.
The number of students eligible for free and reduced lunch is staying the same.
Special ed decreased to 42% in January.
Attendance rate is approximately 90%. With an expected influx of new students, we expect this to increase. During e-learning we had several days with 100%.
Semester grades: 20%- A 30% - B 25% - C 15% - D 11%-F
96% of the credits attempted were earned which is a great data point during the pandemic.
Graduation progress - Juniors are struggling and many are off-track due to the pandemic. Many new students are juniors and are behind in credits. With good credit attainment rate, we expect this to increase. Of our five seniors, one senior is not on track to graduate - four are.
Grades declined last spring when the pandemic hit but came back up in the fall due to in-person instruction and the personal attention by the recovery and peer coaches.
B.
Goal Progress
See attached board tracker.
C.
Collaboration/Concern
No concerns about meeting the academic goals.
V. Marketing Committee
A.
Marketing Report
Rachelle reported on the marketing and communication plan to keep Hope Academy top of mind for the community. Ty Spisak, our marketing consultant, has done a great job with Reagan Outdoor to put up Billboards and Posters around town.
Media placement in Southside Times includes sponsoring the Educator of the Month page with a banner ad for Hope Academy in the newspaper
Chalkbeat is an national education news service. We have a footer ad in their publication.
The website has been updated to get data and track people's time on the website. The tracking feature coordinates with Facebook so that anyone who has visited the website will see more Hope Academy Facebook ads. This led to WISH-TV's segment on Hope Academy and two other media opportunities and one enrollment.
The Daily Journal ad is also performing well.
We are doing more social media posts - 2-3 times/week on Facebook and Instagram.
The Outreach Team of 11 staff members has identified targeted audiences for referral sources to reach out on a personal basis. See the attached report on the amount and type of contacts they have accomplished. The team meets every other week to discuss what is working and tweak the process.
The Speaker Series with Dr. Tomlin reached registration capacity and got good engagement with community members. Almost half of the attendees requested a copy of the PowerPoint and a CEU certificate. Janice Gabe's session is more than half-way to capacity for her session on March 17.
Thanks to Dr. Tomlin for a great presentation that has been very well received. She encouraged those who are doing the next presentations to promote their session on their own social media which helped boost attendance at her event.
Michael Austin asked if leads from the billboards are qualified - what happens to those who don't fit the profile of a Hope Academy student? Rachelle said only one student prospect was not a good fit and the family was referred to Damar.
B.
Goal Progress
See attached board tracker spreadsheet.
C.
Collaboration/Concerns
No concerns. The communications plan appears to be attracting more inquiries, especially from Catholic high schools.
VI. Development Committee
A.
Development Committee Report
We are ahead of anticipated revenue with contributions and grants.
The spring fundraiser, Sounds of Hope will feature musicians who support recovery and words from students. It will be streamed on Facebook Live, YouTube and the Hope Academy website on Sunday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m.
Big thanks to Janice Gabe for recruiting several of the musicians to perform for the event.
The board is encouraged to help recruit new Booster Club members so they can be recognized at the event.
B.
Goal Progress
See attached board tracker spreadsheet.
VII. Governance Committee
A.
Governance Committee
Marissa reported that the committee is focused on looking to the future and will continue to find ways to strengthen and expand the board's and committees' diversity, skills and talents.
The committee came up with a list of key prospects and organizations to reach out to recruit new members.
Marissa asked the board to continually reach out to others for opportunities to serve on committees and the board. Four board members will term out at the end of the school year - some will step away, others will stay on for another term. We have 11 now with a maximum of 15, so there are seats available.
Officers are elected on an annual basis - if anyone on the board is interested in an officer position. let Marissa know.
B.
Goal Tracking
The governance committee reviews the goals of the other committees and a report on their progress has been included in the meeting materials.
C.
Legislative Update
Amy Levander reported that the line item for Hope Academy has remained in the Indiana State budget.
Amy suggested everyone reach out to their legislators to thank them for their support of Hope Academy and to support the state funding.
D.
Collaboration/Concern
Rep. Thompson has asked Amy Levander to help him change the language in the state budget to a minimum base of support for Hope Academy, rather than have it related to enrollment.
VIII. Executive Director Report
A.
Facilities Update
Rachelle reported the hallway doors have been installed. They look nice and are working well.
Thank yous go to Wurster Construction and Kevin Turner for their help with this project.
Conversations with IPS have continued for Hope Academy to become an Innovation School. We expect an agreement with IPS soon.
Simon Youth reached out to us. Linda Gagyi is working on a Letter of Interest to become a Simon Youth Academy.
We have finalized an agreement with Aspire to have licensed therapist meet with students virtually while they are at school. This will help students without transportation and other barriers to be able to get treatment. Watch for a media release about the partnership.
Thanks to Dr. Robin Newhouse, the IU Grand Challenge will have a media release that Caroline Hartman, GPS coordinator will do a video about stigma and how it affects parents getting help for their children.
Next month's marketing approach will be focused on our alternate peer group in order to expand that program to the public.
B.
Parent Orientation Group
The parent orientation group is growing. Aleesha Bullock is doing a great job facilitating a meaningful zoom meeting for parents. One student said it was because of the parent group that things are changing at home.
C.
School Level Concern/Complaints
Diversity inclusion is an issue. Linda has reached out to IPS to invite them to attend board meetings.
Colleen and Janice commented on how wonderful it is to have a meeting filled with so much good news.
Rachelle complemented the teachers and Recovery Team for their dedication to keep the school culture positive. Rachelle said much of the progress is thanks to the support of the board.
The board thanked Rachelle, Linda, Deb and the staff for all they are doing. What's happening at Hope Academy is not happening elsewhere - there is so much distress and loss of hope for kids which is very concerning. This is a crisis for which we as a society are not prepared. Janice commented that the isolation leads to no affirmations, positive strokes or nurturing which is vital to children's well being. How do we share what we are doing with others?
IX. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:01 AM.
Respectfully Submitted,
M. Williams
Documents used during the meeting
- Copy_of_Hope_Financials_123120 (1).xlsx
- Hope FY22-25 Contingency Budget Summary.pdf
- 2021_01_26_finance_committee_meeting_minutes.pdf
- Finance tracker 1.21.pdf
- 2021_01_27_academic_excellence_committee_meeting_minutes.pdf
- Principal's Report 2.11.2021final.docx
- January_Board_Data (7).docx
- Acaedemic tracker 1.21.pdf
- Hope Academy Advertising Placement and Creative.pdf
- 2021_01_28_marketing_committee_meeting_minutes.pdf
- Hope Academy Billboard Locations Flight 3.pdf
- Hope Academy Earned Media Report Jan and Feb.pdf
- Outreach Team Tracking.pdf
- Marketing tracker 1.21.pdf
- 2021_01_26_development_committee_meeting_minutes.pdf
- Hope_Academy_At_A_Glance_-_thru_Dec_31_2020.asd.pdf
- Hope_Academy_Grants_Chart-January_2021.pdf
- Development tracker 1.21.pdf
- Governance tracker 1.21.pdf
- board goals tracker 1.21.pdf
- 2021_01_25_governance_committee_meeting_minutes.pdf