Greg Thompson gave an invocation.

Greg Thompson led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Greg Thompson read the mission statement. Bill Bennett read the vision statement.

The Executive Committee reviewed the school’s culture and SEL priorities for the 2025–26 school year. Mr. Vaughn shared updates on SEL assessment growth, discipline systems, and implementation plans for the new CharacterStrong curriculum and Conscious Discipline initiative.

Discussion focused on strengthening MTSS supports, improving behavior systems, increasing scholar leadership opportunities, and ensuring consistent schoolwide expectations. The committee also reviewed professional development plans, staff collaboration efforts, and the formation of a Conscious Discipline Action Team.

Ms. Chambers reviewed the attendance brochure that outlines Liberty’s updated attendance expectations, incentives, and intervention procedures with amendments included that will strengthen processes around chronic absenteeism.

Key highlights include:

• Scholars are recognized for strong attendance through monthly, quarterly, and yearly incentives, including SOAR tokens, class trophies, volunteer hours, and end-of-year recognition. 
• The school emphasizes that “90% of success is showing up” and reinforces the importance of daily attendance under South Carolina law. 
• Attendance intervention procedures escalate after repeated unexcused absences, beginning with phone calls and letters, then moving to Attendance Intervention Plan (AIP) meetings, administrative interventions, and possible family court referral. 
• Families may submit up to five parent notes and ten medical notes per year. Excessive absences may require wellness intervention plans or summer school participation to recover missed instructional time. 
• Tardies and late pickups follow a similar intervention structure and may impact a scholar’s re-enrollment standing. 
• Scholars missing 10% or more of the school year may be required to attend the PRIDE summer program, and scholars with 10 or more unexcused absences may be retained. 
• The brochure also clarifies South Carolina attendance law requirements, including compulsory attendance ages, acceptable excuses, and documentation timelines. 

The committee expressed support for the continued focus on student well-being, positive school culture, and data-driven decision-making as the school prepares for the 2026-27 academic year.

Dr. Ivey provided updates on organizational health and survey data. Staff satisfaction reached 93% with 100% participation in the SPARC survey, and the school ranked in the 90th percentile or higher across all measured domains compared to peer schools. Family engagement survey results also remained strong, with no class scoring below 90% satisfaction for the fifth consecutive year. 

The committee discussed the importance of using survey feedback to improve communication, leadership visibility, and staff support across campuses.

Development and finance updates included the receipt of the first $250,000 installment from the Yass Alumni Award, additional grant funding for Project Lead the Way and summer programming, and approval progress for a $1.752 million congressional community grant. Leadership reported that the school is currently projected to end FY26 with an estimated $400,000 surplus while maintaining careful expense management. Budget planning for FY27 is ongoing. Additional facility space to support sixth-grade expansion was discussed.

Academic updates included the upcoming recommendation of the sixth-grade social studies curriculum, review of network-wide academic performance data, and implementation planning for interim assessments and Common Formative Assessments (CFAs). Leadership also reviewed new South Carolina legislation eliminating grading floors for grades 2–5 and discussed updates needed to ensure compliance with state requirements. The committee discussed assessment policies, including the continued use of teacher-developed CFAs and the implementation of new interim assessments that will be used for progress monitoring rather than scholar grades. An updated grading policy manual will be provided to committee members for review prior to the next school year.

The governance committee received the school safety reports, reported ongoing review of organizational policies, financial procedures, and athletic program planning. 

Upon consensus, the committee returned to open session.

Committee members were reminded to submit future agenda topics to Dr. Ivey.