OCS Preschool Director Bryce Pickett reviewed changes made to the preschool handbook, including updated business hours of 7:00AM to 5:30PM and updated dates reflecting the 2022-23 school year. 

Head of Schools Devon Davis reviewed changes made to the elementary and secondary school handbook, including the following:

• Updated policies appropriate to the secondary school 
• Graduation requirements, and details as to how the school tracks progress
• Athletics policy
• Detailed behavior plan
• Detailed absence and tardy policies

M. Hanson asked if there is an appeal process outlined in the behavior plan. D. Davis confirmed.

N. Wray asked about the overall review process and inquired who reviews the handbooks. D. Davis explained that the K-12 handbook is reviewed by employees and distributed to all staff and families. The review cycle began in February and suggested changes were discussed and finalized over the summer.

N. Wray suggested that the handbook be offered in Spanish and be available in hard copy. K. Caire explained that the handbook will be distributed in time for the open house on 8/30 and that we will have a Spanish version available in the first month or two of school.

T. Pedracine inquired about the distribution timeline. K. Caire explained that it will be distributed to families at the open house on 8/30 and to families who were unable to attend the open house during the first week of school.

W. Akhtar suggested OCS add a contact person for each section of the handbook in case families have questions. OCS staff agreed and will make those additions. 

Pedracine-Stewart suggested that OCS list the Habits of Character in the handbook. OCS staff agreed and will make the addition.

T. Pedracine-Stewart suggested that OCPA scholars wear any color besides the colors that elementary-age scholars wear for security reasons. D. Davis explained that the uniforms have already been purchased for this year. The board was in agreement that the change should be made for future years. 

N.Wray suggested that staff create a plan and report back to the board at the November 2022 meeting.

Families will be issued color-coded badges for scholar dismissal. C. Zdeblick suggested that scholar uniforms reflect those same colors. Staff will consider how to incorporate this suggestion in the proposal to be presented in November. 

Changes to the employee handbook were reviewed and discussed, including the new PTO policy for 4-day work week staff vs. 5-day work week. 

The policy around FMLA was added, along with policies for increased staff accountability and professionalism. 

W. Akhtar wondered if staff working the 4-day workweek, no matter how long they have worked at One City, will have 9 PTO days. D. Davis explained that staff working 4-day weeks end up working 11 fewer hours than those working 5-day weeks and talked about the concern for scholars missing too many days with their teachers. D. Davis added that staff, scholar, and family surveys are built into the EL Education model and the UW evaluation team will capture the success/opportunities that the 4-day work week offer our instructional staff.

A. Torti presented changes to the Financial Policies and Procedures, including the addition of language around actively seeking to work with women-owned vendors and vendors of color, and the ability of the CEO to issue credit cards to staff as necessary. 

N. Wray asked who manages the credit card program. A. Torti explained that the organization will be using a program called Divvy which allows for more oversight of credit card use. Users must have purchases approved before purchases. A. Torti and K. Caire will have the ability to view all transactions.

M. Ruffin reported that the elementary school is at 102% enrollment due to OCS staff members enrolling their children. 

Secondary school is 50% full in 9th grade, all other grades are nearly full.  The total percentage enrolled at the Pleasant T. Rowland Leadership Campus is 88%. 

M. Hanson inquired about the scholar to staff ratio. Staff replied that there will be 2 lead teachers and 2 assistant teachers for 48 scholars, with 2 classes of 24 scholars each, in grades K-2.

There will be 2 lead teachers and 1 assistant teacher for grades 3-5, also 2 classes of 24 scholars each. 

T. Jaeckle wondered about the larger number of available seats in 9th grade. Staff replied that there are 2 classes of 36 scholars for 9th grade vs. 1 class of 36 scholars for 10th grade. It was further noted that middle schools spend a significant amount of time during 8th grade preparing students for whichever high school they are likely to attend, and that may be a deterrent for some students and parents. 

M. Ruffin encouraged board members to attend the open houses scheduled for families on August 30th from 4-6pm and for community members on September 30th. 

B. Pickett reported that the 4K graduation held on July 29th was very successful. 

New doors and windows and a new HVAC system have been installed at the Krupp-Grove Family Unity Campus facility, thanks to a grant from the Rennebohm Foundation. 

Teachers will return to the preschool on 8/24 to set up classrooms. 

D. Davis reported that the secondary school team started on July 6th to put programs in place in time for the first day of school on September 1st. 

The elementary school team started on August 8th. 

OCPA team members participated in team building activities at WI Lions Camp. 

Leader in Me training about the 7 Habits of Effective People started today for all staff.

Logic of English (ELA curriculum) training will begin tomorrow for the OCES team.

OCPA families received the course guide electronically yesterday.

We learned that we need to fill one teaching position because an elementary school teacher decided not to return to One City.

K. Caire reported that OCS has been admitted to WIAA, but will not be admitted to a conference for our first year.  We need to meet certain size requirements in order to compete in a number of sports and nonathletic activities, such as DECA and debate. 

Fall sports will include football, soccer, basketball and volleyball. Coaches for these sports have been hired. Sports will begin as intramural and will be available for our middle and high school scholars. 

C. Zdeblick asked about whether OCS could use the indoor play space for sports. OCS will hold health and yoga classes there, but existing columns pose a safety threat for any sports involving balls. 

N. Wray commented on the value of branding in sports and how the community visibility for OCS as a whole will benefit from participation in sports.

T. Jaeckle wondered if the restrictions for participating in conference sports is hindering enrollment. K. Caire confirmed that it definitely plays a role and will make a difference in some  scholars' decision whether to attend OCS. 

W. Akhtar asked if there was a way for OCS to participate in any community sports teams. D. Davis confirmed that OCS Athletic Director Jeremy Clements is exploring all opportunities that OCS may be eligible for.

T. Pedracine-Stewart suggested that OCS look into partnering with MSCR to play sports. J. Clements is currently exploring that possibility as well. 

G. Wiseman stated that she would leave out the fundraising details of her report, as that is a separate item on the agenda. 

Fetch Rewards visited again last week. Fetch will name the technology co-working space "Powered by Fetch" and donate $50,000 towards technology. OCS will develop an ongoing partnership with the organization, including a coding program with Fetch staff and OCS scholars. 

UW Athletics has offered the opportunity for OCS scholars and families to work at concession stands at 3 football games to OCS staff and families. They will also highlight a OCS-nominated teacher who went above and beyond in the past school year at a football game in September, and will provide some tickets to staff for the event. 

OCS Executive Chef Nick Johnson initiated a partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank. The initial partnership will include discounted food purchasing and will expand in future years to include support for OCS families. 

The OwnIt: Building Black Wealth program has so far granted 10 families with $15K towards down payments on their homes and 5 of those families have so far closed on new homes. There are over 30 ambassadors participating in the program, for which One City Schools Foundation is the fiscal sponsor. 

G. Wiseman invited board members to attend the volunteer appreciation event being held Thursday evening, September 8th, at the Leadership Campus, and to put the Community Open House on their calendars for September 30th. 

K. Caire reported for D. Stephan that we now have a total of 106 employees, and only one teacher position open for 5th grade and 2 teacher positions open for the preschool.

L. Holiday has presented a 90-day plan to ensure OCS' success and sustainability over time. She is currently engaged in a review of short-and long-term legislative changes. 

Changes that are essential to the future health and growth of OCS include an update to the lottery system to ensure that OCS 5th graders have preference in matriculating to 6th grade.

We must also pursue funding for our extended school day and school year.

L. Holiday is in discussions with Special Education Director Kim Anderson around the need to pursue additional funding for our special education department. 

L. Holiday is working with OCS staff to ensure compliance in our reporting to DPI.

Meetings have been held with Brittany Kinser and Robert Rauh to reconstitute the Milwaukee charter school advocacy group as a state-wide advocacy group, giving OCS and other charter schools a stronger voice in our efforts. 

Due to time constraints, the Board will discuss and approve both the July and August 2022 financials at the regular Board meeting on September 27th.

A. Torti explained some aspects of the unique financial situation at One City Schools. One City Preparatory Academy was established and launched in the midst of ongoing renovations at the Pleasant T. Rowland Leadership Campus. 

One City Schools is the operating arm of the organization, One City Schools Broadway is the construction and building arm of OCS and the Foundation is the fundraising arm.  We have received the tax exemption letter for the Foundation. 

Cash flow needs are being reported on daily, previewing needs for 30-day and 12-month activity. 

Auditors will be onsite in September to review the 2021-22 fiscal year. Numbers4Nonprofits will help with the audit again this year.  Numbers4Nonprofits will be off boarded in January 2023. 

A. Torti provided an overview of the budget compared to last fiscal year and explained that the launch of OCPA involved additional startup costs that we will not see in future years. 

Changes in revenue reflect additional per pupil funding.

We will pursue WI Shares revenue at the elementary school.

Our fundraising target for operations is currently $2.3MM.

Furniture and teaching materials have been purchased. 

K. Caire reported that new staff have been brought onboard as early as possible to be ready for the school year to begin, so personnel expenses are high now before our first per pupil payment comes through in September

Staff is in the process of exploring new purchasing and reporting systems.

C. Gaines asked how OCS can move from the red to the black. K. Caire explained that fundraising will be extremely important in the next month. At the August 30th luncheon with major philanthropists One City will ask for stabilization support. OCS will use that event to open doors and make introductions with potential donors we have not yet partnered with.

K. Caire also suggested that we are looking into hosting a major annual event and some smaller events throughout the year, such as golf outings.

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C. Gaines wondered how inflation has affected OCS. K. Caire reported that OCS made ~4% salary increases despite a less than 4% increase in state funding.

S. Martyniak asked if the internal infrastructure is growing at the right rate to support the growth and fundraising needs. A. Torti confirmed that internal resources are adequate. Many team members provide support across departments (administration and external relations, for example) which allows OCS to scale up for this school year. OCS will need to hire more administrative staff in the next 5 years.

W. Akhtar suggested the board discuss the fundraising plan at a future meeting. The Board will hold a special session prior to the regular September meeting. 

This topic was visited very briefly, due to time constraints.  A separate session of the Board may be called prior to the September meeting to discuss fundraising needs and plans in detail.

Staff reminded Board members about the Open Houses on August 30th, for OCS families and on September 30th, for community members.