Recommend that a vote be made on paying the bills.  Reports attached to the board packet.


03-2018 FY18 Financials - EC.pdf
03-2018 Schedule of Bills - EC.pdf

The total of schedule of bills for East Chicago is -621,974.79

03-2018 FY18 Financials - Gary.pdf
03-2018 Schedule of Bills - Gary.pdf

Recommend that a vote be made to pay the bills in Gary.  Financial reports attached to the Board packet. 
The total schedule of bills in Gary are -1,842,854.63




 

Financial Report for July-March 2018
Both Schools
Title I technology purchase orders are being created over the next few weeks for all the schools.  LANWI current cash on hand is 38 days.
LANWI current cash on hand is 38 days.
East Chicago
Title IV technology equipment purchase has arrived and first reimbursement has arrived.
SDLF loan has been paid.  Cash-on-hand is at 25 days. Cash-on-hand projection for end of year is 45 days.
Cash-on-hand is at 25 days.
Cash-on-hand projection for end of year is 45 days.
Gary
Graduation and Senior celebration purchase orders have been created.
First insurance payment for the water damage has arrived and a check will be cut to Serv-Pro shortly. Cash-on-hand is at 42 days. Cash-on-hand projection for end of year is 46 days.
Cash-on-hand is at 42 days.
Cash-on-hand projection for end of year is 46 day.
 

Yvette Irons-Johnson asked the question:  What is the amount disbursed for Enterprise Rental Car.
Sarah Gallagher stated that this is transportation for three students, one from East Chicago and two from the Upper Academy.  The school is using a rental car to transport the children to their home schools because they are foster children who have moved out of their district and  the State requires that the school provides transportation.  This amount is being billed back to Title I funds.  This is only a temporary fix until other arrangements are made.  It was also stated that there are plans to look into obtaining a van for the school's transportation that can be used. 
Yvette Irons-Johnson also inquired about the credit card purchases. 
Sarah Gallagher stated that the credit cards are used for purchases for things that a company will not accept a personal check.   For example, students had a field trip to the movies and that was paid with the credit card. It was also used for the Athletic Banquet.  There is one credit card for each school.  The Operations Manager holds the cards.

In the case where there are not candidates to replace the
Director(s) whose term has expired, if the Director consents, the term will be
extended until a replacement is elected. (April 2018)

This change in the By-laws will be presented to Ball State for approval. 

Amina Payne has completed all necessary paperwork to join the board.  She has visited all campuses. 

Questions Posed to Sarah Gallagher
Academic Excellence Committee March 2018
Questions: What is the timeline for development of the academic goals for the 2018-2019 school year?

1. I like to prioritize working on this with you all at the April or May meeting. Ideally, these will align with BSU’s expectations and also with the IDOE state report card. The state report card is currently undergoing a process of revision. I would be happy to share the current proposal released by the IDOE at the April Committee meeting and then potentially work with you all on confirming goals at the May meeting.
2. Since it appears stability as it relates to administration/faculty is one of the key factors to increasing the students’ academic success, what is the goal for making sure this goal is achieved
   Yes, leadership stability is a definite area of focus for me and for our region. We believe that we will achieve this goal by making a deliberate effort to grow our principals and leaders (those who feel that they are increasingly successful in their work tend to want to stay). We also believe that it is imperative that we consistently tap the pulse of our leaders to ensure they are satisfied and committed to Lighthouse. Alyse (Lewis) Nicholson (our regional Director of Talent) has been actively helping me discern the leaders’ commitment to staying with us. Alyse and the principals have had similar conversations with the APs and DTLs.
   That said, there is a possible leadership shift pending for CPA. This would be based on enrollment and budgetary shifts related to the possible transition of the 8th grade. Dr. Bly has been actively thinking and planning for this possibility.
   Finally, Ms. Jackson does not have an AP/DTL this year (she has the hybrid teacher-leader model) and she would like to move back to having a dedicated AP/DTL next year, so we are actively searching for this candidate.

A few more concerns were discussed. 
3.   What are the goals for improving test scores of the students who are scoring in the lower percentile?
 Students in the lowest percentiles receive a variety of supports at K2, including pull out support to increase phonemic                 awareness, fluency and comprehension as well as additional push in support during regular instruction. Students who do not make progress are considered for special education.
Our daily instruction at East Chicago and 3-7 includes a “SUCCESS” period of approximately 50 minutes daily to support each student with instruction aligned to the needs their NWEA tests show. Students are grouped by level and provided targeted instruction according to their needs.
This is an area of growth for CPA. Right now, we have prioritized our students who are in low percentiles and who are struggling to pass the ECAs and , of course, those who have IEPs. Students with IEPs get support as defined by their IEPs. Students who do not have IEPs but still need to pass ECAS are enrolled in daily “lab” courses in reading and math. These courses tailor instruction to the students’ current level of ability and work to “grow” them. Once ISTEP is over, we will also plan to shift the work of our interventionists (who are currently working to support students just below ISTEP proficiency) to full time work with students in the lowest percentiles. Next year, we plan to reduce class size and/or student teacher ratio for these students and ensure they are enrolled in lab courses focused on growth.
4. What are the goals for increasing the number of students who are receiving college credit?
Interestingly, the state recognizes us currently for having a lot of our students currently accessing dual credit (~35%). This enables us to get “full credit” on the state report card for dual credit participation. That said, we know that dual credit participation increases high school GPA, increases the likelihood of college admission and persistence to college graduation, and greatly reduces the cost of a degree for our students. Therefore, our goal is to increase the number of students receiving college credit aggressively within the next 5 years and to work towards becoming a certified Early College program. We submitted the Lilly Endowment Counseling grant today in hopes of securing funding that would dramatically increase scope and participation in dual credit immediately. The Lilly Grant is exceptionally competitive, so we are conservatively panning for the most fiscally conservative way to do this work, which is to have dual certified instructors on the LCPA campus. This can be accomplished by hiring or supporting current staff to become certified (which we are working on) OR, in NWI, by allocating “Faculty on Loan” from Ivy Tech. Our plan for next year is to have 4 Lighthouse staff members and an additional 4 Faculty on Loan teaching these courses at LCPA. With 8 dual credit courses available on campus each semester, will move from having 3 students (last year)with “sophomore status” by graduation day to having 30 “sophomore status” graduates by the end of the 2018-2019 school year. Our goal is to get to a place where 60-80% of seniors graduate with dual credit by graduation within the next 5 years. While our ultimate goal is to have our students attending college courses at local colleges, etc, this will be a long term goal since it incurs individual tuition costs per student as well as a lot of cost and logistics around busing. We will get there, but it will take us a bit more time.
5.  How are the IPads used to increase social and emotional well-being of students?
    iPads have been primarily used for academic purposes. I am not sure whether you all are asking this question because we received iPads for East Chicago primary level students through the Title IV Part A grant. If so, the Title IV Part A is associated with “well rounded” educational opportunities for students that include social-emotional well being as well as technology literacy. The iPads are meant to support technology literacy. Other parts of the Title IV Part A grant addressed social emotional supports for students in the middle school years.

Dr. Kay McDuffie introduced Dr. Ryan Carpenter who spoke about Board Financial Oversight.  Complete training can be found at Charterschooldevelopment.com

Sarah Gallagher gave the following report:

We continue to implement our curriculum, with special tweaking made to ensure our students are
prepared for success on ISTEP Part 2, ECA testing and NWEA.
The NWI instructional leadership team (principals, Dr. Adell and Sarah Gallagher) are in the early phases
of planning the professional development scope and sequence for our to-be-hired and returning teachers
that maximizes the impact of our early release Wednesdays. We are also working to ensure that our plan
for next year allows our strongest teachers to collaborate with one another and continue to develop their
craft.
We are also exploring some competitive grant opportunities to bring professional development directly
from the authors of our curricula math and ELA to our teachers in the upcoming school year.
We are continuing to implement data-driven PLC jointly led by leaders and teachers. Principals are
having continuing dialogue around how to make these a powerful lever for teachers and their students and
are observing one another’s PLCs to identify and implement. Leaders are continuing to observe one
another’s PLCs and implement best practices.
Due to the rescheduling of one instructional day for the Gary campuses, we shifted gears and cancelled
the full day of family conferences on Friday, 4/6. Conferences were instead held in the evenings o Monday April 16, 2018 at 5:30 PM
Wednesday and Thursday, 4/4 and 4/5. We saw that attendance at conferences was not negatively impacted by this transition.

We are currently at 88% (ahead of expected pace) of seniors accepted to college and at $2.9M in
scholarships. Kudos to the College and Career Advising team at LCPA for their commitment and
persistence

Nakea Barksdale questions why were detentions and suspensions are so high.  Dr. Bly responded that every time a student was tardy they went to detention.  They have since changed this process.  Detentions have improved.  One way this has improved is by splitting the advisory hour to 25 minute intervals and then go to lunch.  The overlapping transition made for too many opportunities for students to move around. 

NWI – Operations Report (From Jerry Ballard)  The Operations report was presented by Lashawnda Noel
1. East Chicago – We have communicated to the parents that we will not be providing 9th grade
classes in East Chicago. We completed a full security review of the facility and are adding in
costs for some camera changes to the campus. We have begun the process of ordering ceiling
tiles to replace old or stained tiles. We are planning a major relighting project in the
gymnasium to commence during summer break.
2. K – 2 – We have received a quote for the installation of the four modulars and can
accommodate it within our budget. The only thing standing in the way is getting a quote for
installing an additional bathroom on the campus. We will know go no go on the project by
April 15th.
3. Gary Upper – We are in the process of getting other quotes for the replacement of the original
HVAC units as part of the summer project list.
4. Gary CPA – We successfully completed a majority of the repairs associated with the damage
caused by the sprinkler incident.
5. Miscellaneous – The Draft Budget for 18 – 19 is complete and we will be circulating it to the
Principals one last time prior to preparing it for Finance Committee and the Board.

NWI – Human Resources Report
1. Alyse (Lewis) Nicholson has been supporting us with identifying talent for the upcoming school
year. She has been working with local universities to access resume books and to have our
leaders/teachers recruit at a number of upcoming teacher fairs. She has also been working with
Teach For America and Teachers of Tomorrow to identify other emerging talent.
2. Alyse also facilitated an exceptional turn out for our first experienced teacher fair of the season
on Saturday, April 7. The principals have scheduled a number of follow up in-person interviews
and demo lessons at each campus as a result of this.
3. Sharon Lapire, of LHA Human Resources, has been helping us prepare for hiring season by
gathering regional data on actual salaries in Northwest Indiana for various positions and for
various years of experience. She will be helping us make sure our offers are competitive and
compelling (but that we are also spending our staffing budget well).

The following parents were in attendance:  Melania Sultan, Karen Spence.

Ms. Sultan spoke about the new TV in the hall and wanted to know what ever happened to her son completing a mural in the building.  Dr. Bly stated that he would have a one on one conversation with her at another time.
Ms. Spence wanted to thank Lighthouse Academy for allowing her daughter to attend the school from Kindergarten until the 12th grade.  Her daughter will be graduating this year.  She wanted to know if there was going to be something planned for those students who have attended Lighthouse Academy since Kindergarten.  Sarah Gallagher stated that there would be with plans to be announced. Ms. Spence also asked if there are plans to extend the grade to 8th at the primary building.  Sarah Gallagher stated that they are looking into that.  They are securing the modular for the additional space.  They are also researching how more additional teachers will be needed.  This all should be announced at the next board meeting.  Ms. Spence also stated that her daughter would also be graduating from IvyTech and has a full ride to IU Bloomington.  She is in the Honor Society, and she wants to be an attorney.   All congratulated her for a job well done.

Dr. Kay McDuffie spoke about the Luncheon at the Urban League.  She stated it was well attended by Lighthouse and the Dr. Bly is a representative on the Board of Directors.  The President and the Vice President of the Student Council at LCPA were also in attendance.

There was a vote to go into executive session to discuss personal matters.  The motion was made by LaShawn Heard and second by Nakia Lucas.  The motion passed.

The next meeting will be May 21, 2018, at 5:00pm at East Chicago, 3916 Pulaski, East Chicago, IN.