None at this time.

No discussion of the financials.

No discussion of these contracts.

Bill reviewed the Executive Director Memo. Sally asked about and Bill explained some of the differences with MCAS assessments this year, including a shortened test and some students testing remotely. The Board discussed the pros and cons of the MCAS tests and the feeling at Springfield Prep that it’s an assessment that helps us gauge how well we’ve done as a school and where we can improve our instruction.

He mentioned that COVID cases are very low currently, even with easing of mask restrictions outdoors, and there is no evidence of in-school transmission.

He discussed the planning for our summer program and that an experienced teacher will be leading the program as Academic Director. 

He shared that we expect to have high staff retention going into the next school year but have made key hires and continue recruiting as we grow. 

Bill discussed the culture and discipline working group which was formed based on input from the interviews that Karima did earlier in the year. He shared that we’ve completed 8 hours with the working group and that the conversations were helpful to align on what is actually expected in behavior and culture-setting vs. what was understood as the expectations.

Anne shared that she similar situations in her work with early education and that to determine the best path forward, they have grounded their work in what is developmentally appropriate, what is best for the child, and what the goal of the practice is (i.e., what are we trying to teach or achieve).

Doug asked how this work will translate into action items or changes at the school. Bill and the Instructional Leadership Team will put together a recap of what was discussed at the sessions, create proposed changes over the summer, and get input from Grade Level Chairs before making any changes for next year.
 

Marianne Estey joined the meeting at this time (6:00 PM). She is a member of the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SPED-PAC). She is the parent of a child in our Kindergarten class. She shared that Kindergarten has been great for her son, and that it was tough in the beginning during remote learning but that she received support from the school on how to help him succeed. Now that we are back in person, she has seen that his confidence has grown and that his teachers push him to achieve at his highest level. 

She shared that at SPED-PAC meetings, she and other parents have been most concerned about how to help their students focus during this challenging year, and that Ms. Romero shared helpful ideas with the group. 

The Board and Marianne discussed the structure of the supports provided to her son in the classroom, the structure of the SPED-PAC, and the balance of structure and autonomy in the classroom for Special Ed students. 

Doug asked if there were areas of improvement. Marianne shared that she wishes there was more communication between her and the teachers so that she could be more consistent at home with the strategies they are using in school. 

Anne asked how she found out about Springfield Prep. She received a flyer in the mail before her son was eligible, and another the following year. She attended an open house at SPCS and said that she applied right after that event and hoped that he would get accepted in the lottery. 

Bill asked if Marianne had any questions or concerns for the school or the Board. Marianne asked about after-school programming with the lens of college preparation. Meghan shared that we will be able to offer much more in our new space, including tutoring and other extracurriculars like sports and arts.

Sally asked for any suggestions on increasing parent involvement in SPED-PAC. Marianne felt that word of mouth and relationships with the school and among parents is the best way to increase participation. Bill shared that having a full-time Director of Student Supports next year will hopefully help with this as well. 

Marianne left the meeting at this time (6:20 PM)

Bill discussed the proposal to change the dismissal time to 3:30 PM Monday to Thursday. He shared that our school is an extended day school, but that the length of the school day has created challenges for our teachers and staff to meet family and out-of-work responsibilities, which can make the retention of experienced teachers difficult. He also noted that families and the school have recognized the need for after-school and extracurricular programming for students’ development and growth. He shared that ⅔ of families responding to the survey to date preferred a 3:30 time (vs. ~⅓ preferring the original 4 PM dismissal). 

Alex shared that he is not in favor of this change, given that we are trying to recover from learning loss during remote learning during the pandemic. He shared that other charter schools have longer school weeks than this proposal and still are able to participate in after-school activities.

Doug shared that he was more concerned about the quality of the instructional time vs. the amount of time. Jason was concerned that we would lose the most experienced teachers to schools with fewer hours, which would impact the quality of instruction greatly. Bill noted the costs of turnover to the school in training and time when we lose teachers, as well as the support of 60%+ of parents.

Alex noted his concern that if we make this change, it will be difficult to ever go back to a 4 PM dismissal if we find that learning success is impacted. Meghan shared that Achievement First is making a similar change, as are other networks.

Bill discussed the proposed changes to the Board bylaws, as outlined in the attachments.

• Change 1: To allow Officers to serve up to five (5) terms of one (1) year, replacing the current maximum of three (3) one-year terms.
• Change 2: To update the school address and the title of the leader of the school throughout the bylaws. 
• Change 3: To explicitly allow for electronic means of meeting notice and communication, where permitted by Massachusetts Open Meeting Law G.L. c. 30A, §§ 18-25.
• Change 4: To remove the 15-day notification clause for future bylaws amendment proposals

The Board did not name any concerns or questions related to these updates. These changes will be up for a vote at the next meeting, pending adjustments recommended by DESE or counsel.

Meghan discussed the building memo and that progress is moving very quickly and the project is approaching completion. There is no concern about meeting the substantial completion timeline and no change orders for Board approval at this time. Amy asked about the definition of Substantial Completion and Meghan noted that inspections have been happening along the way and we don’t expect any issue with occupancy in July. Jason shared that we are likely to get a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy with a timeline for any changes required and doesn’t expect any issues with moving in as planned.
 

The next scheduled board meeting is on Wednesday, 6/16/21 at 5:45 PM.