No public comment.

• Jeff L. reviewed the Board goals established during the August Retreat.
• A tracking document was created to monitor progress on the goals throughout the year.
• Goals discussed included:
  • Formalize a succession plan for the school leader. Jeff L. will begin working with Ginger on this.
  • Formalize a Board succession plan. This is already underway.
  • Increase the number of high-quality Board members to 12 while representing diverse backgrounds and needed skill sets.
  • Increase the school community’s understanding of the Board, measured through parent/staff surveys.
  • Establish strategic community/business partnerships.
  • Develop and implement a new trustee onboarding plan.
  • Increase the Board’s understanding of key assessment/data tools.
  • Maintain at least 80% full Board attendance.
• Board norms, commitments, and additional goals from the retreat were also included in the tracking document.
• Documents will be saved in BoardOnTrack for future reference. 

• Jeff L. created a spreadsheet to track attendance and plans to share an update each month.
• Attendance has been almost entirely full so far.
• Board is currently on track toward the goal of having full attendance at least 80% of the time.

• Ginger shared that the school year is off to a great start overall.
• She noted that many unexpected day-to-day issues come up between Board meetings and plans to continue emailing the Board when significant situations arise so members have basic awareness.
• Beginning of year DIBELS and STAR testing has been completed.
• DIBELS results are trending approximately 10 percentage points higher than this time last year, particularly among returning students in grades 1–8.
• Discussed continuing to emphasize the partnership between school and home, including encouraging families to continue reading with students.
• MTSS improvements are underway as part of the Strategic Plan, with Niamh spearheading the work.
• Attendance continues to be a focus, including chronic absenteeism, tardiness, and frequent early dismissals.
  • June has been working on improved tracking systems.
  • Teachers and social workers are involved.
  • The approach is intended to be supportive rather than disciplinary, including identifying barriers preventing students from consistently attending the full school day.
• New security cameras are installed and have already been useful in reviewing incidents.
• MCAS/accountability data appears to be moving in a positive direction, although there is still room for improvement.
• The school is addressing an increase in racist, hateful, and discriminatory language among students.
  • Families were reminded of school expectations.
  • Advisors, SEL teachers, classroom teachers, and morning meetings are being used to educate students and reinforce expectations.
• Sprinkler work resulted in approximately $15,000 in unexpected costs.
  • Previous deficiencies had reportedly been documented for several years.
  • Required work has now been completed.
  • There was discussion about whether the extent of the work may allow it to be treated as a capital expense.
  • Additional unexpected HVAC and electrical expenses also occurred.
  • Overall, the building is now in good standing with inspections. 
• Family Ambassador Program
  • 14 families volunteered as ambassadors.
  • 11 new families signed up to participate.
  • Ambassadors attended events such as the Popsicle Party, Open Houses, and Wildflower Block Party.
  • The next major opportunity will be enrollment events in January.
• Two Open Houses have been held and were well attended.
• HVM participated in the Wildflower Montessori Block Party.
• Screenagers screening scheduled for October 6 at 6pm.
  • HVM purchased the rights to screen the documentary.
  • Focus is helping families understand technology, AI, screen use, attention, and related issues.
  • Haverhill Public Schools, River Valley, YMCA, Boys & Girls Club, Library, and others have been invited.
• The Hive
  • First session had four offerings that filled to capacity.
  • 55 unique families / 61 children participated.
  • Financial assistance was provided to all eight students who requested it.
  • Session 2 expanded from four offerings to six due to demand.
  • Cooking continues to be particularly popular.
• Math Support
  • Two additional staff members are providing small-group math support through both push in and pull out instruction.
• Enrollment
  • Capacity is 306 students; current enrollment is 307.
  • The additional student provides some protection against withdrawals.
  • Waitlist is approximately 313 students.
  • Discussion included reasons students withdrew, including moves, need for a different educational environment, and families selecting neighborhood schools.
• Faculty Updates
  • Gene was hired as the second-shift custodian and has received very positive feedback.
  • HVM now has three substitute nurses.
  • Patsy Murphy resigned and was replaced by Olivia O’Brien.
  • Rob Stevenson resigned in September; John Notaro was hired to fill the facilities/custodial role starting September 29th.
  • Facilities responsibilities were reorganized. June will continue handling the management/coordination side of facilities, while John will focus on facilities and custodial work.
  • A UE assistant resigned and a replacement candidate has been identified, start date TBD.
  • Ginger has been checking in individually with new faculty about how they are settling in.
• Grade-level Dean structure is going well, particularly in Upper Elementary and Middle School. Erin has been especially helpful with investigations and parent communication.

• Ginger’s proposed goals were reviewed:
  • Academic Excellence/MTSS: Implement a comprehensive school-wide MTSS framework by June 2027.
  • Student Academic Growth: Increase academic growth in grades 1–6 using STAR and MCAS student growth percentiles, targeting an average SGP above 50%.
  • Financial Sustainability: Maintain a balanced budget and at least 60 days cash on hand.
  • Enrollment/Retention/Community Engagement: Strengthen family engagement, onboarding, Family Ambassador programming, and retention.
  • Student Well-Being/Belonging: Improve attendance, reduce chronic absenteeism, administer a student climate survey, and provide family education activities.
• Board discussed the proposed 95% student retention measure and how withdrawals outside the school’s control should be treated.
• General agreement that retention is useful to monitor even when individual circumstances may explain why a student leaves.
• Andy raised the question of staff, noting that none of the proposed goals directly addressed staff satisfaction, development, or retention.
• Discussion included potentially using staff survey results and retention of high-performing staff as measures.
• Ginger was asked to develop an additional or revised goal that quantifies staff engagement/satisfaction for discussion at the next meeting.
• Board was comfortable with the remaining goals, final approval will wait until the staff-related goal is addressed.

• Annual Report was submitted by the leadership team on time.
• Noted that the process was completed efficiently.
• No major questions were raised.

• Special Education Executive Summary from the previous year was presented for Board review.
• No questions or concerns were raised.

• Natali is serving as the Faculty Liaison this year.
• Discussed developing a simple format/template for communicating Board information back to staff.
• Discussed possibly including a monthly staff question/survey.
• Goal would be to encourage regular staff feedback and identify potential issues before the annual survey.
• Board discussed starting with something light/fun to get staff accustomed to participating.

• Crescent Farm PTO event scheduled for the following evening and planned to take place rain or shine.
• Going forward, Foundation and PTO updates will also be requested for Board meetings.

• Board succession planning is one of the Board’s annual goals.
• Jeff L. created a draft succession plan using resources from Robert Carpenter (Massachusetts Charter Public School Association).
• Discussed maintaining current descriptions for Board officers and committee chairs.
• Committee on Trustees will review existing descriptions to ensure they are accurate and current.
• Discussed creating a Board Composition/Skills Matrix to identify current strengths and gaps.
  • Board generally felt the matrix was useful.
  • Finance, legal, and facilities were identified as particularly important skill areas.
  • Each Board member will complete the matrix before the next meeting and return it to Jeff L.
  • Results will be used to identify future recruitment priorities.
• Discussed the process for identifying, vetting, and onboarding new Board candidates.
  • Current informal process generally includes meeting with the Chair/Vice Chair and Ginger and observing a Board or committee meeting.
  • Committee on Trustees will further review and formalize this process.
• Discussed ensuring Board composition reflects the diversity of the school community and potentially incorporating demographic information into planning.
• Board terms/bylaws
  • Julia Bowen noted that HVM’s six-year maximum Board service may be shorter than other organizations, where 8–10 years may be allowed.
  • Current structure is three two-year terms.
  • Board discussed whether allowing additional terms could help retain members with valuable institutional knowledge.
  • No decision was made, discussion will continue at a future meeting.
• Additional bylaw items to review:
  • Board/officer job descriptions.
  • Responsibilities of each committee.
  • Clarification of the Clerk role.
  • Treasurer role remains necessary, Jeff is currently serving as interim Treasurer until another qualified person is identified.

No new business.

• Jeff H. discussed Paul, Scott, and Jeff H. met September 8.
• Initial meeting focused on restarting the committee and clarifying its role.
• Reviewed relevant bylaw definitions and materials from the August Retreat.
• Future work will include Board recruitment, succession planning, and onboarding.
• Committee will meet on the first Thursday of each month at 6:30pm.
• Next meeting: October 1.

• Hannah discussed, Kevin and Nick were introduced to the different types of academic/accountability data the Board reviews and how the committee has historically used the data.
• MCAS scores are no longer embargoed, so committee members now have access to the data platform.
• Next meeting will focus on co-designing the October data presentation.

• Hannah discussed that Development work is going very well.
• Members have participated in/hosted three networking/community events, including:
  • Wildflower Block Party.
  • Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce event.
  • Haverhill Chamber of Commerce event hosted at HVM.
• Annual Fund has officially launched.
• Discussed the importance of 100% Board participation in the Annual Fund.
  • Amount donated is less important than demonstrating full Board participation.
  • Some grantmakers specifically look for 100% Board participation when considering funding.
• Staff participation in the Annual Fund is also being encouraged.
• Rock & Roll Bingo planning was discussed, follow-up will occur regarding committee involvement and communications.
• Jeff H. discussed opportunities to incorporate student created artwork into future fundraising events.
• HVM continues working to strengthen relationships with Wildflower Montessori schools and other community organizations.

• Jeff L. discussed the First financial review of the fiscal year.
• Overall, there were no significant surprises or concerns.
• There had been concern going into the review because of unexpected facilities expenses.
• Current target spending level was approximately 17% of the annual budget.
• Most categories are currently below that target.
• Some early year salary savings resulted from employees beginning in August rather than July.
• Admin supplies were higher, which is expected at the beginning of the school year.
• Audit expenses are currently higher because the annual audit is underway.
• Audit is progressing well with no major findings reported at this point.
• Auditor presentation is anticipated next month.
• Facilities spending was approximately 19% compared with the 17% target, largely due to necessary sprinkler, electrical, HVAC, and other building work.
• Despite those unexpected costs, financial metrics remain healthy.
• DESE expects approximately 60 days cash on hand, HVM currently has approximately 120 days.
• HVM is considered low risk across the relevant financial categories.
• Next month, Board will review the overall financial process and clarify the roles of Ginger, the Board, Finance Committee, June, and other parties.
• Longer-term discussion:
  • Board should begin thinking about future major capital expenses such as eventual roof replacement.
  • A Board member with facilities expertise could help with long-term lifecycle and capital planning.

• Next Board meeting: October 22.
• Anticipated items include:
  • Accountability/data presentation.
  • Financial process/roles review.
  • Accountability terminology/glossary.
  • Continued discussion of Head of School goals and staff engagement.
  • Continued Board succession/bylaw discussion.