KNB shared that things are going well. Scholars have responded well during virtual world. Our students are showing up to class -- our average daily attendance ranges from 94%-98%. This speaks to teacher involvement and investment. The Operations team has been persistent in tracking students down as well. 

Scholars are showing up and is present. Work completion is an issue -- that we're also hearing from other schools. The Mayor stated schools can reopen January 4th. BCC will resume back in school January 15th. Semester II will begin on January 19th. Scholars with a GPA below 2.0 must report to school on January 4th in order to prepare for finals. 

KNB opened this up for questions, comments, and concerns. Board Chair raised the question on current daily in-person attendance. KNB shared 3-8 kids show up in person each day. They are in their own classroom isolated. Staff is on rotation. The building is shut down on Friday. The building is open 7:45 AM - 6:00 PM. Food pick-up occurs on Tuesday and Thursday. Board chair questioned productivity for kids coming in person. Students who are coming in-person are not doing any worse -- they are maintaining. They will receive some credits. 

KNB stated we will wait until 1/15/21 to give 14 days of isolation. BCC had another positive COVID case. The staff member had a fever and went home. The positive is that it did not spread to any further team members. Our procedures are working in the building! 


 

We received a grant for $650,000 from Charter School Growth Fund. The first deposit will hit early 2021 and will spread across two years. This is game changing for the school. Enrollment targets and growth is heightened. The Mind Trust is actively working to acquire our facility. A fellow collegue has stepped in to provide support. One of the potential funders for the facility purchase is CSGF. CIES is asking Ivy Tech to back us 3 million for the purchase. TMT can come up with 300k to support. The building is only worth 3 million, and the proposed is sitting at 7 million. As of now, KNB's response has been no. Lease is solid for 5 years. Current lease is manageable with enrollment. MW has asked to participate in the next meeting. 

KNB opened the floor for questions for funding and facilities. 

Holiday Party planned for tomorrow -- COVID safe.

We did extend an offer to R.Ramos for ELL teacher position. We have not heard back from her yet. She currently lives in Texas and is looking to move back. She is struggling to find housing accomodations. She has not accepted yet. She formally taught at GWHS here locally before her move to Texas. 

Dr. raised the question around screen time for scholars. AJA acknowledged that most schools across the country are asynchrochous with start time shifting back to 9. Teachers voted for large class sizes with more class time. We now have four periods, lunch announcements, office hours -- 2 classes in the AM and two in PM. This new schedule has decreased by two hours. 

AJA expressed that teachers are not doing a full hour of stand and deliver courses. Some courses are strictly asynchrounous. Stand and deliver courses -- world history, math, and multicultural lit. Teachers are diversifying ways to engage with breakout rooms etc. 

BCC is partnered with Instruction Partners for virtual expectations and feedback. Engagement has improved across the board. 

 

Board Chair opened with the importance of board recruitment and introduced Michael Canada. 

Michael Canada proceeded to introduce himself and share a little bit about his background. 

Board Chair opened the floor for questions for M. Canada. No questions were raised. Board Chair requested a motion to approve Michael Canada. Motion to approve by T. Hughes and seconded by Courtney Crawley. 

Board Chair made the reminder that all board members have made a commitment to donate financially as you see fit. Board Chair sent a reminder to share with your larger network as well. Highlighting the difference BELIEVE is making to your network. 

Jennifer Fulk discussed the different ways to help the school through the Amazon Wish List. Fulk recommended sending it out to the network via email. KNB will include this in our end of year report. Day of Giving data was shared and largest donation to date came in as well. 

TV will share Amazon Smile information with the board. 

Reminder that committee goals should be shared with Board Chair and T. Hughes. 

Whitmire shared that there is no huge headline for the month which is a positive. Deficit is real until we reach student count and enrollment goals. Whitmire highlights we are ahead of where we thought we would be. 

No big time expenses were made in November. Waiting on the Charter Innovation Grant to hit the account. 

Goals for the Finance Committee: Budget for 2021-2022 school year. Biggest focus is enrollment and recruitment -- highlighting that we need to hit the 150 target goal to be sustainable. Outside funders will drop off after year 3. It's critical to get a lot of kids in the building 21-22. 

Our monthly basic grant is equivalent to our monthly expenses. Our audit came back clean from the OEI. Our cash reserve exceeded their expectations. 

 

One goal for Governance Committee was to put together a Board Calendar for yearly and monthly events -- recurring happenings. Important school dates, evaluations, tax filings, and reporting obligations. 

Glier will ask Hughes to circulate the calendar for feedback. 

Next meeting is January 20th at 5PM.