BELIEVE SCHOOLS, INC
Minutes
May Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday May 22, 2024 at 5:00 PM
Location
BELIEVE Circle City
Directors Present
A. Bennin (remote), A. Hervey, B. Akintomide, D. Dennis, H. Harshman, J. Fulk, P. Jones
Directors Absent
C. Glier, D. Bouie, L. Turner, M. Whitmire
Guests Present
K. Neal-Brannum (remote), T. Vonderheit (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Call the Meeting to Order
B.
Student Visit
C.
Attendance
D.
Approve March Minutes
II. School Updates
A.
Principal's Report
Academic Data
- Academic data (SAT) has not yet been released to share out. Updates to come at the next board meeting
Enrollment
- Principal AJA shared updates on 24-25 recruitment and enrollment numbers
- Round 1 scholars attended testing day in April. The next testing day is on June 1st
- Hervey inquired about # of PATH students currently enrolled
- Hervey inquired about how summer school enrollment can help with SY 24-25
- KNB shared Enroll Indy updates
Hiring
- ELA/ELL position filled
- DOO position filled
- Hiring event occured on 5/21. 3 offers being extended
- Vacant positions: Math, Science, Bus Driver and SPED
Finance
- Principal AJA shared updates on finance/grants and the gaps currently in the space
- AJA highlighted Theo Brannum completing some contract work
B.
Budget Approval
C.
IPS Board Meeting Update
Executive Director KNB shared that BCCHS presented at the IPS Board Meeting in April. This presentation was focused around BCCHS joining the IPS Innovation School Network.
A draft contract is in the works with a lawyer. This contract will be shared with the board later this year to review.
III. Committee Updates
A.
Governance
In the last Governance Commitee meeting, the committee reviewed and discussed board member terms. One-on-one meetings will take place this summer to confirm positions.
The committee discussed new board member recruits, board structures, and board onboarding plans.
Board Chair Dr. Jones reviewed the proposed Board Structure and Duties document.
B.
Academic Excellence
No major updates to share. Committee Chair will review proposed schedule and map out academic data share outs and dates.
C.
Finance
Teagan Vonderheit shared updates from the finance committee.
D.
Development
The board talked through different ways to better fundraise for specific student programs (graduation, Beyond BELIEVE, school trips, etc)
Action Item: Development Committee to draft a policy around mandatory annual board contributions and giving.
IV. Closing Items
A.
Next meeting
Next meeting will be in August. We'll have a board retreat in July. The proposed date for the board retreat is July 17th.
Two scholars attended the meeting to talk about Puerto Rico Trip.