Explorations Charter School
Minutes
Board Retreat - Summer 2024
Date and Time
Saturday August 3, 2024 at 9:00 AM
Location
The ARC - Litchfield County
314 Main Street
Torrington CT 06790
Directors Present
Bryan Raydenbow, Ginni Block, Hilary Paden, Kali Blakeslee, Lori Noto, Robert Peterson (remote), Sarah Annis Haynes
Directors Absent
Kristin Peterson
Guests Present
Greg Skinner, Jill Johnson, Joe White
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Greetings / personal news
II. Appointment of New Board Member/Resignation of Board Member
A.
New Member to Board: Parent, Brian Raydenbow
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Lori Noto |
Aye
|
| Robert Peterson |
Aye
|
| Kristin Peterson |
Absent
|
| Sarah Annis Haynes |
Aye
|
| Kali Blakeslee |
Aye
|
| Ginni Block |
Aye
|
| Hilary Paden |
Aye
|
| Bryan Raydenbow |
Abstain
|
B.
Resignation of Kris Peterson due to time constraints
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Ginni Block |
Aye
|
| Lori Noto |
Aye
|
| Kali Blakeslee |
Aye
|
| Bryan Raydenbow |
Aye
|
| Kristin Peterson |
Absent
|
| Hilary Paden |
Aye
|
| Robert Peterson |
Aye
|
| Sarah Annis Haynes |
Aye
|
III. Renewal / Corrective Action Plan Review & Discussion
A.
Meeting with Rob, Irene, Melissa & Shakira - 7/26/24
Jill felt that their was a good discussion with the state.
Discussion was held in regards to Course Offerings, Plan of Course Study, Float teacher, Choice units. Discussion of offering a Chemistry class which is unable to be offered at this time.
This coming year, there will be the first year of EdAdvance's Partner in College/Career Partnership. Discussion held of alternatives for Chemistry class. Discussion held of other locations for school.
IV. Discussion: General
A.
Board on Track
Discussion held to continue using Board of Track. Hoping to get a grant from the bank to cover the cost of the program.
B.
Meeting Dates/Times
Board will continue to meet 3rd Tuesday of the Month
C.
Officer Elections
Officer elections are to be held the last meeting before summer.
Officer elections will be held at the August Meeting.
Officer Nominations:
Robert Peterson: Chair
Sarah Haynes: Co-Chair, Secretary
Ginni Block: Treasurer
D.
Dual Credit
If a student decides to take a Community College class, that student can now receive dual credit for both College and Highschool. Previously if a student took a college course, they were not allowed to receive high school credit for that class.
Incoming freshman, need 25 credits to graduate.
E.
Staff updates
Math teacher, John Stepney just took his Praxis. Waiting on score
Currently interviewing for the art teacher position. Sara Gubetta will not be returning.
Greg Skinner will be teaching CPI training this fall.
V. Discussion of 2023-2024 Data
A.
Chronic Absenteeism
Ended the 2023/2024 school year with 37.3%
Board continued to discuss attendance issues. Explorations is a school of choice. Discussed that students would have to agree to a 90 day probation period for attendance and discipline. Failure to comply with attendance may result in a referral to DCF.
B.
Discipline
Discipline rates continue to be low thanks to the hard work of the administration.
C.
Academic
Discussion tabled.
D.
Special Meetings
We need to schedule separate meetings to discuss the following:
- Bylaws
-Employee Handbook
-Update definition of Treasurer
VI. Committee Updates
A.
Policy
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Sarah Annis Haynes |
Aye
|
| Kristin Peterson |
Absent
|
| Lori Noto |
Aye
|
| Ginni Block |
Aye
|
| Hilary Paden |
Aye
|
| Robert Peterson |
Aye
|
| Bryan Raydenbow |
Aye
|
| Kali Blakeslee |
Aye
|
Additional policies tabled to August meeting
B.
Finance
Jill, Bob and Ginni met with Christine Spencer, a grant consultant. Christine would create a 1 pager about the school and help us find grants that we could apply for.
Discussion held
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Sarah Annis Haynes |
Aye
|
| Kali Blakeslee |
Aye
|
| Bryan Raydenbow |
Aye
|
| Robert Peterson |
Aye
|
| Hilary Paden |
Aye
|
| Kristin Peterson |
Absent
|
| Ginni Block |
Aye
|
| Lori Noto |
Aye
|
C.
CEO Support & Evaluation
Board reviewed Director's goals and tweaked Goal #3.
2024/25 Evaluation to be sent out March 1st, due either March 30th or April 15th.
Discussion of Goal #4, no changes made.
Lori asked the board to send any edit suggestions for next years evaluation.
Board discussed when to send out the evaluation - plan is to send 2024-2025 evaluation on March 1st and potentially due March 30 or April 15.
D.
Personnel
No Formal Discussion
E.
By-Law Committee
Board discussed needing a separate meeting to develop and finalize new ByLaws (Board Policy and Procedure Manual)
Board members shared personal updates and what they did this summer.