Ms. Davis welcomed public comment in the chat.

There was no public comment.

Ms. Vargas provided a marketing update.  Expansion project information has been added to the Kestrel Heights' website, which includes construction updates, FAQs and parent & family engagement information.  Social media ads with a groundbreaking video and athletic ads. There are seats available in 6th and 7th grades, so marketing is focused on middle school. The Facebook page reached nearly 9,000 people.  There are also exit surveys going out for those students who have left or declined their seats.  At this time, 478 students have indicated their plans to enroll for the 2022-23 academic year. Open House and additional events are being planned for the new school year as well.

Ms. Vargas shared that there are 43 scholars who remain in Hawks at Home Academy. There has been no change from month to month.  There has been no feedback from families about the likelihood that Hawks at Home will not be offered in the new school year.

Mr. Matthews and Ms. Clement provided an update.  The City of Durham did release the stormwater permit on Friday.  Duke Energy has agreed to move the private energy line, and work has kept going while the school was waiting on the stormwater permit.  The school made a change order for additional outlets in classrooms, and the school made color selections.  The foundation comes next.

Ms. Villegas said that 40-50 first, second and third graders have been invited to attend the Read to Achieve Camp, and Ms. Bowie will be the camp coordinator.                         

Mr. Touchette provided an update on Camp Kestrel, which is the school's free summer day camp for Kestrel families.  The camp will feature a couple of hours of reading and math in the morning, followed by sports and arts in the afternoon.  Mr. Price is returning as camp director, and 64 students have registered so far.  The registration is also open to pre-kindergarten students who will be attending Kestrel in the fall of 2022.  Mr. Price added that there will be some assessments for students as well.

Mr. Touchette provided an update on the quarterly data wall and sharing it with Kestrel families.  Disciplinary referrals are included in this quarterly data, and Mr. Touchette wanted to share his data analysis of these disciplinary referrals (those where a teacher asks for support from a building principal or the Dean of Students).  The number for the third quarter was 113 referrals, most of which seems to occur in the 4th grade and in the middle school grades, with 8th grade having the highest numbers of referrals.  The staff is responding by putting together incentives for better behavior, developing plans for each student, and supporting teachers that may need additional support.  Ms. Jackson and Ms. Villegas shared their plans for moving forward by teaching behavior expectations and being consistent from staff to staff and place to place.

Ms. Jackson shared her Executive Director report.  The administrative team met with the kindergarten teaching team and discussed with them the importance of their role in Kestrel's success.  They discussed how to engage with their students and their families with kindergarten screening and during the summer.  Enrollment is trending up.  

From an EpiCenter reporting, the fire inspection has been completed along with grievance policy.  Kestrel applied for a transportation grant, and the school is eligible to be reimbursed for 65% of transportation costs up to $100,000.

Ms. Jackson shared the monthly budget report.  In the report, there is a $92,000 deficit that will continue to be reduced as the State of NC provides funds to Kestrel. Ms. Jackson also will work with Charter School Partners to reclassify some expenses are in the correct budgets for the grants.

Ms. Jackson shared the proposed 2022-23 budget that includes the adjusted salaries that the Board approved in the March meeting.  The Board will review and vote on this in the next meeting.

Ms. Jackson shared the information on Title 1 program documents (Parent, School and Home Compact and the Parent and School Engagement Policy).  Ms. Jackson also shared that Kestrel had completed our federal program monitoring, and she noted that there was only one minor finding, which the school has resolved.  The Board can approve these documents next month. Ms. Callahan shared that the staff has made these documents more user-friendly for parents.

Ms. Jackson noted that the school will be releasing Requests for Proposals for several services:

transportation, maintenance and cleaning, technology and attorney.

The school will not be issuing an RFP for cafeteria services because the school is in the middle of the application for the National School Lunch Program, and we need to keep our current caterer for at least one year.

Mr. Powe provided an update on the Academic subcommittee.  The subcommittee was not having a lot of success in hearing back from companies, so they decided to switch gears and is going to focus on coding at Camp Kestrel.

Ms. Callahan provided an update on the policy manual and Student Handbook and Code of Conduct.  Those completed drafts are included in the agenda packet.  The Board will review them and vote on them next month.

Ms. Buckholz shared the survey data from parents and staff about making masks optional. Board members shared their comments and experiences with masks and masking policies.

Ms. Davis reported that the Board discussed salary adjustments for the school counselor positions as well as a recommendation for an Exceptional Children's teacher.  The Board also discussed a possible leasing agreement.