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Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy

Minutes

Board Meeting

Date and Time

Friday January 4, 2019 at 8:00 AM

Location

7 Fatima Drive, Cumberland, RI

Directors Present

D. McKee, E. Dickson, J. Almond, J. Diossa, J. Giraldo, J. Silva, M. Gwynn, M. Magee, M. Zuluaga, W. Murray

Directors Absent

None

Guests Present

B. Dowd, C. Losea, M. DeMatteo, M. Torres, W. Masse

I. Opening Items

A.

Call the Meeting to Order

J. Diossa called a meeting of the board of directors of Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy to order on Friday Jan 4, 2019 at 8:04 AM.

B.

Record Attendance and Guests

II. Previous Business Items

A.

Charter Renewal Update

J. Chiappetta discussed that he has an embargoed document containing RIDE's recommendation to the Board of Education regarding BVP's charter renewal.  BVP has the opportunity to respond before the recommendation is presented to the Board of Education. Based on current information, it seems that the renewal could be done as six separate renewals (done at a school-by-school level) or as a single renewal (done at network/charter level). 

Upcoming important dates include:
  • Jan 14th: Board of Education Meeting to discuss recommendation
  • Jan 28th: Final vote on BVP's charter renewal

III. Executive Session

A.

Enter Executive Session

W. Murray made a motion to enter Executive Session.
J. Silva seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

§ 42-46-5 (5)  Real Property

C.

§ 42-46-5 (2) Litigation

D.

Exit Executive Session

W. Murray made a motion to exit Executive Session.
M. Magee seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

E.

Seal Minutes of Executive Session

J. Silva made a motion to seal the minutes of Executive Session.
M. Zuluaga seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

F.

Report out from Executive Session

The Board voted to support a resolution relative to real property.

IV. Closing Items

A.

Next Steps

Relative to Charter Renewal, the Board discussed the following next steps:
  • J. Chiappetta should craft a tactful response to the embargoed recommendation to submit by the January 8th deadline. This response should include an argument that BVP High School's recent rating as a two-star school conflicts with several pieces of performance data, and results from some inconsistent calculations and comparisons that determine growth data.
  • Response may include a request to strike any language relative to star ratings, as RI's rating system may be changed in the future making future comparisons difficult.
  • J. Chiappetta will share his response with the Board as an FYI via email once it has been drafted.
J. Almond made a motion to allow CEO J. Chiappetta to respond to RIDE's embargoed charter renewal recommendation.
D. McKee seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

Adjourn Meeting

J. Giraldo made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
J. Silva seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:59 AM.

Respectfully Submitted,
B. Dowd