The Board discussed the potential of seeking to enroll students in grade 10 in addition to grade 9. The Board considered the potential impact on academics, culture, MCAS, and how we are going to support students if City on a Hill moves in this direction. The Board considered historical enrollment practices at City on a Hill and what we could be doing to offer more access points for students.

Kevin Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, reviewed all elements of the CoaH Effect. The Board asked specific questions around the number of students suspensions, particularly around students at Dudley Square.

The Board inquired into the reasons for suspensions to confirm what types of incidents are leading to suspensions at Dudley. The Board confirmed that the majority of suspensions at Dudley were the result of student fights, rather than less serious behavior, and reviewed what the school is doing to reduce the number of student fights.

The Board also asked specific questions around college acceptance versus expected graduation rates and plans to help ensure that students are supported to reach graduation.  

Taylor also reported out on the City on a Hill Gala, which raised approximately $145,000, and named the need to continue working to raise more funds throughout the remainder of the year.

Kevin Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, shared a chart with the Board on progress made toward moving his "Big Rocks," which were the priorities identified at the August 2018 Board of Trustees Retreat. Taylor reiterated the theory of change that was introduced at the February 2019 Board of Trustees Retreat, which includes three levers that we need to pull to move improvement at our schools:

• Lever 1: Strengthening the Organization - Less revenue due to under-enrollment; option to correct is to right size the organization. 
• Lever 2: Fundraising - Philanthropy, currently have limited options; the only area that is really available to us would be a capital campaign, we are thinking through options to pursue this. 
• Lever 3: Improving Academic Results - Improve academic results in the short and the long term. 

Amber Donell, Chief Academic Officer, presented the schools' strategy to improve MCAS scores across the City on a Hill Network. The Board inquired about the feasibility of the goals provided in Donell's strategy, including whether the goals were comparable to charter peers and how it relates to long-term student achievement and growth.

Due to lack of time, this agenda item was tabled. 

Melisa Lemire, Chair, presented an update from the Governance Committee on the Board member recruitment process, which currently has two candidates in the pipeline. Lemire also discussed the Board's partnership with Latinos for Education and the timeline for bringing on a Board Fellow.

Callie Slocum, Chair, presented an update from the Development Committee which included a recap of the City on a Hill Gala. Slocum also noted that donations were up from last year, though the original goal was not met.

Mike Rosen, Chair, presented an update from the CEO Support Committee which included confirming that Kevin Taylor's goals were set, that the evaluation criteria were agreed upon, and walked the Board through the process which will happen in the spring and include feedback from a variety of stakehodlers.

Greg Vasey, Chair, announced that he would be meeting with Elizabeth Dignan, Senior Director of Finance, the next day and would have an update at the next Board of Trustees meeting.