Jordan Pina, Chief of Staff, provided an overview of City on a Hill Charter Public School progress to complete probationary conditions, and shared that all deliverables due at the time of the meeting had been successfully submitted and accepted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and outstanding submissions are on track to meet deadlines. She also shared that next steps towards remaining in compliance would include continuing to send all Board meeting minutes and monthly financial statements to DESE, and integrating feedback to submitted action plans.  

Next, Pina shared that the remaining deliverable which will be discussed later in the meeting is the Governance Action Plan. She also shared that CoaH's Academic Action Plan, which was submitted to DESE in June 2020, will go through a round of edits related to COVID-19 with the Department in the coming weeks.

The Committee discussed that City on a Hill Charter Public School remains in this state of probation and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), would typically be the measures used to highlight to DESE that the school is ready to move forward past probationary conditions. The Committee noted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools are still awaiting guidance on how MCAS will be administered this year.

Pina displayed the draft Governance Action Plan, which addresses Condition #6 in City on a Hill's probation, requiring engagement in proper governance training, including obligations related to Open Meeting Law, as well as a written plan for adequate governance. 

Pina shared the document includes ongoing actions that the Board began following the renewal decision, such as engaging a consultant to provide training about proper governance roles and responsibilities at the annual Board Retreat, as well as future items such as performing a Board skills assessment and a Board Chair search.

Melissa Lemire, Committee Chair, opened discussion with directing the attention of the Committee to the Board Growth and Onboarding discussion. The Committee reiterated the need to strengthen the ongoing recruitment of the Board, as the current number of members is twelve.  

Next, the Committee discussed the use of current partnerships they already have with individuals to further the Board. Committee members noted that the descriptions of the open positions were accurate and City on a Hill specific, but needed to realistically outline the time commitment. 

Finally, Lemire proposed to present the descriptions of open Board officer positions to gauge interest at the Board meeting on Tuesday, September 22 at 5 PM. 
 

Pina concluded the meeting with an overview of the dates for future Board meetings. The Committee agreed that if the dates are well outlined in advance, evening Board meetings will proceed as planned.