Andres Tejeda Soto made a motion to enter Executive Session under Purpose 3: To discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the Board and the Chair so declares. Tejeda Soto stated that having the discussion in open session would have a detrimental effect on the public body’s negotiating position and bargaining position and that it would reconvene in Open Session after the Executive Session.

Sonya Pratt, Chief of School, shared with the Board that City on a Hill's summer school will begin July 6 and continue through July 28. The courses taught at summer school this year include Math, Science, History, English and Spanish (taught remotely). Pratt shared that enrollment for summer school is currently at 101 students.

Pratt then directed the Board's attention to the NWEA MAP test, which is a state- aligned, nationally normed, computerized adaptive test to measure a student's growth over time. Pratt shared that City on a Hill's 9th grade performed better than 10th grade on the test. Pratt also shared that according to the data, reading comprehension and science need the most support.

Pratt shared action plans that City on a Hill Leadership has formed after reviewing the MAP data, which include: using tutorial and outside consultants to help fill in learning gaps; testing students in class instead of a large group environment; and spreading out the testing schedule more effectively next school year. The Board discussed consultants that will observe City on a Hill's current curriculum for Science and English, and that changes will be made in instruction accordingly.

The Board discussed using the tools that NWEA MAP offers to analyze the data and target specific skills and students that need growth. Pratt shared that the Leadership Team will analyze the MAP data as well as Quarter 4 data in the coming weeks to continue to make actionable plans for student success in School Year 21-22.

Maddie Collins, Executive Assistant, shared a summary of the work that the Operations Team has executed regarding enrollment for School Year 2021-22. Collins shared that enrollment marketing initiatives have included, but are not limited to, a Virtual Open house that was filmed for City on a Hill's Enrollment page, 800+ postcards mailed to incoming 8th grade students, and 50+ virtual 8th grade classroom visits.

Collins shared with the Board a timeline that occurs each time City on a Hill runs a lottery, which in alignment with COAH's Enrollment Policy, occurs every 30 days. The Board discussed how many seats were offered for School Year 2021-22. Pina shared that 65 of the 75 seats offered have been accepted for next school year.

Collins shared that an engagement plan was also created to have multiple forms  of communication with incoming students during summer break, which include, but are not limited to, a monthly newsletter, Freshman Academy, and virtual Open Houses. Collins shared that planning is already underway to plan marketing initiatives and enrollment touch points for next school year, and an in depth calendar will be created at the City on a Hill Operations Team Summit held in July 2021.

Jordan Pina, Chief of Staff, directed the Board's attention to a debrief of the City on a Hill 2021 Virtual Gala. Pina shared a comparison of current and previous school year (School Year 2019-2020) giving, noting that City on a Hill has had double the amount of donations this school year (School Year 2020-2021).

Pina shared total Gala giving that has been received thus far, as well as the total attendees at the event, totaling 41 people. Pina also noted that every member of both the Foundation Board and Board of Trustees have donated to City on a Hill this school year. The Board discussed the financial impact of not having to rent a space to hold the Gala, as it was held virtually.

Pina then turned the Board's attention to a Development Proposal from A/B consulting, a organization that convicted 12 interviews with a diverse group of leading charter schools in the Boston area specifically regarding Development.

After collecting the data from the interviews, A/B consulting shared recommendations for City on a Hill's future in development. The recommendations included, but are not limited to, hiring or allocating a dedicated staff headcount to execute fundraising, generating a strategic communication plan to re-engage donors, as well as setting development metrics for the purpose of performance management.

Pina shared the DICEE Vision of Excellence, a document that was created by City on a Hill's Equity Task Force and reviewed by COAH families/students, the Board of Trustees, and faculty and staff. The document will be finalized and published following the June 2021 Board Meeting.

Pina shared that the document will act as a guiding tool for the school to execute DICEE initiatives in the future. With the Board of Trustees having the opportunity to provide feedback at the May 2021 Board Meeting, there were no questions or further feedback regarding the document. 

Kevin T. Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, shared that City on a Hill, as a one- school, boutique charter school as a result of the consolidation last year and surrender of the New Bedford charter, has decided to that it is in the best interests of the organization to return to an Executive Director model of leadership. Taylor shared that he has already completed one-on-one conversations about this shift with each Board member prior to the June 2021 meeting.

Taylor explained that the ED model was in effect before City on a Hill expanded to Dudley Square and New Bedford and the CEO model became necessary. Because of this, Taylor shared that the CEO position is being eliminated starting in the 2021-21 school year and Sonya Pratt, Chief of School, is recommended to be promoted to the role of Executive Director at City on a Hill.

Kevin. T. Taylor, CEO, was thanked for his transformational leadership and will remain with the organization in that role through December 31 to allow for a smooth transition to Pratt.

Kevin T. Taylor walked through COAH Effect dashboard and provided explanation of the progress towards each goal, including additional context for goals that do not have data available currently such as the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System data (MCAS), which was taken the week of May 24 and will have results published in Fall 2021, and Quarter 4 academic data, which was collected after the COAH Effect was created and finalized and will be shared at the next Board Meeting.

Melisa Lemire, Governance Committee Chair, shared a summary of the June 2021 Governance Committee meeting, which included board growth, leadership transitions, and scheduling discussion topics. Lemire shared that the act extending certain COVID-19 Measures adopted during the state of emergency was signed into law by Governor Baker on June 16, 2021, which will extend remote meetings until April 2022.

Pina shared that a poll will be sent out in the coming week to gauge availability to schedule the Board of Trustees August 2021 Retreat, which will be held remotely.

Lemire also shared that Pina published postings to forward Board growth and received several applications that included resumes and a short answer question. The three external candidates that the Committee decided to move forward with will be interviewed in the coming weeks by the Governance Committee.

Due to timing, this section was not covered.

Due to timing, this section was not covered.

Melisa Lemire, CEO Support Committee member, shared that the CEO Support Committee met and reviewed the CEO Evaluation results to determine if the Committee's overall perception of Kevin T. Taylor's performance was generally aligned with that of all Board members and direct reports of the CEO while also reviewing goals set by the CEO and the CEO Support Committee.

Upon review, the CEO Support Committee agreed that all goals had been completed to the Committee's satisfaction and the Committee recommends to the full Board that 100% of the CEO bonus should be paid out on June 30, 2021.

Kevin T. Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, provided an overview of proposed updates to City on a Hill's Fiscal Policies and Procedures. 

Kevin T. Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, described a proposed update to the City on a Hill Charter Public School Bylaws which would update the title of the Charter Leader from "Chief Executive Officer" to "Executive Director."

Kevin T. Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, described the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for Owner's Project Manager (OPM). Andres Tejeda-Soto, Chair, requests a motion to approve the RFQ, such OPM to serve as the School’s agent and consultant during the planning, design and implementation of a contract in connection with certain the construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance or repair of certain improvements and renovations at 58 Circuit Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02119 (the “Renovations”) in accordance with M.G.L. c. 149, §44A1⁄2.

Andres Tejeda-Soto, Chair, called for a motion to authorize the School delegate the selection of the OPM, after receiving responses as set forth in the RFQ, to any Authorized Signatory.

Andres Tejeda-Soto, Chair, called for a motion that each of Andres Tejeda-Soto, Board Chair, and Kevin T. Taylor, Chief Executive Officer (each an “Authorized Signatory”), is hereby individually authorized to execute, deliver and file any and all documents to effectuate the foregoing votes, in such form and containing such terms, provisions and conditions as any Authorized Signatory may deem necessary, appropriate or convenient, in his or her sole discretion (including, without limitation, changes to any amounts described herein or from the terms and conditions set forth in the Boston Private Bank Proposal), on behalf of the School.

Andres Tejeda-Soto, Chair, called for a motion that the Authorized Signatories are, and each of them, acting singly, hereby is authorized to take such further action or to cause such further action to be taken, to make such determinations, and to provide such information to other parties, as may be deemed by the Authorized Signatory, in his or her sole discretion, to be necessary or convenient to effectuate the purposes of the foregoing votes, including any consents, approvals and payments, on behalf of the School.

Andres Tejeda-Soto, Chair, requested a motion that any and all previous actions taken in connection with the foregoing votes by any officer or trustee of the School, or an Authorized Signatory on behalf of the School are hereby ratified and confirmed.

Taylor directed the attention of the Board to the architect renderings of what Circuit Street would look like with proposed expansions, including a second floor built on top of the existing Town Hall. Additionally, the expansion would include an installation of moveable partitions to segment larger classrooms for use as breakout rooms.

Taylor shared that School management is sharing these renderings to begin a conversation about the expansion that will continue over the next school year and, if approved, would not be completed in full until 2022-23.