Jordan Pina, Chief of Staff, shared the rationale of putting a Succession Plan in place for Sonya Pratt, Executive Director, as it is required by City on a Hill's Governance Action Plan. 

Pina shared that the plan has undergone minor revisions that include, but are not limited to, language to reflect an Executive Director model as well as updated recommendations for an Acting ED in the instance that the Executive Director would take a permanent leave.

Jacqueline Bennett, Executive Director Support Committee Chair, shared that the Committee met in the last week to discuss the progress of Sonya Pratt, Executive Director's, goals in School Year 2021-2022. 

Bennett shared that Pratt overviewed each goal and shared context around the work that she and the City on a Hill team have accomplished this school year as it was related. Bennett shared that Pratt showed progress towards each goals, and that goals that are in progress are on track to be met by the end of SY22. 

Bennett shared the the presentation demonstrated Pratt's strong leadership in a way that led the Committee to unanimously agree to recommend the payout of 100% of Pratt's ED bonus to the full Board of Trustees.

Jordan Pina, Chief of Staff, shared that the City on a Hill Foundation has hired the first employee, the Director of Development. 

Stefani Caliri, Director of Development, introduced herself and shared a brief summary of her professional background and her excitement in starting her role at the Foundation. Caliri shared that she will be reaching out within the coming weeks to touch base with each Board member in order to get to know the history of City on a Hill. 

Pina shared that because of the role of Director of Development now in place, the Governance Committee decided to dissolve the Development Committee. This decision would continue to help in establishing a clear division of labor between the separate entities of City on a Hill Charter Public School and the City on a Hill Foundation, and would adhere to the state ethics considerations that were discussed in the October 2021 Development Committee meeting.

Pina shared that all Board of Trustees members are invited on a volunteer basis to partner with the Foundation Board in development initiatives.

Jordan Pina, Chief of Staff, shared the because Quarter 2 was pushed back due to COVID-19 related absences, the quarterly data was not available for the Committee to review at the February 2022 Academic Excellence Committee meeting. Pina shared that data from the 2021 Panorama Staff Survey, administered in Fall 2021, was shared with the Committee for review and discussion. 

Pina highlighted general trends for both surveys. In general, the Operations/Administrative staff were more satisfied across all topics, with the highest scored topic being evaluation. Pina shared that for the Teacher survey, there was a much larger range and variation in response with the highest scored topic also being evaluation. Both surveys (Operations/Admin. staff and teaching staff) both scored the workload section the lowest with sustainable workloads and ability to complete work during normal hours as a main concern.

Pina shared that all of this data was used by COAH leadership to form action plans, which have included, but are not limited to, surveying teachers regarding professional development sessions, prioritizing necessary professional development sessions, and meeting regularly with union representatives to problem solve. 

Pina shared that the Committee was also walked through the recommitment process at City on a Hill, which is well underway. Pina shared that mid-year evaluations with staff are happening right now and that all reviews are due by mid-February. Following staff conversations, all supervisors share their recommended renewal offers (unconditional offer, conditional offer, non-renewal) based on the mid-year review with the HR department at COAH by the end of February. 

Following the recommendations, the Finance and HR department review the recommendations of supervisors to ensure they align with budgetary restrictions, personnel policies and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) requirements. Pina shared that HR then sends finalized letters for all Unconditional and Conditional offers and letters expressing CoaH's gratitude for their service for staff who will not be renewed. Following, all staff will be required to accept or reject their offer and HR will post for all roles where staff either rejected or did not sign their offer in Mid-March. 

Pina also shared that the Associate Teacher Program at COAH, which COAH's Director of Compliance and Teacher Development, Michael McGean, has worked to relaunch the COAH Associate Teacher Program (ATP) for SY23 has already begun to attract applicants. 

This program will allow for new teachers to work towards a Massachusetts teacher certification while working at City on a Hill in a teaching role. This purpose for relaunching the ATP is to cast a wider net of applicants and incentivize a diverse pipeline of new teachers to be trained and stay at COAH to educate the school's students.

Ted Gildea, Finance Committee Chair, shared that there will be a more detailed update at the next Board meeting, as the Committee met before Pratt received the budget re-forecast and draft budget for SY23 from AAF, COAH's finance contractors. 

Gildea noted that the Committee has scheduled two additional upcoming Finance Committee meetings in order to review and discuss the budget for School Year 22-23. 

Andres Tejeda-Soto, shared a brief update regarding the Circuit Street renovation and construction project. Tejeda-Soto shared that the top ranked designer, Studio MLA, was been selected for the project. The Studio MLA team has worked on schools in the past and the architect team has already visited the school site in order to begin to draft plans for the renovation, set to occur this summer.

Studio MLA will visit the school site a second time in the coming week to gather further measurements in order to create a projected budget for the project, set to be finalized in Mid-March. 

Sonya Pratt, Executive Director, shared the purpose of the CoaH Effect, a snapshot of school data that can be read like a dashboard. It is created to allow for understanding of key measures at the school and steps the organization is taking to move forward towards school year goals. Pratt walked through COAH Effect dashboard and provided explanation of the progress towards each goal. 

When reviewing current enrollment numbers, Pratt shared that the numbers are trending higher than what the COAH team projected in the February 15 claim. 

When reviewing the chronic absenteeism rate, Pratt noted that this number is higher than expected, as due to COVID-19 safety protocols in place, many students missed several days after Winter Break. Pratt said that other Charter peers experienced the same absenteeism after Winter break due to COVID-19 related absences.

When reviewing mid-term academic metrics, Pratt noted that because of the number of students that were absent as previously discussed, the COAH team implemented a curve on mid-term grades that is not reflected in the raw data on the slide. Pratt shared that updated data will be shared with the Board at the next meeting. Pratt noted that the MAP test, a nationally normed growth exam, was administered to COAH students last week and the Board will have updated MAP growth data as well at the next Board meeting. 

When reviewing the budget, Pratt noted that the COAH team has reviewed the draft SY23 budget from AAF, COAH's audit partners, and has begun the review process. Pratt shared that the current re-forecast for the current school year (21-22), is on budget for what was projected for this year. 

Pratt noted that Board composition has not changed, but that she is in the process of meeting with two potential Board candidates who are interested in joining the Board this school year.