Melisa Lemire, Chair, directed the attention of the Committee to the Compliance Update. Lemire and Sonya Pratt, Executive Director, shared that they were contacted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) for a meeting related to the School's 2023 Accountability Report, which is an annual public report detailing the School's progress to meeting key accountability indicators and was recently released.

Pratt noted that she planned to go into further detail with the Board at the September 2023 Board Meeting scheduled for later in the evening, but shared that she and Lemire met and had a positive conversation where the School was able to begin to address two concerns highlighted by DESE, specifically the School's most recent Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results and its Engagement Rate, or 4-year graduation rate. She shared that they brought pertinent data relating to both points to the discussion, and that the regularly scheduled bi-monthly meetings with the Charter School Office would continue as scheduled.

Next, Lemire directed the attention of the Committee to the SY24 Board Meeting Schedule, Committee Structure and Logistics. Jordan Pina, Chief Operating Officer, displayed the proposed SY24 Board Calendar previously discussed by the Governance Committee and Board in Spring 2023, noting that the the previous April 2024 Board Meeting date fell during the School's April Break, and would need to be changed. The Committee agreed that made sense, and the rest of the current Board Meetings would remain as scheduled.

The Board then began to discuss Committee assignments, and agreed that some shifts were needed as several Board members remained on multiple committees whereas some Trustees did not have a dedicate Committee. Following a discussion of each Trustees background and interest, the Committee agreed on the following configurations:

• Governance Committee
  • Brooke Fincke - Chair
  • Melisa Lemire
  • Ted Gildea
• Finance Committee
  • Ted Gildea - Chair
  • Andres Tejeda
  • Michelle Allwood
• Academic Excellence Committee
  • Alekz Hirchmann - Chair
  • Edelyn Contreras
  • Danielle Canty
• Executive Director Support
  • Jacq Bennett - Chair
  • Melisa Lemire
  • Ted Gildea
  • Thai Small

Finally, the Committee discussed whether all Board meetings should remain remote given the extension to the provisions pertaining to Open Meeting Law which allow for fully remote participation. The agreed that opportunities for in-person engagement were important, and the School would ensure to communicate when community events were open to Board members, but believed that remote participation would maximize quorum, participation and public accessibility. The Committee discussed determining one Spring 2023 Board Meeting to be an in-person event, and planned to discuss with the Board during a late winter meeting. 

Next, Lemire directed the attention of the Committee to Board Growth. She shared with the Committees that Robyn Shahid had resigned from the Board due to personal reasons, and that the Board would again need to focus on recruitment. The Board asked if the School would be able to post about the search via City on a Hill social media and recruiting pages, and Pina and Pratt agreed that a graphic and links to the Board Member role description would be posted. The Committee also discussed areas of continued skills need, and reiterated those as those with professional backgrounds in educational, legal, and financial fields. 

Lemire then presented the possibility of working with Latinos for Education, a non-profit organization which provides professional development and placement on educational Boards. She noted that both she and Andres Tejeda, former Chair and current Trustee, both were connected with City on a Hill through the program. The Committee and School Leadership agreed reaching out to restart the relationship could be an additional pipeline. Lemire mentioned that she knew that the organization began charging partner organizations a small fee, but given that the Trustees from the program are those who have both the longest tenure on the Board and who have been able to quickly step into leadership, it may be a good investment. Lemire agreed to reach out to her contact and provide more information to the Governance Committee in a future meeting.