Laureate Academy Charter School Board of Directors
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Monday April 20, 2026 at 5:30 PM
The matters listed are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair to be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may, in fact, be discussed. Other items not listed may be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law. All agenda items are informational unless otherwise denoted, though all committee reports require a vote for acceptance. Unless otherwise stated, the meeting will be held on the campus of the school (2115 Oakmere Drive Harvey, LA 70058).
Laureate Board Meeting
Monday, March 16 · 5:30 – 6:30pm
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/vdd-cjwq-eze
Or dial: (US) +1 252-346-6437 PIN: 876 470 153#
Directors Present
Bria Joshua, Caitlyn Scales, Dr. Jahquille Ross, Toyane Faulkner
Directors Absent
Janel Green, Jordan Whittenburg, Monique Handy
Guests Present
Anita Cyprian
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
Caitlyn Scales called a meeting of the board of directors of Laureate Academy Charter School Board of Directors to order on Monday Apr 20, 2026 at 5:35 PM.
C.
Approve the Minutes from Annual Board Meeting
Toyane Faulkner made a motion to approve the minutes from March Board Meeting on 03-16-26.
Bria Joshua seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Prove What's Possible
II. GOVERNANCE
A.
Board Recruitment
- Idea: more presence of board members on campus; suggested that Board firmly calendars visits to ensure availability & alignment with students' calendars
- Introduction of prospective new board member-- Anita Cyprian.
Bria Joshua made a motion to appoint Anita Cyprian as board member.
Toyane Faulkner seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Review Board Calendar Draft for 2026-2027
- Members agreed Mondays at 5:30p
- Currently, Finance and Governance Committees are hosted on the same date. Members agreed this schedule works and should continue. @Claire reminded Board that certain people need to be made aware of the committee meeting schedules (i.e. Eron (Finance) & Semaj (Academic)).
- Board will consider whether the committee meetings will be held sooner to allow time for delivery of committee meeting minutes before timely submission of agenda for the monthly general board meeting.
III. FINANCE
A.
Updates re Current Financials (through March 2026) + Budget Timeline
- Projected financial surplus, following the 2025-2026 school year.
- Financials still look positive in light of the recent property purchase.
B.
Review of ethics/financial disclosure
- Reminder: Members must complete the state ethics training and forward the certificate of completion to Claire. Same for Financial Disclosure forms, which are due no later than May 15th!
C.
Additional Role at Laureate
- Anticipated Kindergarten Expansion: From two sections to three sections, Laureate's kindergarten classes will expand to about 25 students per classes. More space is needed to accommodate kindergarteners (Yurts?). Along with additional space, a new hire is necessary.
- Members are charged with additional Yurt research. Pros and cons? Federal grant opportunities to pay for new construction? Yurt specifically used for art classes? Mobility of Yurts? -- Deferred to 5/12/26.
- Prospective Instructional Coach: Expansion of the specialized instructors who will mentor K-4th grade teachers full-time. As a solely supportive role, the Instructional Coach will only start with a certain number of teachers and will assist more on a rolling basis.
- Collectively agreed that the Instructional Coach also floats in the absence of teachers to assist with lesson plans for substitute teachers.
- Claire's suggested candidate is particularly skilled in teaching reading and has over 10 years of K-4th grade experience. She has been with Laureate particularly for seven of those years.
- Certification: @Dr. Ross suggested that 5th-8th grade teachers receive AIM certification (to assist with reading and decoding strategy).
Dr. Jahquille Ross made a motion to amend the current 2026-27 Compensation Package to include an Instructional Coach (1.1) for the upcoming school year.
Toyane Faulkner seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
IV. ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
A.
CEO Board Update
- Students start LEAP tomorrow, 4/21/26. :D
- 8th graders start PreACT in May. Dr. Ross suggested that the first day be used to complete preliminary forms.
- NOTABLE DATES:
- Teacher Appreciation Week - 5/4/26
- Invite-Only Athletic Ceremony - 5/8/26 (Church & Yard BBQ-styled event)
- Invite-Only Principal's List Breakfast - 5/19/26
- End-of-Year Stipend ($850) instead of COLA. The averages of COLA used to share eligibility.
- DIBELS 52% to 67% increase; namely, kindergarten increased to 85%!
- Sponsorship: Use of LAMP fund (private funds) to sponsor certain students in need.
- After discussion, Board collectively decided Laureate should do flag football for another school year.
V. Closing Items
A.
Action Items for Next Board Meeting
B.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 6:45 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Caitlyn Scales