The Executive Director reviewed the agenda with the Board and shared some regional celebrations.

A Board member noted we continue to outperform the KIPP Network and the KIPP MA Team shared that continues to be the case, particularly in high school.

The Board made space to consider and ask questions related to an appeal made to the Board in October of 2025 by a former staff member. 

A Board member shared he doesn't believe we should consider honoring the request. 

A Board member shared that the Board's position is to support the way it was handled by the Executive Director and KIPP MA Team. 

KIPP MA's legal counsel agreed with this approach, and noted that these kinds of decisions are within the Executive Director's discretion.

The KIPP MA Team will follow-up in writing. 

The Chief of Staff noted that as a voting member of the Board, the Executive Director should not vote on any items that could point to a conflict of interest.

She made space for questions, which the Board did not have.  

The Executive Director reviewed up-to-date chronic absenteeism data.

A Board member asked if we thought ICE presence in community has impacted this. A member of the KIPP community shared that we haven't seen it impact attendance rates in any significant way. 

A Board member asked if our rates are close to the sending districts. In Lynn, we are; in Boston, we are above.

A Board member asked if besides transportation, there are other things we've seen move the needle. A member of the KIPP MA team explained that last year we did a study and interviews of families to learn about barriers. We found the number one barrier was sickness.

The team also noted that transportation in Lynn is owned by KIPP, whereas in Boston it is owned by BPS and can't be utilized by students past 6th grade. 

It was clarified that a student has to miss 18 or more days to be considered clinically absent. 

In Boston, we are seeing high numbers in kindergarten, which matches the national average. 

It was asked if we offer mental health supports to families. The KIPP MA Team shared community resources and the access students have to social emotional counselors.

A member of the Board shared that it's a big win for chronic absenteeism rates to be reflective of pre-pandemic rates. He wondered what supports we are providing to teachers given they are the adult families have the closest relationship with.

The Executive Director shared notes on where KIPP MA has been and where it's going in response to the lack of academic growth. She noted that we're continuing to work to reduce chronic absenteeism, are starting to prioritize strong and cusp students to push them into the next performance band, and that we need to continue to reconsider our interim assessment approach, as well as our vision and program for Exceptional Learners.

A member of the Board asked that any future changes to the PFML Policy be brought before the Board.

Essential Question 3

The Chief Schools Officer reviewed DIBELS and iReady results for the middle of the year. DIBELS is Foundational Literacy skills, but it doesn't cover whether students are on grade-level. IReady should help us better predict MCAS results, particularly K-8. 

She reviewed KIPP Network and national data for iReady and noted that while our current results are comparable, our goal is to do significantly better. We need to push the students who are multiple years behind grade-level, but also the students who are on the cusp and those who are on or above grade-level.

The Executive Director updated the Board on Operation "No Points on the Table," which is a targeted plan to ensure students are positioned to earn every point available to them on the math and ELA MCAS. 

A Board member noted his appreciation for the level of detail provided. The Chief Schools Officer let the Board know to share if there is a specific kind of data they'd be more interested in. A Board member noted appreciating the scatter plots. 

Essential Question 6
 

The Chief Finance Officer shared finance updates with the Board. We met Q1 and Q2 debt covenants for both Lynn and Boston, the FY27 budgeting process if underway, and the team recently met with Citizens Bank to restructure debt covenants.

Q2 year-to-date budget vs. actuals were reviewed. 

The full-year budget vs. forecast as of Q2 was also reviewed. 

A Board member asked for clarification on the higher-than-budgeted personnel expenses. $1.2 of the $1.3 million overage is due to the extra paycheck that was given to staff members, but not included in the budget for FY26. 

Healthcare updates were shared. 

The Development Committee is recommending a Board member give/get of $5k a year. We'll revisit this in our April Board meeting.

Essential Question 5
 

The Executive Director shared updates on staff retention and PFML. 

She explained there is a group of teachers and leaders that are at risk to have their pay frozen if they do not pass their MTELs by the end of the year. Our goal is that we are 95% hired by June 1.

KIPP MA will launch a new PFML supplemental leave policy on 8/1 with adjusted benefits based on tenure at KIPP MA. The team is still working through implementation. 

Essential Questions Progress Monitoring Dashboard

The KIPP MA Team walked through all other essential questions.

The Chief Operations Officer reviewed enrollment and attrition information.

The Managing Director of KIPP Forward shared updates on post-secondary goals. 

The team discussed the benefits between students being able to attend free 2-year programs and 4-year BA/BS programs. If there is a significant number of students considering the 2-year option, we might need to look more closely at our program to see how we can best support them and/or the potential for them to transfer at the close of 2 years. We've seen that many students who enroll in 2-year programs don't often finish. 

Student removal rates were reviewed. The Managing Director of Compliance shared that we've seen year after year that we're not meeting our accountability plan metrics, but we are continuously decreasing our out of school suspension numbers, which is important. 

The professional development plan for senior leaders and our student and family sense of belonging work were reviewed. 

The Executive Director shared a challenge we're facing with applications. Over the past two application cycles, we've seen a decline in applications in Boston and Lynn, which in 3-4 years could pose a challenge to enrollment totals. In Boston, this is a city-wide issue.  

A member of the Board asked if the state is considering changing the number of seats available to charters. The Executive Director shared not at this time. We need to make the case that students have better outcomes at charter schools. 

The Chief Operating Officer shared a plan for not allowing cell phones in school at KIPP MA in 26-27. We anticipate and expect the state of MA to make this actual law. There is a draft policy that is currently being reviewed by students, families and staff. This will be brought to the Board during the April meeting.