Athlos Jefferson Parish
Minutes
AAJP Board Retreat
Date and Time
Saturday October 7, 2023 at 8:00 AM
Location
Directors Present
H. Wier, J. Holmes, J. Wright, N. Berg, T. Burns
Directors Absent
E. Ketchens, K. Chambers
Guests Present
T. Tate (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
II. Board Training
A.
Board Roles & Responsibilities
B.
Board Ethics
The board had a brief discussion on how to complete their annual board ethics training and the timeline it covers.
III. Discussion Items
A.
Board Self-Assessment
Chair Holmes shared how to access the board self-assessment in Board on Track. All board members were asked to complete the self-assessment by October 13th for review at the November board meeting.
B.
2023-2024 Board Goals
Chair Holmes led a discussion to create the board's goals for the year. After discussion, the draft goals were:
1 - Increase Parent Engagement
- Advertise board meetings to encourage parent attendance.
- Revitalize participation in the PTO.
- Secure interpreters so that non-English speaking parents can participate in board meetings.
- Incorporate board information in the school newsletters.
2 - Increase Teacher Retention
- Compare year over year date for voluntary and involuntary departures.
- Find options to collect more detailed feedback from departing staff.
3 - Focus on Board Recruitment
- Add parent representatives to the board.
- Consider expanding the size of the board.
- Advertise openings.
- Explore local board banks.
IV. Action Items
A.
Board Committees
The board discussed the challenge with only 7 board members to have the bandwidth to participate in committees as well. After discussion, it was decided to eliminate committees and have full board participation on all topics for the time being.
Additionally, the board discussed alternative times for board meetings to allow for greater attendance. It was decided to continue with board meetings at the current time for now, but to extend them to 1.5 hours. It was also decided to hold the allowable number of remote board meetings on the month's when we are having trouble meeting a quorum.
Sarah Vandergriff Kelley, the Associate Policy Director with the Louisiana Public Charter School Association provided in person training to the board covering the key topics of: