J. Holmes called the meeting of the board of AAJP to order on Wednesday January 10th at 6:10 p.m.

Four students from Athlos Academy of Jefferson Parish recited the Pledge of Allegiance. 

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J. Holmes recited the Athlos Mission & Vision statement.

Harvey Wier announced his resignation due to a move out of state. 

Recent signed offers through December were shared with the Board for review.

Cheryl Martin excitement about recent and upcoming school events. She provided an update on the re-enrollment process that launched on January 5th.  She reported student successes in the recent basketball season and robotics and quiz bowl championship.  Ms. Martin also provided an update of the team's attendance at the LAPCS charter conference in December.

Chris Brooks shared a summary of the recent audit findings along with the corrective actions taking place on each item.  All were minor items that are already corrected or in the process of being corrected.  

Chris Brooks provided an update on the bond process and timeline.  He shared hope to have pricing around February 1st and the bond wrapped up in mid-to-late February.  Dr. Holmes asked about a contingency plan if this round was unsuccessful, and Mr. Brooks explained it is too early in the process to determine that, but he will update the board if that becomes a reality.

Teresa Tate shared a hiring update that all offers have been signed for all general education teachers which would give us a complete gen ed staff for the first time this year.  She also shared the increased level of experience and licensure in the recent candidates.

Dr. Holmes shared an overview of the LEAP results that were included in the data dashboard.  She reviewed the categories and scores in comparison to last year.  Our letter grade stayed the same at a D, but we increased in our growth with the Progress Index increasing from 72.7 to 78.9.  The School Performance Score dropped slightly from 51.5 to 50.6, with the largest drop in the Interest & Opportunity Index that dropped from 139.3 to 112.5, which may have been due to changes in state criteria for this category.  

Michael Jennings shared the survey methodology for the parent, student and staff surveys that were conducted this fall.  He also provided a year-over-year comparison of the summary data.

Kia Murray and Cheryl Martin shared the strengths and opportunity areas of the survey results. They also shared their mid-year goals based on the survey feedback and the communication plan to accompany the results.

J. Holmes shared her reflection on the differences in responses for new staff vs. long term staff and wondered if there was more we could do to onboard the new staff.  T. Burns asked for clarification on the coaching & training offered to new teachers.  Ms. Martin the new leadership team structure that provides for 3 levels of support to the new teachers. J. Holmes asked if there had been follow up discussions regarding school safety due to the feedback from the Junior High students.  C. Martin shared that the Leadership Team has been having ongoing discussion on this topic and is working to create a student focused group to dive into the topic further.  H. Wier shared that he feels Middle School will always be challenging. 

K. Murray shared that the school survey data is not the only feedback that is considered, there are several other data points that are considered when setting goals for improvement. She shared that the Leadership Team has already started on goals for this spring and has held the first meeting of a staff focus group to further the understanding on how to improve.

T. Tate shared the high-level steps involved in the staff recruitment plan for the 3 phases of this year.  She shared examples of the updated pieces that have been done to date including research, stakeholder feedback, a compensation analysis, salary schedules for all positions and a new job description template. She also shared an overview of the upcoming project to give us a strong baseline for recruitment.  

J. Holmes suggested that we create a committee to look into the details of the recruitment plan and offer feedback. 

Dr. Bressler shared the ESP Evaluation Tool and asked for any questions from the Board.  There were none. 

J. Holmes discussed the need to add further clarity and metrics to the Board's Goals for 2023-2024. Through discussion the Board determined for goal #2 to aim for 75% teacher retention.  For goal #3, they decided on a deadline of May 31st.

J. Holmes asked a series of questions of C. Martin to understand the current challenges she feels exist at Athlos and clarified any areas of need or training that she has.

J. Holmes shared a clause in the existing management agreement that allows for the Executive Director to move from a Athlos Academies employee to an Athlos Academy of Jefferson Parish employee after the first year of the agreement.  She proposed to school exercise this option.

H. Wier shared that we have an old bank account from the first few years of opening that has a small balance left in it.  He recommended closing the First NBC banking account and moving the funds over to the main school account.

J. Holmes explained the board member attendance requirements as listed in the bylaws and that member K. Chambers has not met requirements and was recommended for removal from the board. 

T. Tate shared our recent process for recruiting new board members including a meeting with each candidate and an interview with the Board Recruitment Committee.  The following candidates were recommended by the committee:

Vasy Mccoy

Nakeveya M. Anthony

Tenisha Thompson

Each candidate introduced themself to the Board and shared a brief overview of their background.