Alma del Mar
Minutes
(VIRTUAL) Alma del Mar Board of Trustees Meeting
Date and Time
Monday June 23, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Location
Anti-Racism Statement: Alma del Mar strives to be an anti-racist institution. We seek to dismantle racist and white supremacist structures in pursuit of justice and racial equity. We will fight against racism when we encounter it both within and outside of our school community. We will actively work to ensure that all of our community members, including scholars, families, and staff, feel included, celebrated and empowered. By resisting racism and white supremacy, we will lay the foundation to challenge all forms of oppression. Please read the Equity Lens Guidelines in the Opening Items below before the meeting.
Trustees Present
C. Bator (remote), C. Holley (remote), D. Melo (remote), D. Prentiss (remote), G. Fortes (remote), J. Fox (remote), J. Korn (remote), J. Wallace (remote), M. Rosa (remote), S. Furtado (remote)
Trustees Absent
A. Cortez, C. Wood, M. Rosario
Guests Present
T. DeLoach (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Equity Lens Guidelines
B.
Record Attendance
C.
Call the Meeting to Order
D. Prentiss called a meeting of the board of trustees of Alma del Mar to order on Monday Jun 23, 2025 at 10:32 AM.
D.
Approve May 19, 2025 Board Meeting Minutes
J. Korn made a motion to approve the minutes from Alma del Mar Board of Trustees Meeting on 05-19-25.
J. Wallace seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| M. Rosario |
Absent
|
| C. Holley |
Aye
|
| C. Bator |
Aye
|
| J. Korn |
Aye
|
| J. Fox |
Aye
|
| D. Prentiss |
Aye
|
| D. Melo |
Aye
|
| S. Furtado |
Abstain
|
| G. Fortes |
Aye
|
| J. Wallace |
Aye
|
| C. Wood |
Absent
|
| A. Cortez |
Absent
|
| M. Rosa |
Aye
|
E.
Approve Appeals Policy
G. Fortes made a motion to approve the addition of an appeals policy addressing adverse employee action to the Alma del Mar Employee Handbook.
C. Holley seconded the motion.
- This is a new policy that is being proposed to be added to the Alma del Mar Employee Handbook
- The addition of this policy is to ensure staff feel they have employment protections but is not in response to a current issue; staff receive multiple rounds of feedback about underperformance before adverse action (performance improvement plans, formal warnings, non-renewal, termination) is pursued
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| C. Bator |
Aye
|
| S. Furtado |
Abstain
|
| G. Fortes |
Aye
|
| C. Wood |
Absent
|
| M. Rosario |
Absent
|
| D. Melo |
Aye
|
| D. Prentiss |
Aye
|
| C. Holley |
Aye
|
| J. Korn |
Aye
|
| J. Fox |
Aye
|
| A. Cortez |
Absent
|
| M. Rosa |
Aye
|
| J. Wallace |
Aye
|
F.
Approve Title IX Policy
J. Korn made a motion to approve Alma del Mar's previous Title IX policy, last approved in January 2023, to align with current regulations.
D. Melo seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| C. Wood |
Absent
|
| A. Cortez |
Absent
|
| M. Rosario |
Absent
|
| J. Korn |
Aye
|
| C. Holley |
Aye
|
| C. Bator |
Aye
|
| G. Fortes |
Aye
|
| J. Wallace |
Aye
|
| D. Prentiss |
Aye
|
| D. Melo |
Aye
|
| J. Fox |
Aye
|
| M. Rosa |
Aye
|
| S. Furtado |
Abstain
|
II. Executive Director Report
A.
Dashboard
- T. DeLoach informed the Board that the academic results are not yet wrapped due to interim testing happening last week.
- T. DeLoach discussed the overall daily attendance average which was just under goal at 94.6% (goal is 95%). The focus for next school year will be addressing chronic absenteeism at the Douglass Middle School level through earlier identification and intervention.
- T. DeLoach discussed the suspension goals, identifying that the Out of School Suspension goal was missed by 1%, the In School Suspension goal was met, and Emergency Removals remained low throughout the course of the school year.
- J. Korn asked if there was a spike in out of school suspensions at the end of the school year. T. DeLoach replied that the end of the school year and the end of the first quarter/beginning of the second quarter are generally where we see spikes, but both schools were overall outpacing their quarterly benchmarks all year.
- D. Melo asked about Alma's suspension rates as compared to the NBPS school district. T. DeLoach stated that Alma typically outpaces the district's overall rate of out of school suspension by up to 4%.
B.
ED Report
- T. DeLoach drew the Board's attention to strong EOY staff retention and the potential purchase of another property on Church St.
- T. DeLoach previewed later items on the Board agenda - charter renewal preparation and transferring surplus to the Replacement and Renewal Fund account
III. Academic Excellence
A.
Academic Excellence Update
C. Bator made a motion to approve the program proposal to fund a degree completion program for existing teachers seeking their Bachelors' degree.
J. Korn seconded the motion.
J. Korn discussed an updated proposal for providing financial support to current teachers who need to complete their Bachelors' degrees. He highlighted places where he incorporated feedback from the Board, including recommended policies that outline a minimum GPA and a minimum number of years of service after completing their Bachelors' degree.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| D. Prentiss |
Aye
|
| C. Bator |
Aye
|
| G. Fortes |
Aye
|
| J. Fox |
Aye
|
| C. Wood |
Absent
|
| S. Furtado |
Abstain
|
| J. Wallace |
Aye
|
| C. Holley |
Aye
|
| M. Rosario |
Absent
|
| A. Cortez |
Absent
|
| D. Melo |
Aye
|
| J. Korn |
Aye
|
| M. Rosa |
Aye
|
IV. Development
A.
June 2025 Report
- The Board was prompted to review this report asynchronously.
V. Finance
A.
Replacement and Renewal Funds Transfer
J. Wallace made a motion to approve a transfer of $500,000 of FY25 surplus funds to the Replacement and Renewal Fund for a potential 757 Church St. land purchase.
D. Melo seconded the motion.
T. DeLoach shared that this property is under a Right of First Refusal agreement between Alma del Mar and the owner (and now the attorney of the owner's estate) that was established during the construction of the Frederick Douglass Campus building.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| D. Prentiss |
Aye
|
| J. Wallace |
Aye
|
| C. Bator |
Aye
|
| M. Rosa |
Aye
|
| D. Melo |
Aye
|
| J. Fox |
Aye
|
| C. Holley |
Aye
|
| A. Cortez |
Absent
|
| J. Korn |
Aye
|
| M. Rosario |
Absent
|
| S. Furtado |
Abstain
|
| G. Fortes |
Aye
|
| C. Wood |
Absent
|
VI. Governance
A.
REDI Plan Update
- L. Wood not in attendance - no REDI plan update shared
- G. Fortes informed the Board that L. Wood has agreed to be her successor for Governance Chair when G. Fortes' final term ends in October 2025
- G. Fortes and D. Prentiss to meet over the summer with L. Wood for onboarding
B.
2024-2025 Board Self-Evaluation
- D. Prentiss described the Board self-evaluation process to Trustees
- T. DeLoach to open the Board self-evaluation after the meeting adjourns
VII. Other Business
A.
Board Meeting Schedule AY25-26
- D. Prentiss opened a discussion about finding a new time for Board meetings in light of Trustees' schedules
- D. Melo shared that she has a standing conflict for half of the school year and proposed a 5:30pm start time
- C. Holley advocated for a later start time for those who commute
- D. Prentiss will send an email with proposed new times
B.
Charter Renewal Prep
- T. DeLoach reviewed the Governance criterion for the charter renewal process
- T. DeLoach reviewed the feedback that DESE provided during the March 2024 Site Visit
- All information that was reviewed was attached to the Board packet
C.
DeLoach Maternity Leave Plan
- T. DeLoach shared that A. Teevens will essentially be acting Executive Director while she is on maternity leave and provided her full leave plan in the Board packet
- T. DeLoach invited clarifying questions about the maternity leave plan - there were none
- D. Melo and C. Bator thanked T. DeLoach for creating a clear and thorough plan
D.
Executive Director EOY Evaluation
D. Melo made a motion to approve the Executive Director's evaluation report.
C. Bator seconded the motion.
- T. DeLoach left the zoom room for the discussion
- Trustees unanimously agreed that T. DeLoach's performance is satisfactory and the Board is highly motivated to retain her in the Executive Director role
- C. Bator and other trustees asked about additional support that the Board can provide to T. DeLoach
- C. Holley encouraged D. Prentiss to offer more support, more training as requested by T. DeLoach on behalf of the Board
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| M. Rosa |
Aye
|
| D. Prentiss |
Aye
|
| C. Holley |
Aye
|
| C. Wood |
Absent
|
| G. Fortes |
Aye
|
| A. Cortez |
Absent
|
| J. Korn |
Aye
|
| C. Bator |
Aye
|
| D. Melo |
Aye
|
| J. Fox |
Aye
|
| M. Rosario |
Absent
|
| J. Wallace |
Aye
|
| S. Furtado |
Abstain
|
VIII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 11:45 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
J. Wallace
Documents used during the meeting
- Appeals Procedure Working Draft May 2025.docx-1.pdf
- Alma del Mar Charter Schools Title IX Policy English- Final- Board Approved 1_27_23.docx.pdf
- AY2024-25 Alma del Mar Board Dashboard - June 2025.pdf
- E.D. Report 6-23-25.pdf
- (DRAFT) Degree Completion Program for Existing Teachers.pdf
- June 2025 DevComm Report.pdf
- Charter Renewal Prep_Governance Criteron_Site Visit Feedback.pdf
- DeLoach Maternity Leave Plan.pdf