Four 1st grade scholars joined the board to share their campaign speeches for the presidential candidate they would vote for on Election Day. The entire 1st grade will host a mock election at Alma on Tuesday, Nov. 8 for all others in the building to participate in.

Fundraising total to date is about $84,000, which is 33% of our goal. This amount includes about $53,000 in grants — most recently, the Henry H. Crapo Charitable Foundation Fund awarded $7K to Alma for our ESL instruction. We are on track for both individual and foundation giving as we enter the appeal season.
Our glossy Annual Report was sent out to about 500 recipients on Oct. 25. Many of these mailings included personal notes from board members. Thank you! In order to send the appeal letter after the report goes out, but not too late into the appeal season, we plan to send out the appeal letters about two weeks after the report — on or around Nov. 7th.
Becca will bring stacks of the annual report along to the Board Retreat so you can disseminate to others throughout the next few months.

Our first ever Thank-a-Thon is scheduled for Friday, November 18th. This is your chance to have some positive interactions with our supporters — no asking for money, just thanking them for their past support! Many of you will be at Alma that morning for a committee meeting — please plan to arrive either 30-45 minutes before your committee meeting, or to stay 30-45 minutes after your committee meeting so you can make between 5-10 quick thank you calls to our generous supporters. The call list is 66 names long. ?

Please note: D. Eckert was invited into the meeting upon the approval of his nomination to the Board of Trustees. 

Alma's new Deans introduced themselves to the Board:

Emily Barlow grew up in New Canaan, CT and attended New Canaan High School. She attended Colby College in Waterville, ME where she majored in International Studies. After graduation, Ms. Barlow joined Teach For America as a 2010 corps member in the Greater New Orleans area. She taught at an alternative school for two years, working specifically with students who were 2-5 years overage as 4th and 5th graders. She came to KIPP in 2012 as the school’s reading interventionist, and served as the Assistant Principal of Scholar Support for the past two years, ensuring that all students at Mc15 had access to a high-quality education, regardless of learning or behavioral differences. In July of 2016, Ms. Barlow earned her M.S.Ed in School Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania. She and her fiancée, Brian, moved to Providence, RI this summer and have been busy planning their wedding.

Kaitlin Goldrick grew up in Dartmouth, MA and graduated from Dartmouth High School and then from the University of Notre Dame.  Since graduating from college, she went to graduate school in Washington D.C., taught in New Bedford for two years at Nativity Prep, and has been teaching in Boston for the past three years.

Both Kaitlin and Emily listed many positive differences between Alma and their old schools:

• Focus on the arts (multiple times a week for scholars)
• Focus on retaining great talent and ensuring the "Oxygen Mask" is being used so this work can be sustainable for our great crew members
• Happy atmosphere for all
• Scholars are excited to come into school in the morning!

Some highlights from Q1 include:

• Additional planning support for new teachers
• New Dean role has led to strong educators coming to Alma
• Returning teachers (this was our highest retention for staff to date!)
• Content is King - aligning curriculum so it is better connected through literacy, social studies, etc
• Staff survey showed that the "Oxygen Mask" needs to continue to be an area of focus
• Staff survey showed that staff are positive about their colleagues

J. Eagle led this discussion on engaging in a heartfelt, real conversation about Alma. The focus was on using your own story, from the heart, to tell someone about why you're involved with the school. 

What moves you about the cause? (You will never forget why you care!)

Consider the results Alma produces: the observable difference Alma makes in the world

Don't forget to engage - ask a question!

J. Eagle also initiated the conversation of The Alma Brand as part of telling our story. This is a conversation we hope to continue over the next few months.

W. Gardner led the discussion on the draft master plan. Trustees were split into small groups to discuss 1) what worked and 2) what's missing from the draft.