We welcomed our new Director of Ops and Finance, Alice Sheehan. Her goals are (1) to offer teacher support so that their needs are met and (2) to create "Ops in a Box" providing a known plan and "compliance statement" for the state.

Alice Sheehan reported on Capital Planning highlights that "Ground Breaking" was on Monday, September 14th and construction has begun. The official ceremony was on Thursday, September 17th. Alternate #2 was added to the budget and the building was re-valued. As a result of the higher valuation, the subordinate debt with BCC was eliminated as a source for the capital project. Financial closing is projected for the end of October, early November.

Will Gardner called a meeting of the Foundation Committee of Alma del Mar and recorded the unanimous VOTE of approval on Resolutions regarding loans and guarantees for the capital project. Also recorded were unanimous VOTES of approval for renewal of Terms for David Cabral and David Prentiss; Election of Bronwen Cunningham as Foundation Board Chair; Election of David Cabral as Treasurer; and Election of Will Gardner as Secretary. Transfers of Funds to Alma del Mar QALICB and Alma del Mar Charter School were also VOTED unanimously for approval. The Foundation meeting was then adjourned.

Will Gardner gave his Executive Director's Report as presented in "What is Going Well" (1)Launching structured "collaborative planning meetings" for teacher teams. (2) Groundbreaking ceremony went well with much publicity in local news and Mayor Mitchell very publicly showing his support. (3) Fully hired for instructional staff at Alma. "Challenges" (1) Working to ensure more vertical alignment in our curriculum. (2) Capital Campaign has slowed considerably and needs to be revamped. (3) Need to hire a new Development Director.

Alice Sheehan gave us an overview of the Budget update and all is going well.

Martha Kay lead the discussion about academic reports. We are still awaiting the results of the PARCC tests the scholars took last school year. It was suggested that Board Members volunteer to help on field trips by accompanying the scholars. The Board would also like to be included in Friday reports if they continue this year.

Jan Baptist presented the report of the Governance Committee. The members have verified that trustee terms are for three years with a limit of three consecutive terms. It was suggested that we add at least one new trustee to the Alma Board during this school year. Identified three groups of trustees, each with 3-4 trustees whose terms expire in staggered terms.

Jeanne Eagle is newly elected Chair of the Development Committee. Goals are being drafted. An "Open the Door" theme encourages bringing new people to view and become involved in the school.

Will Gardner began the Board Retreat with a story about the beginning of his day. After greeting the scholars they all gather together to recite the Alma Creed in words and hand signals. The creed reinforces the school culture by saying that they are at Alma to gain knowledge as they head to college while never giving up and working as a crew to grow smarter. Will offered two topics for discussion: Topic 1 - Growth Strategy and District Relationship and Topic 2 - Secondary School Placement. The Board divided into two groups to discuss both of these topics. After 20 minutes we offered our opinions on each and Will recorded thoughts. The attention for the first topic focused around "Leading the turnaround effort of New Bedford Public School district through school turn around and partnership with the district. The second topic focused on "Are we better off taking the approach of matching each individual scholar with their best 'fit' secondary school?"