W. Gardner presented his report to the board. There were no questions.

A. Teevens reported on the first two weeks of remote learning:
-All households with at least one 3rd through 8th grader have been given a Chromebook. We recently ordered close to 200 additional Chromebooks in an effort for each scholar in those grade levels to -have access to their own Chromebook. 
-While we know there will be a loss in learning time with this closure, our focus is for our teachers to remain connected with their scholars and support them in develop learning habits at home. First two weeks of April will be the true pilot of remote learning, although all 3rd-8th teachers have already gotten scholars into Google Classroom, completing assignments and engaging with the class remotely.

W. Gardner presented the most recent survey data from families at both campuses, compared year to year and fall to winter. Data remains consistent, though it is important to continue tracking!

W. Gardner and J. Baptist reported that they decided to hold off on the board dashboard updates as much of the data is either the same, or not able to track due to remote learning.

Arrowstreet architect group online to share a report (Lawrence Spang and Stephen Zuber)
L.Spang explained that the team came on board last fall and has worked to understand the school, the program, and is working on designing the Frederick Douglass Campus. 
Even with remote work, they’ve been able to connect and pull together a good set of drawings and keep the project on track the best they can. 
S. Zuber explained that one priority effort remains to be extremely good neighbors, especially to the residential neighbors to the site. This is seen in the fact that there is both room for full parking and all buses to fit on the site.
Common use spaces such as the gymnasium and cafeteria are strategically places to the left side of the building so as to be closest to the future MBTA line. There’s a landscape buffer but not much. 
No building planned near the wetland, keeping that area protected entirely
K-4 on the first floor (proposed) + co-curricular classrooms (art + )
Coworking space for staff, like at SDO
They are looking at Family resource/meeting space? For services on site
Some spaces may need to be altered to fit budget constraints
Pre-fab metal allows for cost efficiency AND some cool roof lines and design opportunities. Fits into the neighborhood really well
Board members expressed interest in more information on the materials, possibly some hands-on presentation time or realistic pictures from other sites using same materials?

In response to the global pandemic, two of Alma’s funders have stepped up to offer emergency aid: Charter School Growth Fund ($20,000 no strings attached) and Wellington Management Foundation ($25,000 with a 1-page proposal that explains either an increase in program costs or a decrease in income/fundraising). The CSGF emergency grant has been approved and received. The Wellington grant proposal should be submitted for review by the end of this week
The Development Committee has decided to press pause on solicitations for the Impact Campaign. Per the Chronicle of Philanthropy: “Most of your donors are being negatively affected — albeit to varying extents — by the crisis. Your organization is probably better off waiting for them to regain clarity and stability before asking for gift commitments.
With the exception of emergency campaigns related to the crisis, we recommend deferring major solicitations at present. During the next few weeks, check in on donors to see how they and their families are holding up and share stories about the impact your organization is having during this crisis.”
For all of you, this means doing more of what you’re already doing. Check in with your friends, see how they are doing. If myself or Will sends out an update on Alma (whether it be about meal distribution, remote learning, wins to date, etc) pass those along to those friends as well! I am working with Cile and Jim regarding a communication that will go out very soon giving thanks to the organizations that have reached out to offer emergency funding. 

D. Eckert reported that everything remains on track. C. Fisher is doing a lot of work to update projections given the closure.

D. Eckert shared a first draft of the Fy21 budget for the board to review. No action to be taken today. He reported that the Team is doing a great job on first draft. This time next month, he hopes to ask for some action. No questions.

G. Fortes presented the draft site visit report from DESE. She explained that some categories state that Alma was not rated - DESE does not do a full review of all categories unless it's a charter renewal year. One question about the Open Meeting Law rating - committee is working to improve detail of minutes for board meetings. 

Item held for April.

C. Bator made a motion for the board to enter Executive Session by reason of discussion of reputation during discussion of Executive Director's Mid-Year review. 

The board will only return to adjourn the meeting.