O. Stearns facilitated a team builder discussion centered on the topic of reliving what it was like to be in middle and high school.

O. Stearns provided CEO updates on the following topics:

State of the Schools

• Testing season, MCAS & AP
• Final sprint on talent/hiring for the year
• Update from Academic Team & Academic Oversight Committee in April and again in June

Head of School Hiring

• As discussed in our last meeting, this year we are hiring for two Head of School (HOS) openings – one at our Chelsea campus and one at our East Boston campus.
• Dave Sachs has been participating in finalist interviews as your Board representative.
• At our April 4 meeting, you all approved the Excel Academy Chelsea HOS hiring recommendation.
• We will be asking you to vote to approve a HOS hiring recommendation for our Excel Academy East Boston campus at your June Board meeting.
• Please be on the lookout for an email from Dave with the XLEB HOS hiring recommendation. If you have questions about this hiring recommendation, we would ask that you reach out to Dave directly in advance of the June meeting. We are very grateful to Dave for taking on this important work!

FY25 Budget Reminder

• Thank you to the Finance Committee for meeting on 4/26 to review the draft FY25 budget in detail. The Finance Committee voted to approve recommending the draft budget to the full Board for approval at the June meeting.
• A summary memo will be circulated in May, and we encourage you all to review the budget memo and reach out to Arthur Kaynor (akaynor@excelacademy.org) and Aaron Stelson (astelson@excelacademy.org) if you have any questions or would like to discuss the draft budget with a member of the Finance Team in advance of the June Board meeting and budget approval vote.

Student Lottery Update

• We ended this year’s recruitment season in a strong position. We are fully enrolled for SY24-25 and have sufficient applications per grade level to feel confident that we will be able to fill any vacancies and stay fully enrolled for SY24-25.
• Shout out to the NT Recruitment & Enrollment team - Estevan, Alexandra (XLHS ’22), Priscilla, and Stevie - for making this success possible!

Chelsea Expansion Update

• In June, the Board discussed the possibility of expanding to elementary grades in Chelsea. The Board asked staff to take time this year to assess feasibility.
• We hired Jean Kim to run a feasibility assessment on the possibility of Chelsea expansion and to develop a framework (“Greenlighting Criteria”) for evaluation of future expansion opportunities.
• School & Network leadership decided not to apply this year. We would like to serve more Chelsea families, but it is not the right timing given leadership transitions and other factors.
• We will consider this question again in the future.

RI Expansion Update

• O. Stearns provided brief updates on efforts to secure a new campus for the Excel Academy RI school, so that the Board is aware of this important topic.

School Safety Update

• An incident in East Boston recently highlighted a gap in communications between Boston Police and local charter schools. O. Stearns participated in follow-up meetings with BPD and other local schools to improve the communication systems to help keep East Boston charter schools informed in a timely way about potential safety issues in the area.

C. Brumme and A. Kaynor provided an update on CMO agreement discussions with DESE. The legal team and representatives from the school and from the CMO have reviewed DESE's comments and edits. Most can be accepted as-is, and we drafting a few revisions to send back to DESE.

A. Kaynor provided the following reminder:

Annual disclosure paperwork is distributed in May via the BMMS system. If you did not receive your paperwork via email, please let Arthur know, and he will follow up with DESE. We kindly request that you submit your paperwork by June 30. Thank you!

A. Kaynor previewed the schedule of upcoming Board meetings and school events with the Board.

D. Sachs motioned to adjourn, seconded by B. Rodriguez, and the motion passed unanimously.