CEO Darilek began her update noting that the third quarter of the school year would end shortly, with annual state testing to begin the week after Spring Break.  Offer letters have been provided to teachers, instructional aids, and principals, and the High School has had a much higher early return rate as compared to prior years.  CEO Darilek discussed the launch of the first, quarterly, cross-campus safety and security meeting and asked Chief Operating Officer Carlo-Miranda to share highlights from the meeting.  

Next, CEO Darilek shared highlights from each school:

• Parents at the Elementary School have launched the ROAR (Resources, Opportunities and Relationships) family group to further bring parents together. 
• The Middle School recently recently held a science fair and 7th grade students participated in a mock trial.  
• The lacrosse season has begun at the High School, and numerous other activities have been held, including a poetry competition, STEM expo, and National History Day.

CEO Darilek last discused student enrollment and the kick-off of the strategic planning process. 

 

After watching a compilation of student feedback on a variety of questions, Board Chair Smith asked Strategy and Policy Manager, Amber Schlick, to provide an update on the strategic planning process.  Ms. Schlick first informed the Board that Northstar Education Partners had been selected as the strategic planning partner and noted reasons for selecting Northstar.  She then remarked on efforts to identify individuals to participate on the steering committee for the strategic plan.  Last, Ms. Schlick indicated that trustee members will have the opportunity to meet with Northstar at next Board meeting.

Board Chair Smith asked Board members to indicate their interest to serve on the Committee.
 

Audit, Finance, and Facilities Chair Kershaw asked COO Carlo-Miranda to provided an overview on key considerations for the 2019-2020 budget.  COO Carlo-Miranda began her overview my reviewing budget assumptions and dependencies, and informed the Board that a  2.2% increase in the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula had been recently confirmed.   She referred to a slide showing the impact of new loan covenants and reiterated the benefit of the new loan covenants.  COO Carlo-Miranda reminded the Board of budget priorities discussed at the prior meeting and provided an in-depth review of new initiatives and tradeoffs being considered under each priority.

COO Carlo-Miranda then discussed the process to obtain engagement from cross-campus leadership on the budget, and noted upcoming meetings with teachers and parents to further engage. Board members asked questions about talent efforts, including teacher recruitment and selection and facilities projections and planning.  

School Performance Committee Chair Westendorf reviewed four topics covered at the Committee's most recent meeting:  (i) charter goals; (ii) strategic planning; (iii) the recent all-staff session; and (iv) assessments. With respect to assessments, he indicated that the Committee spent significant time reviewing the various assessments given, the rationale behind each test,  how assessment data is used and could be used for various actions, and the cost and benefits of the tests.  Mr. Westendorf informed the Board that both the Elementary and Middle Schools have conducted listening sessions with teachers on the benefits of the various assessments.  

 Board member asked questions, including questions about the timing and formats of the various tests.  

Next, Mr. Westendorf referred to the charter goals recommendation provided in advance of the meeting. He reminded the Board that in November 2017, the Board elected to adopt Performance Management Framework ("PMF") goals as charter goals for the purposes of the charter review process.  Mr. Westendorf discussed the rationale behind the recommendation to keep the PMF as charter goals for purposes of finalizing the new charter agreement. Unique charter goals could be established, if needed, after the strategic planning process. The Board agreed with this approach. 

Senior Director, Development and Communications Callahan first provided an update on progress toward annual fund goals and indicated the receipt of a new grant.  He then reviewed the timeline for the 15th Anniversary event and stressed the need for early sponsorships.  

Last, Mr. Callahan referred Board members to the list of upcoming events provided in advance of the meeting. 

Board Chair Smith referred to proposed Bylaw amendments provided by the Board's counsel.  The changes reflect feedback from the Public Charter School Board obtained during the 15-year renewal process.  She asked Board members to review the changes and for any questions or comments. 

Board members expressed no objections to the changes. 

The Board met in Executive Session to discuss matters of mutual interest.