CEO Darilek began her update by discussing the Public Charter School Board's celebration for Tier 1 Schools.  She remarked on the video premiered at the 15th year celebration, and noted the positive response from students at all of the schools.

CEO Darilek then shared a few sports highlights.  The Middle School soccer team made it to the city-wide finals, and Middle School basketball games have had strong attendance since moving the games to the High School Gym. 

Last, CEO Darilek reported on  the OSSE STAR reports, the calendar for the next school year (based on substantial feedback to a survey from families and staff), and the Chief Academic Officer search. 

Audit, Finance, and Facilities Chair Greene provided updates on the budget, including changes to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula and expected expenditures. 

Mr. Greene turned to CEO Darilek to provide more context.  CEO Darilek noted the school's strong budget position and key drivers of additional revenue.  She described the conservative approach for projecting staff salaries as noted in the materials.     

Referring to the deck provided in advance in the meeting, CEO Darilek reviewed potential investments with excess revenue, including in the areas of academics, talent, and operations.  These investments include a one-time,  contribution award to all staff members, an increase in budgets at each grade level, and student impact grants for staff that will promote innovative educational opportunities, among other items.  The Board indicated support for the contribution awards to staff.

Senior Director of Development and Communications Callahan reported on annual fund progress.  Goals have been met; however, individual giving and fundraising still remain areas of focus. 

Mr. Callahan next provided an debrief on the 15th anniversary event.  He reported that the event beat financial metrics from prior events, including lower expenses.  Mr. Callahan then discussed strengths of the event and opportunities for improvement for future events.

Last, Mr. Callahan informed the Board about the year-end giving campaign.  It will focus on 15 stories about E.L. Haynes to celebrate the 15th-year anniversary. 

CEO Darilek provided highlights on the 2019-2020 first quarter dashboard data.  In small groups, Board members discussed the dashboard metrics, and later each group shared themes with the entire Board.  Key themes discussed included improvements in metrics related to the 9th grade, positive changes at the Middle School, and college acceptance targets, among others. 

S. Kumar from NorthStar Education Partners led a discussion about the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. He recapped the process that started in April 2019, and reminded Board members of the groups engaged during the process.  He turned to CEO Darilek to provide additional updates. 

CEO Darilek reviewed the final list of focus areas and provided an overview of key initiatives in the areas of academics, talent, and organizational development.  Board members held small group discussions of the initiatives for each area. 

Board Chair Smith indicated that the Board will be asked to approve the plan in the January meeting, and requested that Board members reach out with any additional questions or comments prior to that time. 

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