E.L. Haynes Public Charter School
Minutes
E.L. Haynes Board of Trustees Regular Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday November 7, 2024 at 6:00 PM
Location
HS Think Tank
4501 Kansas Ave NW
Washington, DC 20011
Trustees Present
F. Sutton, J. Hanna (remote), J. Niles, K. Simpkins, L. Carlton Waller, L. Robinson Mills, M. Hall, M. Kovner (remote), R. Laine (remote), R. Payes (remote), T. Gibian
Trustees Absent
L. Johnson-Law
Guests Present
Brittany Wagner-Friel, Dominique Moore, Emily Hueber Stoetzer, H. Darilek, J. Rydstrom, K. Wynne, Melissa Gobrecht (remote), P. Rayamajhi, Peter Cuenco, R. Hunt Taylor, Tashiyra Freeman (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
VOTE to Approve Minutes from September 12, 2024 Meeting
D.
Public Comment
- ES Parent Melissa Gobrecht asked how the school will respond to the election results, including how the school will support families who may not be documented and school closures around inauguration.
- ES Parent and ROAR leader Dominique Moore asked for updates to the family engagement policy handbook and requested more information about the middle school.
II. CEO Update
A.
CEO Update
Chief Executive Officer Hilary Darilek shared updates regarding:
- How the school is coming together following the election results.
- New staff team members and trustee LaJoy Johnson-Law winning a seat on the DC State Board of Education.
- Closing out Academic Quarter 1 and exceeding enrollment targets, which is relatively unique to other charter school LEAs.
- Successfully transitioning to a new payroll system and launching our draft race and equity framework.
- Beginning construction on a new Pre-K playground and enhancing safety and security systems across all three campuses.
III. School Performance Committee
A.
Review SY 2024-25 Organizational Dashboard
Chief Academic Officer Rikki Hunt Taylor walked through the structure of the SY 2024-25 Organizational Dashboard and its main priorities. During her overview, CAO Hunt Taylor noted that the DC Council invited E.L. Haynes to testify at a recent hearing on chronic absenteeism and truancy to discuss the positive impacts of our work to support improving student attendance.
B.
Preview Q1 Academic Data
Chief Academic Officer Rikki Hunt Taylor shared academic data that summarized progress in Academic Quarter 1, including some that differentiated between new and returning students in 6th and 9th grades.
IV. Community Relations Committee
A.
Share Annual Fund Updates
Senior Director of External Relations and Strategic Initiatives Katie Wynne provided a summary of FY25 fundraising progress. Overall, we have already exceeded our main fundraising goal for the year.
B.
Discuss 20th Anniversary Event Updates and Asks
Community Relations Committee Chair Fonda Sutton provided updates about the 20th Anniversary event and shared event-related asks with other trustees.
V. Audit, Finance, and Facilities
A.
Share Q1 Updates
Senior Advisor Justin Rydstrom shared financial updates from FY Quarter 1.
B.
Review FY26 Budget Timeline
Senior Advisor Justin Rydstrom reviewed the FY 26 budget planning timeline. Trustee and School Performance Committee (SPC) Chair Richard Laine noted that the SPC wants to see the budget more closely align with its academic goals.
VI. Governance Committee
A.
Share Q1 Updates
Governance Committee Chair Roshelle Payes provided updates regarding active recruitment efforts.