The Exploris School
Minutes
The Exploris School Board Regular Monthly Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday May 28, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Location
The Exploris School: Elementary Campus
17 S Swain St, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA
5th Grade Classroom
Directors Present
A. Rodriguez, E. Grunden, M. Nelson, M. Perry, R. Averitte, S. Graham
Directors Absent
L. Collins, P. President, S. Scipione
Ex Officio Members Present
D. Brown, E. Burton, J. Corbat
Non Voting Members Present
D. Brown, E. Burton, J. Corbat
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
E. Grunden called a meeting of the board of directors of The Exploris School to order on Thursday May 28, 2026 at 4:35 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
E. Grunden made a motion to approve the minutes from The Exploris School Board Regular Monthly Meeting on 04-23-26.
A. Rodriguez seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Public Comment
II. Committee Reports
A.
Governance
- Deb gave updates from the Governance Committee
- Recent legislation that pertains to Charter Schools
- The committee is working on annual updates to our handbooks
- Lauren has identified a Board candidate to take her place as a governance-forward Board member
- Alannah brought up that Board Bylaws need to be updated and submitted to DPI occasionally. Deb agreed and highlighted an upcoming touch point with DPI through our Charter Renewal process.
B.
Educational Excellence
- Ethan gave updates about our use of IXL as a benchmarking and diagnostic tool.
- Teachers provided feedback about IXL and how we use it to formatively assess students
- Meredith highlighted an area from the recent Teacher Working Conditions Survey (TWCS) that needs attention: Behavior systems and processes.
- Ethan mentioned that our Code of Conduct is unique and is often difficult to communicate; something we can work on.
- Deb highlighted disconnects between the prior state Student Information System (SIS) and the new Infinite Campus system. We have plans to improve how tracking works going into the new school year.
- Eric agreed with these issues and mentioned that there can be nuance to how discipline is handled at the school level.
- Ethan pointed out that many items in our Code of Conduct offer a large number of consequences, which can sometimes add complexity to navigating.
- The Board suggests two conversations: Internal among the Board and Teachers/Staff, and external as a Town Hall or similar input mechanism with our family community.
- The Board continued to refine the idea of gathering input about discipline, reviewing the Code of Conduct (and our policies overall), and leading changes to both providing information about discipline and the overall policies and practices in place.
C.
Facilities
- Josh gave updates, centered around the uploaded update slide deck.\
- The Elementary is getting a dumpster! (We need it.)
D.
Finance Committee
- Alannah gave updates from the finance committee.
- Spending is winding down for the school year.
- Our 990s are now submitted.
- The state has not yet passed a budget (and will not pass one for FY2026).
- We've drafted a budget revision that will serve as the basis for a FY27 continuation budget, to be approved by the Board.
A. Rodriguez made a motion to approve FY26 budget revision.
S. Graham seconded the motion.
- The committee members explained that this revision is very close to FY26 actuals.
A. Rodriguez made a motion to adopt the FY27 continuation budget.
M. Nelson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
III. Director's Report
A.
May 2026 Report to the Board
- The Leadership team gave enrollment and other updates.
- The Board discussed marketing tactics. A new ad set is currently running to encourage 6th- and 7th-grade applications.
E. Grunden made a motion to approve the two recommended hires.
S. Graham seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Teacher Working Conditions Survey Report
IV. Community Reports
A.
Kaizen Report
- Thank you, Shawna! Shawna Scipione is rolling off from the Kaizen Lead role.
- Welcome, Emily! Emily Felker, 5th-grade teacher, is the new Elementary Kaizen Lead!
- Kaizen is exploring multiple datasets that constitute feedback from multiple stakeholder groups that contribute to school improvement work, including the TWCS and the FAM-S.
- There is some good growth in the TWCS, but some areas of concern when compared to the state.
B.
PTO Report
- The PTO held their latest meeting last week, mostly centered around end-of-year.
- A HUGE shoutout and thank-you go to Carrie Kressman, who has stewarded our events over the past nearly decade! She, alongside Emily McIntyre (and so many more, including Chad McIntyre!), has grown our events into something truly amazing. This year's Middle School Dance had over 70% of the students in attendance.
C.
Foundation Report
- The Foundation is working on the next Annual Report.
V. Board Business
A.
Cease and Desist Letter
- The Board recently served a Cease and Desist letter to a parent who has exhibited a pattern of unacceptable behavior.
VI. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 6:15 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
J. Corbat