Maine Charter School Commission
Minutes
Monthly Commission Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday February 11, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Location
Room #500, Cross Office Building, 111 Sewall Street, Augusta or via Zoom
The Vision of the Maine Charter School Commission is that "Innovative public charter schools will provide Maine students with an equitable opportunity for an excellent education where students are valued, supported and challenged."
The Mission of the Maine Charter School Commission is "To authorize, monitor and support innovative public charter schools that provide a dynamic, high-quality education for every student."
Reminders:
- This meeting is being recorded via Zoom.
- We ask members of the public to hold comments until public comments are heard.
Any person seeking special accommodation for the public meeting should contact Sue Whipkey at (207)816-2187 or susan.whipkey@maine.gov.
Directors Present
Brian Langley (remote), Jim Handy, Leigh Albert (remote), Norm Higgins (remote), Tom Keller
Directors Absent
James Ford
Guests Present
Amy Allen (remote), Lana Ewing, Susan Whipkey
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
To Consider the Approval of the 1/14/26 Commission Meeting Minutes
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Brian Langley |
Aye
|
| Norm Higgins |
Aye
|
| Leigh Albert |
Abstain
|
| Jim Handy |
Aye
|
| James Ford |
Absent
|
| Tom Keller |
Aye
|
II. Additions or Adjustments to the Agenda
A.
Additions/Adjustments
A vote on an amendment submitted by Moxie Schools to enroll students in grades 6 through 9 rather than only grade 6 and grade 9 in year 1 is added to the agenda, Section IX C.
III. Committee Reports
A.
School Performance Committee
Tom Keller reported the Committee reviewed the following:
- Enrollment data as of December 31, 2025, provided by Amy. Fewer students exited this year than last year.
- A final version of Performance Framework revisions.
- Mid-Year Meeting updates.
- Maine Arts Enrollment.
B.
Finance Committee
Lana reported the Committee reviewed the following:
- School enrollment statistics provided by Amy.
- School Audit status.
- Mid-Year School financial highlights.
- MCSC Actual & Projected Spending vs. Budget.
- Transition to Public Instrumentality.
- Carryforward funds - The full Commission should agree on reserves.
- New auditor approved policies for a Commission vote today.
C.
Executive Committee
Tom Keller reported the Executive Committee discussed:
- Lana's presentation to the Kennebec Valley Superintendent Association Meeting.
- Commission Member Status. Since Tori has left the Commission, a new member will be appointed from the State Board.
- Public Instrumentality Status and Carryover Funds.
- Policy Maker Spreadsheet provided by Amy.
IV. Public Comment*
A.
Public Comment
- None
V. Presentation(s)
A.
Presentation(s)
- None
VI. Executive Director/Commission Staff Report
A.
School Updates
Lana shared highlights for Maine Arts Academy and Baxter Academy:
Maine Arts Academy
- Maine Arts Academy held a well-attended open house in January and will hold them each month through summer. Interest is high.
- Kennebec Savings Bank will publish an article about their partnership with the school. Heather will share it when it's available.
- The school held their first annual talent show for middle and high school students.
- Dr. Cullen, a Maine Arts Academy teacher just completed his Doctorate in Education degree at Boston College.
Baxter Academy
- The school held Baxter Ventures, formerly Shark Tank, last Friday. Students presented their projects to the community and competed for awards. The title of the project that won overall is Chemical Deconstructive Techniques Associated with Decomposition of PFAS. Other winners were on the subjects of E-Waste and the creation of endomorph pathogenic pesticides.
- Baxter has started an afterschool math enrichment program for freshmen and an SAT prep program for juniors. They are both grant funded and taught by Baxter teachers.
B.
Organizational Updates
Lana reported the following:
- All mid-year meetings with the schools have been held and there are no red flags to note. Lana thanks the administration and school board teams for their work preparing for the meetings. Final reports will be shared at the next meeting.
- Two schools, Fiddlehead and Community Regional, are on intervention plans. Both schools are making strong progress to goals in their plans. The next check in with the schools is in April and Lana will report the results during May meetings.
- As Tori Kornfield has left the Commission, there is an opening for another member of the State Board to join the Commission.
- On February 10th, eight of ten schools attended a Commission sponsored Professional Development (PD) on the topic of strategic goals. The discussion was led by Naomi Rubin-Deveaux.
- Naomi also led a strategic plan reflection for Commissioners on the morning of February 11th. The Commission is halfway through its three-year plan. In addition, the members discussed the Performance Framework and potential future revisions.
C.
Media Updates
- None
VII. Monthly School Portfolio/Data Report
A.
Monthly School Portfolio/Data Report
- None
VIII. Unfinished Business
A.
Unfinished Business
- None
IX. New Business Requiring Approval and/or Acceptance
A.
To Consider the Approval of Proposed Changes to the Performance Framework
Lana explained the performance framework is a living document. The current iteration has been in place for three years and the staff proposes to clarify language for both school and non-school readers along with the following four content changes:
1. Eliminate the language requirement for NWEA Map growth testing.
2. For 3rd grade reading, at least 70% of students will score at or above the 50th percentile on the spring NWEA Map growth reading assessment and/or at least 70% of third grade students will meet or exceed their projected growth. This year data will be collected but not reported publicly.
3. For chronic absenteeism, the school meets expectations if the absenteeism rate is under the state average for the year.
4. For year-to-year student persistence, students enrolled at the end of a school year will be compared to those enrolled on October 1.
Tom supported the 3rd grade reading proposal and praised the framework tool.
Norm suggested finding a cohort of public schools to incorporate the framework in their instruction to provide additional feedback to public education across the state. Lana will bring this idea to the Maine Department of Education Committee when she presents to them.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Tom Keller |
Aye
|
| Norm Higgins |
Aye
|
| Leigh Albert |
Aye
|
| Brian Langley |
Aye
|
| Jim Handy |
Aye
|
| James Ford |
Absent
|
B.
To Consider the Approval of the Following Commission Policies - Payment & Signatory and Travel
Lana explained these policies are needed as a result of the commission's restructuring to a public instrumentality organization. Over the next few months, policies will be brought forward for approval.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Brian Langley |
Aye
|
| Jim Handy |
Aye
|
| Norm Higgins |
Aye
|
| Tom Keller |
Aye
|
| Leigh Albert |
Aye
|
| James Ford |
Absent
|
C.
To Consider the Approval of the Moxie Public School's Request to Amend 1st Year Enrollment
Moxie Public Charter School proposes to amend the grade levels they are enrolling in year 1 to include grades 6 through 9 rather than only grades 6 and 9 as originally proposed. The request reflects early application patterns which suggest strong interest for middle school grades from families with siblings in more than one grade. Rather than enrolling 60 6th grade and 60 9th grade students in the first year, Moxie proposes to add 60 6th grade, 20 7th grade, 20 8th grade and 20 9th grade students. The total year 1 enrollment is the same.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Leigh Albert |
Aye
|
| Brian Langley |
Aye
|
| Norm Higgins |
Aye
|
| James Ford |
Absent
|
| Tom Keller |
Aye
|
| Jim Handy |
Aye
|
X. New Business Requiring Notification to the Commission (No formal action to be taken by Commission)
A.
New Governing Board Members
- Ecology Learning Center (Jennifer Albee)
- Ecology Learning Center (Lauren Giroux)
- Maine Connections Academy (Lisa Coombs)
B.
Board Member Resignations/Left the Board
- None
C.
Board Member Term Outs
- None
XI. Future Topics
A.
Future Topics
March
- No meeting
XII. Announcements
A.
Important Dates
Professional Development
- Tuesday, March 10 (10:00am-12:00pm) - Charter Public Schools Communication and Advocacy and the Role of the Board - Zoom Only
- Tuesday, March 17 (9:30-11:00am) - School Leader Evaluation - Zoom Only
- Tuesday, April 28 (9:00-11:00am) - NWEA MAP Growth: Reports for Teachers - Zoom Only
- Tuesday, May 19 (9:30-11:30am) - Planning for the Summer/Making the Most of the Summer Months - Zoom Only
Other
- Saturday, May 2, 2026 (11:00am-1:00pm)- Maine Arts Academy's 10-Year Anniversary Gala
- Wednesday, May 13 (8:00am-12:00pm) - Hall of Flags
B.
Upcoming Business Meeting(s)
- April 8, 2026 - Room #103/Cross Office Building, Augusta or Zoom
- May 13, 2026 - Zoom Only
- June 10, 2026 - Maine Academy of Natural Sciences, 13 Easler Road, Hinckley or Zoom
XIII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
Norm noted he and Amy have been monitoring legislation and reported that for charter schools, things will be quiet this session.
Norm also asked if the Commission has a date to report to the Education Committee of the legislature. Lana reported that nothing has been scheduled and she will follow up.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| Jim Handy |
Aye
|
| Norm Higgins |
Aye
|
| Brian Langley |
Aye
|
| James Ford |
Absent
|
| Tom Keller |
Aye
|
| Leigh Albert |
Aye
|
- Performance Framework - Suggested Revisions 2.11.26 Clean Copy.pdf
- Commission Payment and Signatory Policy.pdf
- Commission Travel Policy.pdf
- ELC - New Governing Board Member IJennifer Albee).pdf
- ELC - New Governing Board Member (Lauren Giroux).pdf
- MCA - New Governing Board Member (Lisa Coombs).pdf
Jim Handy read the Commission's Mission and Vision Statements.