Great Oaks Charter School - Bridgeport
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday January 11, 2017 at 5:15 PM
Location
Great Oaks Charter School; 510 Barnum Ave (2nd Floor Conference Room)
Great Oaks Charter School of Bridgeport's November board meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 11th at 5:15 pm on the second floor of the school at 510 Barnum Ave.
Directors Present
Amy Marshall (remote), Dexter Upshaw (remote), Ed Farrow, Leticia Sepulveda (remote), Pamela Fraser-Abder (remote), Susan Briggs, Wade Eyerly (remote)
Directors Absent
Tamara Smith
Directors who arrived after the meeting opened
Wade Eyerly
Directors who left before the meeting adjourned
Amy Marshall, Leticia Sepulveda
Guests Present
Christine English, Michael Duffy, Michael McGregor, Michael Sonbert, Monica Brown, Monica Maccera Filppu, Rick Iandoli, Shana Hurley
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
Ed Farrow called a meeting of the board of directors of Great Oaks Charter School - Bridgeport to order on Wednesday Jan 11, 2017 at 5:28 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
Amy Marshall made a motion to approve minutes from the Board Meeting on 12-14-16 Board Meeting on 12-14-16.
Dexter Upshaw seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Facilities and Finance
A.
Report from the Finance Committee
B.
Development Report
Wade Eyerly arrived.
C.
Discussion on funding short-term space solution for SY 17-18
Susan Briggs made a motion to authorize E. Farrow, Board Chair, to represent the interests of the board to review and execute the lease amendment to the Bridgeport Trade and Technology Center agreement for the proposed high school space at 510 Barnum Ave. for the 2017-2018.
Amy Marshall seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Amy Marshall made a motion to authorize Great Oaks Bridgeport to borrow funds from the Great Oaks Foundation to pay the up-front costs of outfitting the space to be paid back during the 2017-2018 school year, interest free, contingent upon the execution of the lease amendment for the high school space with the Bridgeport Trade and Technology Center.
Leticia Sepulveda seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Amy Marshall left.
III. Academic Excellence
A.
Report of the Academic Committee
R. Reid, Chief Academic Officer of the Great Oaks Foundation, introduced Michael Sonbert to the Great Oaks Bridgeport board. M. Sonbert has been a teacher, an instructional coach and a charter management organization leader with Mastery Charter Schools. He is now a consultant to Great Oaks, providing support with instructional coaching and to our instructional coaches. M. Sonbert has been providing real-time coaching to teachers, focusing on school culture before scaffolding up to strong instructional planning and academic rigor.
Leticia Sepulveda left.
IV. Report from the Executive Director
A.
Dashboard Review
M. Maccera provided the board with an update on the 7th Grade Reset. Seventh grade now has its own schedule, prioritizing separate transitions. Administrative staff is also providing additional support to seventh grade transitions via guided transitions.
The Academic Committee will be revisiting the student handbook in order to better define additional consequences between detention and expulsion. Possibilities include, for example, mandatory parent shadows.
The Academic Committee will be revisiting the student handbook in order to better define additional consequences between detention and expulsion. Possibilities include, for example, mandatory parent shadows.
V. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
Dexter Upshaw made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Wade Eyerly seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 6:35 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Shana Hurley
Great Oaks Foundation President M. Duffy spoke to the efforts to raise funds for the 2016-2017 operating budget. He is confident in several leads and emphasized that funding for GO-BPT is the Foundation's top philanthropic priority for this year.