Brighten Academy
Minutes
Brighten Academy Charter School Governing Board Meeting
Date and Time
Monday September 23, 2024 at 6:00 PM
Location
5897 Prestley Mill Rd, Douglasville, GA 30135
The Brighten Academy Governing Board will meet on Monday, September 23, 2024 at 6pm.
Directors Present
C. Burns Falker, C. Claiborne, D. Carter, J. Smith, K. Moses, N. Lord, R. Finan, R. Zackery, S. Battle
Directors Absent
M. Vitale
Ex Officio Members Present
D. Davis
Non Voting Members Present
D. Davis
Guests Present
K. Bemus, K. Smith
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Adoption of Agenda
D.
Approval of Minutes
II. Executive Director's Report
A.
Facilities Update
B.
PTO Updates
Great turnout for movie night. Octoberfest is next. Candy donations are now being accepted, and the PTO has asked that the male board members will help grill at Octoberfest.
C.
Staffing Update
Katie Smith explained there is an offer pending for 8th grade para. 2nd para interviews have began. Offer pending for 5th grade teacher and finance/human resources position.
D.
Discipline Update
Kelly Bemus reviewed the spreadsheet with the board. The spreadsheet provides details regarding the Culture and Structure, sense of belonging, core practices, and measurable metrics for CREW. The board will discuss each section in greater detail at each meeting.
The goal of this spreadsheet is to monitor the big 5 incidents and hopefully decrease them. Big five incidents below:
Physical contact
Fight
Physical agression
Defiance
Disruption
The numbers are currently trending higher than last year. President, Jamilia Smith asked if there was an opportunity for parent involvement to decrease the referrals. Mrs. Bemus and Mrs. Davis said one incentive is "On the Roll", which are students demonstrating the 7 C's in the classroom along with other positive initiatives.
Middle School classrooms have adopted electronic referrals. Other grade levels are transitioning to an electronic system.
Cary Claiborne asked how the school is tracking the one offs. Bemus explained that the admin team monitors them.
After the electronic referral is submitted by the teacher, it gets emailed to the parent instantly. The expectation is for a follow-up call from the teacher to the parent. The parent should recieve a phone call from the teacher within 24 hours.
Skills block/phonics program: The data being monitored is for students End of the Year goal. Focuses on reading.
82% of students were ready for Kindergarten.
E.
School Workplan Update: iReady
Reading- Fall 2024 Kindergarten students are above 50th percentile.
Math- Fall 2024 Kindergarten students are above 50th percentile.
Small groups have been developed to improve the iready numbers
Dyslexia and attendance data are now being monitored. Bemus will provide more details in the coming months.
F.
Surplus List
Alot of furniture and books have been donated to Angels in Progress.
III. Executive Committee
A.
Board Olympics
Jamilia explained there have been 24 tickets sold for the Board Bash.
Vote for the Board Olympics:
Board voted to postpone.
Cary asked how we will communicate to the parents that the event has been postponed. We agreed that the families will get a full refund
B.
Executive Session
IV. Policy/Governance Committee
A.
Policies for Vote
B.
Policies for Discussion
No discussion
V. Closing Items
A.
Public Comment
B.
Board Comments
Discussed Board on Track training and availability.
Mrs. Davis explained that there are numerous leaks in the building. Two leaks are in the cafeteria, and leaks in the atrium. The bidding process has began.