No members of the public provided comments at this meeting.

A. Kaynor and I. Blake presented a summary of the process to update Excel Academy Rhode Island's LEA Strategic Plan.

Stakeholder feedback is gathered from sources that may include but are not limited to – the Academic Oversight Committee and School Improvement Team, a family input meeting and survey, the Family Leadership Council, a staff survey, and meetings with individual staff members.

Summary of Updates:

• School Year 24-25 Data has been incorporated.
• The following LEA Strategic Plan goals are largely consistent with last year's, with two updates: (1) an SGP goal which more closely mirrors our Excel's organizational priorities, and (2) ACCESS goals added at the request of RIDE.
  • XLRI will have fewer than 15% students identified as chronically absent.
  • XLRI will achieve an average SGP of 60 or higher on ELA and Math RICAS
  • XLRI will increase the percentage students Meeting and Exceeding Expectations by 6%
  • XLRI will ensure that at least 60% of MLL students meet their ACCESS Growth targets.
  • XLRI will have 50% of teachers and support professionals earn a 3 or higher on the Student Learning component of RIDE rubric.
  • XLRI will increase the percentage of experienced educators who share identities with our students by 10%.

S. Patton and C. Heng presented on the Head of School hiring process and recommendation, as presented in the Board packet and sent to the Board by C. Heng in advance, and answered clarifying questions. S. Patton and C. Heng also summarized K. Cushing's qualifications, experience, deep investment in the school, and excitement about stepping up to this leadership role. C. Heng acknowledged that he wishes the pool of viable candidates had been broader, and that he offers his fullest endorsement of K. Cushing and has complete confidence in her ability to lead the campus.

J. Greenthal asked about continuity in other leadership roles around K. Cushing. O. Stearns and S. Patton clarified the plan for K. Ring and D. Flanagan to move to founding Head of School and Dean of Operations roles for Excel Academy Rhode Island's high school and spend the next year as a planning year, which will involve building systems, hiring, deep investment in family engagement, and potentially residencies to observe and learn from other strong high schools. The rest of the leadership team is staying constant from this year to next year.

A. Stelson presented on the FY26 budget proposal, strategic financial priorities for Excel's three entities, and financial risks, as detailed in the FY26 Budget memo and proposal that was distributed to all three of Excel's boards in May 2025 and which was previously reviewed and recommended by each of Excel's three Finance Committees.

Board members clarifying questions which A. Stelson, O. Stearns, A. Solomon, C. Heng, and A. Kaynor answered.

C. Chhay asked about the cost per pupil and how it accounts for costs of educating students with disabilities. A. Stelson clarified that the cost per student presented in the budget is an average across all students, including students with disabilities.

L. Giordano and C. Chhay asked for context about the journey the school took to reach this exciting inflection point of positive net operating revenue next year. C. Heng and A. Stelson contextualized that we have added more students each year within roughly the same building footprint and without adding staff at the same rate that enrollment has grown.

J. Greenthal asked if there are any major changes in spending anticipated for next school year. A. Stelson noted that we are not expecting major shifts, although the school is cognizant of the possibility of increasing costs if additional outside placements are necessary to meet students individual needs. A. Stelson noted that our Excel MA school, we have a program where we are better able to serve students who might otherwise require outside placements (called the ROSE program). We do not yet have sufficient scale to offer a similar program in Rhode Island yet, although we are starting to explore this possibility for the future.

L. Giordano asked whether we expect to see expenses comparable to our MA school in RI in the future. A. Stelson clarified that we do expect the cost per pupil to come closer between the states as we phase out some extraordinary spending in MA that was only possible due to ESSER funding during COVID, but we do not expect per pupil spending in RI to match MA in the future because per pupil revenue is much lower, and it is fundamental to our philosophy that we operate schools sustainably on public revenue.

ABS presented on key areas of risk and uncertainty, as detailed in slides that were presented to the Board. A. Stelson and O. Stearns also noted that we are in one of the strongest financial positions we have ever experienced at Excel overall, and this will allow us to weather some degree of uncertainty and risk in the coming years.

L. Giordano asked for clarification about steps taken with staff to set the tone for a different fiscal environment and outlook. A. Stelson and O. Stearns clarified the training and communications that have taken place with staff this year to convey this information. Staff broadly understand that we are in an environment where investments need to come with tradeoffs so that we can continue to operate sustainably, which is more important than ever given the uncertain fiscal environment we are operating within. C. Chhay thanked the Finance Team, Leadership Team, and Finance Committee for their care and attentiveness to this challenging planning work and also communications about these weighty issues with the Excel community.

O. Stearns and A. Kaynor thanked C. Heng, C. Chhay, and J. Greenthal for participating in the recent lender site visit board interview, C. Heng and L. Giordano for participating in the recent donor site visit, and C. Heng, C. Chhay, L. Giordano, B. Smiley, F. Rojas, and J. Greenthal for their roles in the upcoming donor luncheon.

O. Stearns and A. Kaynor previewed a donor luncheon coming up next week and updated the Board on progress with a prospective new donor and efforts to form a new Growth Campaign Committee.

O. Stearns thanked many members of the Board for their roles in supporting the school in its advocacy efforts, including by participating in a recent Providence City Council Ordinance Committee meeting in May. A. Kaynor previewed some additional opportunities for the Board to assist with advocacy efforts.

O. Stearns reviewed the status of prospective real estate sites with the Board.

A. Kaynor reminded the Board about upcoming events and welcomed Board members to attend the upcoming Excel MA high school graduation ceremony on June 11th.