• New York State Education Department has suspended the 180-day requirement for all schools in New York State until April 11, 2020. The Board anticipates this suspension to be extended again.
• The Open Meeting Laws have been suspended and all meetings can be held remotely.  The meeting must be recorded and later transcribed. 
• Management will attend a meeting to discuss distance learning plan requirements. Board Chair Marsha Michael will be present at the meeting
• Despite the limitations on in-person meetings, The Board  will continue to govern Ivy Hill Prep. The Board will still pass the budget in May 2020, no board meetings will be cancelled, and the governance committee will remain  in contact with the management and remain informed through webinars. 
• All communication with the public should be directed to the Head of School. The Board should not be communicating with the public directly. 

The Board discussed the importance of an emergency succession plan in case the current board chair or treasurer fall ill. Jennifer Small volunteered to be Board Vice Chair. The current Board Chair, Marsha Michael, will train her.  Adam Laniyan will become Treasurer if Nataki Williams is unable to continue this role due to illness. 

A document was created to track school performance around the renewal benchmarks set by the authorizer. The plan is to review every benchmark annualy and allow that review to inform board decisions on areas which need iimprovement. The benchmarks and documents were created using the authorizer's renewal performance framework. 

The board discussed using the benchmark document as a way to self assess schools progress and the assessment should take place during the respective committee meetings. 

Board discussed whether we should include additional comments outside of the ratings of  meets, approaches, falls below benchmarks. We will eventually have a large format document with additional documents. For now, we are looking at indivdual bullets and determining how we accomplished the goal iunder that bullet. 

It is very important to have a surplus. For example: it was essential for each child to have a chromebook so that they can access the distance learning program. If an emergency happens, like the current situation we need additional surplus so that we can continue to pay teachers and other basics while remianing afloat.

 

Treasurer Nataki Williams presented the Financial Dashboard.

The financial indicators revealed suitable asset to liability ratio, cash on hand, and  debt to asset ratio.  The Profit and Loss Summary revealed some savings  in staff compensation. However, there is a -$48,373 variance in  income due  to delays in anticipated grant money.  The Board has been in close contact with management to ensure spending is timed appropriately, since there is some uncertainty on what funding IHP will be eligible for and the timing of grant money.

There is a possibility of a loss of special education funding. It is unclear if the distance learning instruction will be eligible for continued special education funding.  The Board confirmed with Management once again that teachers did not need to be certified in special education for a class to be classified as a special education service. HOS confirmed  that this is the information she received from the authorizer. 

CSP funding is currently being used for the renovation project. IHP has already submitted invoices for the first two installments for our renovation. Finance Committee is hopeful that the reimbursement will come in this fiscal year, but it is possible that it will not receive it until next fiscal year. 


 

Management recommended using Charter Technology Solutions ("CTS") as the E-rate services company. E-rate services are federally funded and designated specifically for internet hardware. IHP is currently under contract with Charter Technology Solutions for internet services. CTS is familiar with the IHP facilities. IHP received  formal proposals from  four vendors. The bids were vetted through the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee did note that they had some concern about the other bids being disproportionately high compared to Charter Technology.







 

School Closure: Decision was made on Friday March 13, 2020 to close schools prior to NYC determination to close DOE schools and provided parents with more lead time. Students received packets for a two week period and remote instruction is scheduled to begin. HOS reported on details of the program. 

 

General discussion on Enrollment and upcoming lottery. 

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative  that there is a written plan which enables the board, school staff, and families to be clear on which staff would be responsible for key responsibilities and which staff would report to the board in the event that a sudden emergency prevented the HOS from continuing in his or her role.

Plan to work on new employment contract for HOS as well review job description. Committee will also continue provide ongoing support. 

Board Chair Marsha Michael reminded the board giving obligations. 

Trivia Night may have to be cancelled if the ban on non-essential gatherings continues. Whether or not the event occurs, the Board is still encouraged to talk to our networks about giving and fundraising. 

The renovation plan will continue as planned. Lockers are scheduled to arrive the first week of April. 

 

Dashboard
The Head of School reported that the current enrollment is 116 students. There was no attrition and no out-of-school suspensions during the month of March. One  teacher has been terminated. It was determined that the teacher was not a mission-fit and that Iy Hill Prep is not the best place for her. The position will not be filled this academic year and management made assurances that the scholars' education will not be hindered.

Lottery
The lottery for the 2020-20201 will be held, but will be recorded and transcribed. There was a discussion on the requirement for news media outlets. Last year, the lottery was posted on social media and on the Ivy Hill Prep website; however there may be an additional requirement to post in on social media, the school website and a local newspaper. 

Assessments
The Math Interim Assessment took place on March 11 and March 12. The results will be ready at the next board meeting.The Academic Committee spoke about the potential of the benchmarks being too high. HOS is considering changing the timing of the assessments and adding an additional assessment. The Board was concerned about kindergarten students at Step 2 not making progress. HOS explained that the jump from Step 2 to Step 3 is significant, so it takes longer for students to get from step 2 to  step 3.  The Board will continue to review the data from assessments and determine changes for next school year. 

Distance Learning Plan
IHP has a Distance Learning Plan three-part distance learning plan that will be rolled out on Thursday, March 26. 
Distance Learning Binders
    - Binders are leveled based on academic functioning in literacy and math.
    - Includes an ideal schedule for each of the students.
Chromebooks
   - Every child will have a Chromebook
   - Parents are given a resource list of websites and apps that they can use.
Zoom 
   - Zoom videoconferencing platform will be used for instructional sessions.
   - Teachers will work with meet with each student for 2-3 instructional sessions per week. 
   - The HOS will teach a group of 2-3 students. If it is successful, instructional groups will be       considered for other students as well. 
 

Tanisha James will complete the meeting evaluation.