The Authorizer Baseline Check-in outlines the framework for the authorizer desk audit.  It outlines the documents requests and the responsible party for managing those documents. 

NYSED will also evaluate our board meetings. The Board will look into the evaluation criteria and make sure the meetings meet the requirements set forth by the authorizer. 

The Common Charter School terms  is a tool for Board Members without an education background. 

The Prospective Trustee Questionnaire will be used for prospective board members.

The financial indicators reveal suitable asset to liability ratio, currently the ratio is 2.77 and should never drop lower than 1.  Cash on Hand is at 83 days,  but should be over 90. The difference is not drastic, but  we have struggled to keep it above 90 all fiscal year. At this rate, we are at risk of having only one-month of cash on hand by June because the monthly expenditures are $260,000 and we currently only have a cash balance of $365,000. Our total spending vs. revenue margin is negative but should be positive. The Debt to Asset Ratio is at .77 and should be below .9. $130,316 in grant fund were received as of 3.31.2020. 

The fiscal year is 75% complete and we have received 73% of our revenue.  Our expenses are at 56% trending below the 75% mark.  We received the final payment from the DOE on April 24, 2020 for general education and special education students. 


 

The  2020-2021 draft budget will continue to be fleshed out by the Finance Committee. Some notable changes are the addition of the Special Education Teacher and the removal of the Operations Fellow position.  Payroll services numbers still need to be amended. 


The Board also discussed the  cost of instructional staff development. The Board recommended using more creative and economical ways of continuing professional development due to these uncertain times.  
 

The Board discussed the addition of the  Director of Finance position. The Back-office provider may not be the best fit for our goal of financial prudence. The vote on a Finance Director was tabled for a meeting in the future. The Year 2 Budget must be finalized by June 30, so we will need to determine if these salary bands are sustainable. 

Head of School stated that she is looking forward to talking with a facilitator.  She does not agree with having an In-House Director of Finance and stated that other Charter Schools have found that a Director of Finance did not work well. She went on to state that the current Back Office Provider is doing a deep dive into the finances and so far it has revealed that the financials are in a good place both short and long term.  

 

Management sought out quotes from four Vendors, but only three vendors were presented to the Board. One  vendor could not align with our color scheme and therefore was omitted from consideration. The school furniture bid will supply enough furniture for Ivy Hill Prep through the fifth year. 

Management recommended the Chameleon Group furniture bid of $34,129.20.

The Board questioned the timing of such a large expenditure and inquired if this order could wait.  Management explained that CSP funds are available and expire at a certain date.

• Continuity of Education Plan was due to the authorizer on March 27, 2020 .  The authorizer expects for the plan to be a living breathing document and evolve over time.
• The Academic Achievement Committee had a discussion with Management about the definition of instructional time. The Committee interpreted  instructional time as time in which teachers are working directly with students over Zoom. Management believes this also included independent work time.  
•  The Committee decided to continue using Zoom, despite the DOE discontinuing use of the platform. 

• The enrollment policy was amended to include a process by which parents can submit documentation online.

Dashboard
The Head of School reported that there is no change in the demographics of the school. The current enrollment is 116 students. There was no attrition and no out-of-school suspensions during the month of April. 

Assessments:
The Math Interim assessment was held on March 11 and March 12. All but one class hit the benchmark of 75%. 

Literacy assessment will resume on  Monday May 4.

2020-2021 Enrollment
All 60 kindergarten seats are filled with a healthy waitlist of 159 students. 9 out of 10 first grade seats have been filled and 2 out of 2 second grade seats are filled. 


Distance Learning Plan
The first version of virtual learning expired on April 21. This plan included the distance learning included 1:1 video conferencing instruction, distance learning binders, packets, and online games.

Ivy Hill Prep Distance Learning Plan  is currently in version 2.0.  The students will no longer be using the distance learning binder and will have increased instructional time with their teachers and submit work to be graded.

Every Monday, a video model of a teacher working with a student  will be posted on youtube. Parents watch the video model and can use it to guide home instruction. 1:1 video sessions have continued, but have increased to four times per week.  The students will use the Lexia  app 40 minutes/day. Some parents voiced concerns about keeping up with submitting work, but generally the feedback from families has been positive overall. 

School Culture

Ivy Hill Prep held a virtual spirit week. The feedback from families have been very positive so far. The school culture is also continued through virtual martial arts and dance lessons that include parents. 


 

Student lockers have arrived. The renovation process is currently in phase III and there are no delays anticipated. 

 

The HOS  contract and evaluation rubric are not finalized yet. The goal is for the rubric to be finalized by May 2020 and the Evaluation Process to be complete by July 2020. 

The Board was reminded of the Board Giving Goal. 

 

Trivia Night is on pause until the shutdown is over. Once the pandemic is over and restaurants reopen, a new date will be scheduled.