Approval of today's meeting agenda – R. Watkins made a motion to approve agenda, T. Lewis seconded the motion. The Board voted to approve the motion

NOLA-PS: 

• NOLA-PS is in the process of selecting the next superintendent. Public forums and surveys are provided to gather input on the needs of the community and the education sector.

LDOE:  

• Our Student of the Year candidate participated in her selection interview last week. We look forward to finding out the results.

Facilities & Operations:

• An additional boiler issue occurred as a result of the fix. School went virtual 1/21 and 1/24. Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st grade will remain virtual until further notice.
• No update regarding the facility for next year. 

Human Resources: 

• Recent Hires:
  • Director of Scholar Supports (Dr. Sanchez)
  • Interventionist (Mr. Boutte)
  • Talent Manager (Ms. Toney)
• Open positions:
  • Kindergarten Lead Teacher
  • RTI Coordinator
• NOLA Compensation Study shows Élan lacks competitiveness. Currently revising salary scale.
• 2022-2023 Hiring in Process
  • Staffing Chart in Development to include new positions:
    • Operations Manager
    • Instructional Coaches
    • Behavior Interventionist
    • Foreign Language

Partnerships & Resources: 

• Thank you to the Board for the Gift Card Tree! Our team loved it!
• Dr. Askew Clark was admitted to NSNO’s E3 Fellowship.
• Élan secured a partnership with ANET to support our academic team in coaching and content knowledge development.
• Élan secured a partnership with CityYear for the upcoming school year to provide additional capacity to our team. 

Academics & School Culture: 

• Our annual Literacy Night will be held Tuesday, January 25th for parents to learn strategies to help their scholars at home. 
• Attendance took a dip as Covid cases rose. 
• Developed i-Ready goals and LEAP goals alongside the district school support director.
• Scholars will take the NWEA MAP Assessment on the week of January 31st.
• LEAP tutoring began this month and will continue until April.
• Received Fall Insight Survey Data. Met with TNTP to discuss opportunities for growth.
  • Only 54% of teachers took the survey.
  • 92% percentile of all of New Orleans Charters for Insight Data
  • Scored above the New Orleans Charters average in all domains.

Upcoming Projects:

• After School LEAP Tutoring (Volunteers Needed)
• Budget Draft & Review Process
• Salary Scale Revision
• Facility Decisions
• Summer PD Planning
• Summer School Planning

1. Met 1- 9- 22, and discussed the following: 
2. Building status - we are waiting on certain “dominoes” to fall before decisions can be made with regards to the facilities that we will utilize for the upcoming School year. 
3. Strategic plan - we are waiting on the completion of the staff surveys and audit to reschedule the Strategic Plan, as a follow up to our recent board retreat. 
4. Anniversary event - we discussed the Development Committee’s preparation of a 5th Anniversary/ Fundraising event. We are contemplating a brunch at a location on the West Bank. We are getting further details with regards to the locations. 
5. AEDF - Daphine is proceeding to set up a meeting with the AEDF so we can further our discussed partnership.
6. New member - we discussed the letter of interest from Erin Marrero, seeking to become a new Board Member.  Her interview was as impressive as her resume, and she was recommended unanimously by the Committee. 
7. Head of School Evaluation - we will begin preparing the Head of School Evaluation at this time with an effort to have it completed before the March 2022 Board Meeting. This is a departure from our prior practice of having it completed by the May Board Meeting.
8. Visit by officials - Jonathan Stewart is coordinating with our elected officials in order to schedule a visit to the school. 
9. Bank services - we discussed the Finance Committee's recommendation that we transfer banking services from Liberty Bank to Gulf Coast Bank. It was recommended by the Finance Committee and the Governance Committee recommended it as well, based upon the desires of the administration. 
10. Board term compliance - Dr. Rademaker is scheduled to complete his authorizer training on February 2, 2022. 
11. Vendor list -  Elan Academy is completing the creation of a vendor list amongst the Elan Academy Community, including parents, and for dissemination. 

1. The Academic Committee did not meet in December, but are very much in the process of reconstituting the Board strategies as a result of the recent retreat. 
2. They are working on standardize goals to measure strategies. 
3. Committee discussed the development of standards for committee service. 
4. Committee is looking to grow in numbers, and inquired as to any current board members who would be interested in service.
5. Committee also met with Board Ontrack recently in order to refine its agenda and reporting practices.

Finance Committee Report. 

1. November/December financials were presented.  
   1. Balance sheet remained strong with forecasts of revenues and holdings to increase. 
2. ESSER funds are being received and we will need to determine how they will be recognized from an accounting standpoint. 
3. Discuss bank considerations with regards to the selection of Gulf Coast as opposed to remaining with Liberty Bank.  
   1. Finance Committee recommended transferring accounts to Gulf Coast.
4. We would maintain the Liberty Bank line of credit and allow it to expire. We will check if there is an Operations Covenant contained therein;

1. Committee discussed the anniversary/fundraiser.  
   1. We estimate to have over 100 attendees.  
   2. Cost of tickets, tables and decorations were considered. 
   3. We are also looking at several venues and will make a recommendation to the Board at the February Board Meeting with regards to saying, after all of the information is secured.

Erin Marrero-Savoie introduced herself and discussed her interest in Board membership.  Erin’s impressive resume and responses to Board questionnaires were well received.