R. Romano opened the discussion outlining the items the board will be voting on during the meeting - Annual Report, Renewal Application, and the Expansion Request Amendment to our charter.  A. Mendelson requested clarity on the expansion timeline.  R. Romano walked through the enrollment distribution by year for each campus. FY19 8th grade enrollment numbers need to be updated with backfilling to original enrollment. C. Wistreich requested clarification on seat number request and commented on achievement data trends.  R. Romano commented the reason for seat request numbers and discussed achievement data including summaries of discussions with DESE representatives, and partnerships with strategic partners on creating a replication readiness plan. M. Sweet commented we need to focus on growth and unpack each grade because we have excellent performance.  L. Doherty requested R. Romano create a cover letter to impart her vision. Discussion around process vs. outcomes in our decision-making on replication time-line. L. Abbate commented that our process is no excuses applies to us not the kids. L. Doherty suggested that we comment on the evolution for future work by commenting on how we evolved in the past 4 years. R. Romano will write a cover letter to include feedback from the Board to focus on more of the positive work and continued growth. Discussion on overall results and comparisons to Springfield and the State including attrition and matriculation into high school. M. Sweet asked about awareness of any political or charter landscape issues that my impact our renewal.

Discussion for the expansion is included in the discussion for the charter renewal application.

Discussion of the annual report is included in the discussion for the charter renewal application.

D. Janes commented on teacher attrition and is the work too much.  R. Romano commented that the work for urban schools is harder and recruiting to this area is difficult. D. Janes commented on teacher preparation for the work here and handling the challenges to be successful. Discussion ensued on supports for teachers to be successful, creating paths for advancement and creating a sustainable organization.  The Board agreed more work should be done around teacher attrition.  M. Sweet requested teacher attrition be placed on the next Board meeting agenda.

L. Abbate opened the discussion by presenting two nominations to the Veritas Board of Trustees.  Judith Crowell is a parent of a recently graduated Veritas Prep student.  She is a resident of Springfield.  Matthew Landon is the second candidate and has served on boards in the past and has worked on strategic planning.

M. Sweet provided a brief update on the status of the facility purchase. 

G. Moody described the visit by 4 -7th grade Veritas Prep students, parents and the 7-8th grade counselor and Executive Director to Northfield Mount Herman. R. Romano commented on the tour and building a network for our students.