Second item covered in the agenda. Rebecca walked the board through the mission and key design elements, drawing the boards attention to the new poster in the conference room that states them. They discussed the article recently published in Masslive.com and that knowing these design elements will help board members discuss the school. Judith gave her personal experience in regard to these design elements and how she's seen them reflected in her son. Discussion moved to how the design has been refined, focused, and reflecting in the school's processes like staffing. There was discussion around word choice and how they can be perceived and how accurate they are when discussing the processes of the school. 

Lisa started by saying there was little progress made on goals. She then moved onto the summary of the finances. She highlighted that building costs are still an important budget item to keep in mind and will be reflected in the goals. Rachel gave some updates to some of these costs, specifically the recent water damage that happened due to recent weather. The extent of what needs to be fixed has yet to be determined but costs are well within the contingency. 

No vote will be held as they are not ready. 

Not ready to discuss. 

David delegated discussion about the CORI to Rachel. All employees are background checked and it came up in Gov Com that new board members should be checked. This was brought to the board to gauge how they feel about this and how the process will be handled should something come up. 

Rachel decided to move her update to the beginning of the meeting regarding expansion planning. Rachel and team are exploring opportunities to support turn around work in Holyoke and/or Springfield. Holyoke will publish an RFP, expected to be around early-mid November and could select operators as soon as December. There was discussion following about the timeline between Mike and Rachel, each discussing potential variables to this timeline and how it will allow the board to be involved. There was a brief and general discussion about how the CBA works in Holyoke's district under state receivership.

Rachel explained that fundraising is critical for the early years and would like to stick to a model that is sustainable on tuition dollars.  

 

Before the meeting's end, Aaron wanted the board to recognize the great work Rachel and her team have done to achieve great results in last year's MCAS testing. There was then discussion about the success of the school, team, and scholars working together.