Rachel said what is the trajectory of learning for new trustees to ensure that they help advance our school as an anti-racist institution.  We have to create standard learning objectives for all trustees so that everyone gets to the same place. How do we, as a governance committee, oversee the implementation of this.

Aaron has some ideas about things that are a must for new trustees:

1.) Charter Schools and Their Enemies by Thomas Sowell required reading 

2.) Go through a personal review, including school tour (visit to 5th and 8th grade classroom), go through what a charter school is and how it is different from district schools, meet with the head of governance (Board member) and learn about how the school is governed, meeting with head of finance (Board member) and meeting with head of Academic Achievement (Board member), introduction to strategic plan.

Xiomara likes this because it provides a lot of context and learning. It would have helped her sooner identify what areas she could be involved in for example, committee membership. 

Rachel agrees 100%. She also thinks this should be a process, maybe a 3 month onboarding period before people officially join. Then new trustees will join the Board with a greater understanding of what they are getting into.  Through the onboarding process, they can also figure out what committee they may want to be a part of based on skillsets and also interests. It will also help us determine someone's level of engagement ahead of them being officially voted onto the Board. We could also have someone join and work on a committee before they make the decision to become a trustee.

Tom thinks it's very important for a new trustee to be passionate about the work and not already overcommitted. 

Rachel thinks he's right but talent is often limited in Western MA. 

Xiomara added we need to be intentional about what networks we're tapping into. She is mindful about companies who are hiring with a focus on diversity without intention behind it.  It's not just about "filling a quota". If you want to shift culture you have to build intentional relationships and it takes time. 

Rachel asks Xiomara does that look like this: Latino Chamber example: we should join and become a member. Then we put Latinx professionals in front of our students so they can see themselves in these professionals. We need employer relationships to show our students that there are opportunities to work and go to school after they graduate high school.  From this work, maybe we find someone who also wants to be a trustee. 

Xiomara agrees, our students are 70% Latinx and so becoming more engrained in the community will allow us to achieve a higher level of buy-in and support. She is the product of a charter school and what made that such a successful experience was how connected families were to the school. 

Rachel thinks this is also related to branding and who do we want to target with our story. 

From the Board of Trustees strategic planning meeting on October 28th, priorities were established that will help inform committee goals. Governance committee goals from last year are still relevant and still align with the Board's new priorities.  The priorities will be finalized and voted on during the December Board meeting and then we can look at those priorities in relation to governance committee goals. 

Rachel also filled in committee members about current issues related to teacher hiring and retention. She explained that every school is actively recruiting to fill vacant positions. The supply in demand is up for teachers so it creates a lot of instability. People are leaving here because there are so many jobs out there right now mostly due to COVID relief funds that allow schools to create new positions.

Xiomara asked how the emotional culture is? Is there a true sense of belonging?

Rachel explained that a lot of culture work, including the Change Committee, helped to set the stage for a lot of positive change.  We are continuing to work on it. Based on exit interview data, it's not because of the culture people are leaving, it was more related to "life change" decisions. We are also going above and beyond for staff joy like providing mindfulness and yoga, counseling support, food, etc. 

Rachel reviewed previous governance goals. With regards to the Accountability plan, it may shift to more of an operational Board priority as opposed to a governance goal.