Libertas Academy Charter School
Minutes
Monthly Board of Trustees Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday August 22, 2023 at 5:30 PM
Location
Libertas Academy Charter School
146 Chestnut Street
Springfield, MA 01103
Trustees Present
H. Zavala, J. Gunther, K. Diamond Kayiatos, L. Davis, N. Barker, P. Kkayego (remote), S. Lapolice (remote), T. Curtis
Trustees Absent
A. Seymour, D. Barrows, K. Stewart, S. Williams
Ex Officio Members Present
M. Montero
Non Voting Members Present
M. Montero
I. Opening Items
A.
Board Chair Welcome
B.
Record Attendance and Guests
C.
Call the Meeting to Order
D.
Approve Minutes : Board Retreat
E.
Public Comment
II. Management Report
A.
Management Report
MM gave some summer highlights:
Reviewed the core values- based summer work on each of them, defining for community who we are and who we will be
3rd floor construction- create 4 classrooms out of 2. Completed work and passed inspections
Site visit at new facility- pouring foundation soon and demoing existing structure. MM has weekly meetings with contractor- on track so far
Staff training over the summer- including empathy interviews, academic structure and expectations, staff olympics
Back to school BBQ- over 200 families in attendance
First day of school yesterday 8/21- great team of adults meeting students and launching into the school year
Some open roles: looking to add a 7th grade history teacher and filling Katie's former role as Manager HR and Payroll. Also looking for a part time school nurse, UA teaching fellows, and a Behavioral Specialist
TC suggested LP to work with the full time nurse
PK suggested working with a nursing contracting agency
Student recruitment- lower academy fully enrolled, UA big progress over the summer in backfilling 9 and 10
JG asked about stability of enrollment; MM: much better last year after difficulties in prior years. Aim to keep that as the trend
Strategic Goals- review, including ELA MCAS (exceeding!) and Math MCAS (meeting, but with some areas that MM will be pushing on as we enter 23-24 school year)
LCAS partnered with Open Architects for data- able to track growth within grades and year to year
7th grade Math a concern- flat
TC asked about the Partially Meeting group- 40%- wants attention on addressing that group
MM noted that AAC committee would dig in to data and meet with Ben Cruse
MM noted three events that Trustees are encouraged to attend:
LCAS is marching in Puero Rican Parade on 9/17
MCAS celebration on 9/22
Hispanic Heritage Celebration 9/29
III. Committee Reports
A.
Academic Achievement Committee
NB: Did not meet yet- looking forward to the year ahead and making use of OA tool
B.
Finance Committee
SP- financials look solid and nothing abnormal
C.
Development Committee
MM: Gary Jennison has put forth the 300K matching grant that MM and Dave are working on to find those matching gifts
D.
Governance Committee
HZ- committee did not meet over the summer, but will have update next meeting
E.
ED Evaluation Committee
LD- update at next meeting
IV. Closing Items
A.
Next meeting
Tuesday 9/26 at 5:30
Kari welcomed the board and thanked Hector for his service as board chair