These were signed by the secretary of the board, Joanna Inman-Lopez. 

B. King let the board know that board member, Carolyn Wald, proposed a collaborative day with Progressive and IGS. Early on, it was discovered that the only day the Progressive team could come was during Fall Break. IGS decided to create a full day of activities to better benefit parents/caregivers, the afternoon being the Progressive day of service with students. S. O'Hara and C. Wald worked to create activity stations that were fun, engaging, and beautified the schools. The stations included were in the gym for sports and games (including a generous donation of gym supplies for each school), a volunteer landscaping team along with LHM Property Management that helped clean out the garden beds at NWIS and TIS, along with cleaning up the playground areas. The last station was an art station where students decorated and painted decor for the gardens, along with building and decorating little libraries for each school. All supplies and lunch were provided by Progressive. C. Wald and B. King led the close outs and shared reflections for the day. B. King then showed a short clip of the students welcoming all the progressive employees, and showed pictures that will be highlighted in the fall newsletter.  

S. Miller opened the floor for public comment, however there were no comments made at this time. 

ESCLEW: J. Lewis let the board know that the sponsor's annual report will be shared in early November, and it has to be posted by November 30th. She stated that she and A. Ahmad went through all of TIS's data in an attempt to identify key goal areas for this school year. J. Lewis stated that they are hosting another review and it will be happening later in November. She expressed this past site visit reviewed the annual report, state report card, climate, culture, reading plans, and PBIS (Positive Behavioral Intervention Systems). J. Lewis informed the board that she observed a lot of great instructional going on at TIS, which is an improvement to what she saw last year. She stated that she was in a K class with a new 2nd grader who couldn't read proficiently, and A. Ahmad had the student come to his office to do mini lessons. The student recently read to the class with excitement since he has been able to read with confidence now, and the rest of the class wanted to follow suit.  

CMSD: M. Rado stated this fall site visit CMSD observed all the classrooms. He informed the board that they were mainly looking to see if the school was doing what is outlined in the contract. He expressed that his goal was to provide useful feedback to both the principal and the board. This information is summarized into a report highlighting areas of success and growth. They look at the standards for behavioral expectations and a supportive environment. He explained what each standard means and what expectations CMSD has for each section. M. Rado stated the importance of when there are behavioral issues that the teacher address and fixes it quickly. He also wants to see if schools are enforcing positive behaviors, and if the students feel safe in their classrooms. M. Rado stated that they saw well managed supportive environments, and teachers using multiple ways to improve class environments. He stated that he added the document to Board on Track today, and he invited the Board to review it. There were no concerns and NW got a 100% in student file compliance.  

These were approved in the consent agenda, see section A. 

TIS: Contracts

• Addendum to Independent Contractor Agreement between TIS and Dionne Waggoner for the 25-26 School year to provide additional services as an advisor to the student-led after-school crochet activity club at a rate of $15.00 per hour during the 17-week period beginning October 20, 2025, not to exceed 1.5 hours per week or a total of $382.50.
• MOU with the Cleveland Clinic for their use of space at the school to provide the services outlined in the Clinical Services MOU.

NWIS: Contracts 

• ADDENDUM: Cleveland Hearing and Speech, this addendum is to provide audiology and consultation services to a Near West student on an as-needed basis. The cost of this service is $118 per hour with a minimum of 2 hours per day of service. This is an unbudgeted expense to be paid out of general funds or other monies obtained. 

These were approved in the consent agenda, see section A. 

NWIS: After-School Programming Stipends

1. After School Programming Teachers for student programming during the period September 8 through November 20, 2025, at an hourly rate of $30.00, for the following individuals listed and not to exceed the total amounts specified below. These stipends are budgeted and to be paid from general funds or other monies obtained.

Name                          Not to exceed Amount            Description

Winter Fraley             $1200                                     Survivor Reading Club

Rosa Madison             $  360                                     High School Placement Test Club

Molly Mizisin               $  600                                     Happy to Hang Club

Kori Morris                  $  600                                     Awesome Possums Art Club

Zoe Welch                  $  600                                     Awesome Possums Art Club

Megan DeVito             $  360                                     High School Placement Test Club

Megan DeVito             $  330                                     Food Strong Gardening Club

• Work During Progressive Day of Service

Work at the Progressive Day of Service during Fall Break on October 8, 2025, for the following individuals listed and not to exceed the total amounts specified below. These stipends are budgeted and to be paid from general funds or other monies obtained.

Name                          Not to Exceed Amount

Rosa Madison             $322.48

Megan DeVito             $323.04

Katie Bojko                  $376.32

TERMINATIONS/RESIGNATIONS

• Taijia Elder, Assistant Director of Intergenerational Programming, effective October 17, 2025. Services were shared and provided to The Intergenerational School pursuant to the previously board-approved action for Shared Services from Near West. 

TIS: Personnel Actions

STIPENDS AND SUPPLEMENTAL PAY AGREEMENTS

• After School Programming Stipend

After School Programming Teachers for student programming during the period October 14, 2025 through February 2026, at an hourly rate of $30.00, for the following individuals listed and not to exceed the total amounts specified below. These stipends are budgeted and to be paid from general funds or other monies obtained.

Name                                Not to Exceed Amt           Description

Arden Berg                                         $1710                                     Theater Club

Patrick Hill                                          $1710                                     Theater Club

Eva Mihelich                                       $1710                                     Theater Club

Amonte Littlejohn                              $  585                                     Creationarium

• Work During Progressive Day of Service

Work at the Progressive Day of Service during Fall Break on October 8, 2025, for the following individuals and not to exceed the total amounts specified below. These stipends are budgeted and to be paid from general funds or other monies obtained.

Name                                     Not to Exceed Amount

Noree Wright                   $296.00

Marielle Grady                        $256.98

These were approved in the consent agenda, see section A. 

TIS: Annual Renewal of Policies

• RENEWAL-Ohio Department of Education & Workforce Special Education Policies & Procedures
• RENEWAL-Emergency & Evacuation Procedures
• RENEWAL-Student Transportation Management Policies
• RENEWAL-Career Advising Policy 
• RENEWAL-Academic Prevention and Intervention
• RENEWAL-Enrollment and Attendance Policy with Residency Verification
• RENEWAL-Cell Phone Policy 
• REVISED Harassment Policy

NWIS:Policy Approval 

• RENEWAL-Ohio Department of Education & Workforce Special Education Policies & Procedures
• RENEWAL-Emergency & Evacuation Procedures
• RENEWAL-Student Transportation Management Policies
• RENEWAL-Career Advising Policy 

M. Higbee reported on some new donations including in-kind student supplies for mental health for both schools through the TISS grant, and the in-kind Progressive gym, art, and other supplies. M. Higbee told the board that C. DeWerth applied for $125,000, $2,500, and $40, 000 this year in safety grants for both schools.

M. Higbee let the board know that the 25th Anniversary Bash was moved to Friday September 25th. She is requesting that the board begin to host their own small private events, in an attempt to have more people hopefully buy tickets for the event next September.

She asked for 5 names that the annual appeal can be sent to, and she will send an already finished package with letter, envelopes, and stamps for Board members to personalize. M. Higbee will send instructions on that soon. 

The annual report will be released electronically to donors and major donors will receive hard copies along with the annual appeal. The electronic annual report has live links to donate and to apply for employment. We will also be sending out the annual report to all families, per our sponsor requirement.  

B. King explained the comparison data for the report cards for district, and charters within a 3 mile radius of each of the schools. She highlighted where the IG students outscored their peers at other schools. Near West is the 3rd highest ranking public K-8 school in Achievement in the City of Cleveland. TIS-East again, outscored ten of the eleven closest district and charter schools. A Board member asked to include enrollment numbers in next year's comparison data.  

NWIS: A, Maimone went over NWEA beginning of year MAP scores and highlighted the challenges with 5th and 6th grade math. She mentioned the resources that NW is utilizing currently to alleviate the problem, including co-teaching with homeroom and special education teachers, adding more intervention and including practice platforms that are individualized for each student. A. Maimone explained that they are using DESMOS math, and Katie Wilson, who presented at the All Staff PD Day, has been working with Ms. Hopkins on ways to help make math more approachable for all students. She also pointed out the improvements seen with Katie Bojko’s coaching of teachers this year, and she mentioned how well it has been received. A. Maimone finished up by stating that NWIS has been able to maintain their scores and have made a lot of growth. 

TIS: A. Ahmad stated that TIS as a whole is essentially starting from where they were last year in terms of NWEA MAP scores, and that is not necessarily a bad thing for the school. He explained that over 30% of the students are new, 25% if they exclude the Kindergarteners. A. Ahmad expressed that that the Primary stage is growing in many areas and that they have been growing in achievement as well. He mentioned that the 2nd graders have also received good scores on the test and it shows that they have been able to retain information form the year before. He then went over the plan that he has created to help grow student achievement and reach TIS's proficiency goals. A. Ahmad has brought in PD resources to help teachers. This year there are four new teachers as opposed to over half the staff last year. After working tirelessly on culture last year, he feels TIS is ready to show real academic gains. 

R. Bunton explained that the EAC committee had a lot of discussion as to what NWEA MAP growth targets would be appropriate for each school. She suggested that for both schools, NW and TIS, the EAC would like them to improve in percentages of growth by 3-5% in each percentile in each subject at each school, so they have different targets for the 25-26 school year comparing Fall to Spring. 

Per S. Miller, we will review this topic at a later meeting. 

B. King presented the enrollment and retention PowerPoint slides, including year to year retention and the reasons for withdrawals from October to October. 

S. Alonso stated that the IGS are currently in their seventh year of an auto-renewing contract with Mangen & Associates for Treasurer and financial services. The Finance Advisory Council has reviewed the plan for an RFP process, which Mangen & Associates will be invited to apply. She went over the timeline including a contractual deadline of January 31, 2025 to give proper notice of termination of the current Mangen contract. If IGS does decide to go a different route it would be ideal to have some overlap for a smooth transition into the new fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025. S. Miller emphasized that the Finance Advisory Council will meet to review proposals, ahead of the January 28th board meeting. During the meeting, the Board will be discussing all the information from the process, the options, and will need to vote to decide on a new Treasurer/financial services provider contract (even if that contract would be with Mangen & Associates). 

B. King started by reminding the board that last year the school board proposed revisiting the discussion of a merger again this October. She then shared slides showing the variables to consider. B. King stated that staff and family sentiment has not changed since a merger was discussed last year, with unanimous support for keeping the schools as separate legal entities as TIS-East continues to improve and recover from staffing volatility in past years. She explained the affect of having one aggregated State Report Card as opposed to individual Report Cards for each building and that state law does now allow charters to merge into "districts" that have both centralized and disaggregated data available to the public. B. King went over the various criteria to meet High Quality eligibility. She clarified that the ultimate decision for a merger is up to the sponsors, and the bank (since TIS holds a mortgage but would no longer exist in its current form). She told the board that a merger would only guarantee High Quality funding for 2 years. She went over the five-year projections with different scenarios, noting that after the last Board meeting conversation about realistic enrollment targets, those numbers have been slightly lowered extending the time to get to full capacity of 255. B. King emphasized that a merger can never be reversed, and that it can always be revisited in the future. S. Miller stepped in to let the board know that the vote in December will be to decide if IGS would like to dedicate administrative staff time to exploring and setting up for the possibility of a merger to take place this summer. D. Clark suggested the board evaluate how often they should consider this decision, and if it could be postponed for more than one year to avoid staff time and energy being spent on the preparation of materials and Board time to discuss the topic. 

B. King encouraged the Board members to reach out with questions between now and December 10th. This should be done through email directly to her and not "reply all" to the full Board, to avoid having a Board discussion through email. She will compile questions and send the information out to the full Board. If Board members discuss the topic, they must be aware that no more than four members can be present or it will constitute a public meeting and that must be announced and made available to the public. 

S. Alonso explained to the board that the Task Force has done some research on Ohio Charter Management Organizations (CMO's). They met on Oct 10th to discuss findings and decided to table the CMO discussion until the merger topic was decided. She stated that members of the task force are now reviewing the agreement between Intergenerational Cleveland (IGCle) and the schools, and are working on recommendations to update it. At the same time, the staff is working with our Treasurer to explore ways to streamline financial operations and the multiple bill backs and shared contracts. S. Alonso informed the board that the next IGCle Task force meeting is scheduled for November 5th, and they hope to have their work done before Thanksgiving.  

B. King reviewed the Board and Advisory Council Monthly Calendar spreadsheet with the Advisory Council priorities. She extended an invite to any board members, in case they would like to join any of the meetings.  

B. Nicolay explained that there have been two candidates for Board membership with HR experience and both have declined. He is currently looking for new HR professionals. He mentioned the need for nominations for Board Secretary and Vice Chair, to fill the roles for next school year. Members can come forward and self nominate if interested as well. The slate will be presented in April and voted on in June. B. 

Next meeting the board will go over:

• Decision on whether or not to pursue a merger of TIS-East into Near West for July 1, 2026
• IGCle Task Force gives another update
• Financial Services RFP process update for January vote