STEM School Highlands Ranch
Minutes
Board of Directors Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday June 4, 2024 at 5:30 PM
Location
P-tech Building
8920 Barrons Blvd
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
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Link to Meeting Presentation Slides
Directors Present
C. Gustafson, G. Shick, G. Wing, K. Reyna, L. Davison, R. Lukez
Directors Absent
D. Lomelino, E. Quigley, I. Kalra
Ex Officio Members Present
M. Cartier
Non Voting Members Present
M. Cartier
Guests Present
A. Westfall, L. Kovalesky, N. Bostel
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Pledge of Allegiance
D.
Reciting of the Mission Statement
E.
Approve Minutes
BOD Comment- Regarding section III (B)- When we asked, "What do the student fees go toward", the answer in the minutes was "Mostly toward Teacher Stipends. We also do not ask parents for school supplies like neighborhood schools do because we supply school supplies out of this income. "- is the breakdown of fees officially published somewhere and if it is, we should have that noted in the minutes.
II. Board of Directors
A.
2024 Class A Election
B.
Community Directors
III. Community Updates
A.
PTO Bi-Annual Update
IV. Academic Excellence
A.
Executive Director Report - STEM
L. Kovalesky presenting:
The Hiring updates- positions that have been filled and positions that are open.
We have filled 14 positions already.
Retention: this year, we have 95% teacher retention and 88% all staff.
Enrollment- May- Estimated at 1404 total enrollment, which is an increase in the last month.
BOD Question- Where were the increases across the last month? Kinder-3rd Grade had the most increases.
BOD Question- How did the pilot go for the Mastery Tracker? It went well overall, but we need to have a webinar on our grading process and system to educate parents to show how to use the platform.
B.
Approve updated 2024/2025 Calendar
Required change- Correct the date of Graduation (Monday 5/19)
V. KOSON Schools
A.
CIO Updates
M. Cartier presenting:
Employment Agreements/ PTO- Agreements have all been sent out.
Accrual PTO will start July 1 2025. We are working towards 5 classifications.
Strategic Plan-A draft will be submitted to the BOD on June 7 and feedback will be gathered on June 21st.
The three areas of focus for STEM and Koson (Identity, STEM Experience, preparing for growth, then Growth) were briefly described.
Marketing - STEM spends about $30,000 but the national average of K-12 is over $85,000.
STEM is partnering with a marketing partner called Momentum. We have signed a 6 month agreement and then can stop at any time.
Future BOD Meetings: August 6, 2024 and September 3rd, 2024
BOD Question: You mentioned looking at office space for shared services. Where did that decision come from?- While no decision has been made, we feel the KOSON office could potentially be better used for students. We are exploring that option to see what that would cost and what options are available.
B.
Marketing presentation
John, Nicole, and Waverly of Momentum presenting:
The team was introduced and a presentation of what has been done so far was shared with the BOD.
Fall 2024 goal to launch new website.
Momentum is a boutiques agency. Nicole and Waverly own the company Suprema, which is in charge of branding. Their goal is to flip the story, and tell an existing story in a new way to boost the bottom line.
Our brand messaging involves sharing the STEM School tagline, description and pillars so attractively and consistently that people repeat this information to others.
BOD Question- What have you done with any other organization that needs rebranding like us?- I haven't done anything specifically like your unique situation, but I have rebranded organizations for many other reasons. Brand refinement could be a better term for what the school needs. we will not be tearing down and rebranding the school, but allowing the best features that already exist to bubble up to the the surface and be celebrated.
VI. Board Committee Updates
A.
Governance Committee
In the Parent handbook, page 9- Health and Medication: missing other document that was added to the agenda.
Student fees were increased by $50 and the purpose of the fees and the list of what is not included were added.
Action to review and update school safety by August. If there are updates, a special meeting may be scheduled to approved over the summer.
B.
Finance Committee
C.
CIO Support & Evaluation Committee
Annual review of the performance review for Matt as CIO. The board unanimously agreed to a 90% bonus.
Roll Call | |
---|---|
G. Wing |
Abstain
|
R. Lukez |
Aye
|
K. Reyna |
Aye
|
C. Gustafson |
Aye
|
G. Shick |
Aye
|
D. Lomelino |
Absent
|
I. Kalra |
Absent
|
L. Davison |
Aye
|
E. Quigley |
Absent
|
D.
CIO Support & Evaluation Committee
Roll Call | |
---|---|
G. Shick |
Aye
|
E. Quigley |
Absent
|
I. Kalra |
Absent
|
G. Wing |
Absent
|
K. Reyna |
Aye
|
D. Lomelino |
Absent
|
R. Lukez |
Aye
|
L. Davison |
Aye
|
C. Gustafson |
Aye
|
VII. Officer Elections
A.
2024-25 and 2025-26 school years
K. Reyna proposes the BOD Officers as follows:
President/ Chair- C. Gustafson
Vice President/ Vice Chair- E. Quigley
Treasurer- D. Lomelino
Secretary- I. Kalra
VIII. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment Sign up link
No one signed up for public comment.
IX. Executive Session
A.
Convene to Executive Session
An executive session was not needed, so the Board did not convene to executive session.
X. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
Roll Call | |
---|---|
D. Lomelino |
Absent
|
G. Shick |
Absent
|
I. Kalra |
Absent
|
L. Davison |
Aye
|
K. Reyna |
Aye
|
G. Wing |
Aye
|
C. Gustafson |
Aye
|
R. Lukez |
Aye
|
E. Quigley |
Absent
|
XI. KOSON Building Corp Annual Board Meeting
A.
2024-2025 KOSON Building Corp Officers (The Lighthouse (KOSON) Building Corp Annual Board Meeting
There was not a quorum so the Building Corp meeting did not take place. A Building Corp meeting will need to be held separately.
I. Schick presenting:
There are new positions available. If anyone wants to join the PTO, they are in need of consistent participation. PTO asks for 2 year commitments, but longer than 2 years is possible.
2024-25 event dates have been scheduled.
Fundraising goals are going to change this year to be more collaborative with STEM fundraising efforts. PTO and STEM Admin team will be meeting prior to the start of school.