There were no public comments.

Jeremy Bumagin. - PTO liaison - provided an update, noting the upcoming events such as the Halloween dance.

Artie Sullivan lead the discussion and took the group through the various points.
Desired skill sets and recruitment efforts for both sub-committee and board seats were covered in detail.
Other items such as the SEPAC, Governance, Personnel Committee, and board membership were also covered.
 

The following upcoming meetings were reviewed:
 - Presentation by Strategic plan - overview
 - HOS evaluation and training provided by the Personnel Committee - the group agreed to hold that meeting in November
 - Peter Cohen suggested the board meet in October before the standard month-end board meeting, and it was determined the best date would be October 22nd at 7 PM 
 - End of October, the annual finance statements and audit opinion will be presented and the MCAS scores will be reviewed
 - The Charter renewal site visit is scheduled for November 7th and members of the board will meet with inspectors (will be a posted / public meeting)
 - The mid-year HOS review will be held in January.
 

The following topics were discussed in detail:
 - Strategic plan
 - Health and sustainability
 - Fundraising / Development
 - Communication / community development
 - By-laws review and formation of a task force
 - 25th anniversary planning / preparation
 

See the notes in the goal discussion above - the planning and goals were generally covered at the same time

Artie Sullivan presented the self assessment information and the group discussed nature of some of questions and how the responses drove the numeric scores.
The team noted the general alignment between the board and the head of school.  And the areas that need improvement are not surprising given the board's focus and goals over the past year or two.
Other discussion points included:
 - On-boarding HOS - providing Peter with the information he needs
 - Open meeting laws - compliance
 - Committees and Chairs - ensure the notifications are going out timely and packets are sent to the clerk and Peter
 - Use of BOT and how to navigate 
 - Potential addition of a faculty member on the Governance Committee
 - Goals and accountability
 - Development - considered a key, recurring area for improvement
 - IXL - new tool used to track overall student performance 
 

Karl Smith provided and update to the group on the Governance Committee meting held earlier in the month.
The main topics covered included the by-laws review, mentor program for new board members, and overall recruitment efforts.
For the by-laws review, the following individuals were identified to participate in the review:
 - Chris Reigle
 - Pam Ferris
From the board, Artie Sullivan suggested that Karl Smith, Stephen Vega, and Rudi Herve join him as members of this task force.

A tentative meeting was scheduled for October 8th

Karl Smith made a motion to create a by-laws task force:
Rebecca Whidden seconded the motion and it passed unanimously

 

Rudi Herve presented the Finance Committee update noting the following:
 - Need for a board vote for the revised budget for the school year based on enrollment and updated reimbursement rates.
 - Required waiver from East Boston Savings (the mortgage holder on the building loan) for the debt covenant for the external auditors.
 - Desire to maintain professional development to retain teachers
 - Enrollment figures - current and projected
 - 5 year look-back at the per pupil expenditures requested from Jeff Barry
 - Anticipated clean audit report to be presented at the next scheduled board meeting




 

Since the last meeting, the Personnel Committee did not meet, however the group is working on linking HOS goals to rurbric - and will present the information to the board once completed.

Jessica Xiarhos walked the group through the topics covered at the sub-committee meeting held earlier in the month.
The team is looking to recruit another parent to have more representation from that faction.
She explained the goal is to focus on the road map and vision for academic excellence.  The team is attempting to formulate steps to maintain and track academic progress at the school.
 

Ellen Lodgen briefed the committee on her recent sub-committee meeting and that the meeting schedule has been updated to avoid conflicts with other meetings.
Among the topics covered included:
 - More contact / communication with alumni  - Nick Santoro is looking to schedule some planned events
 - Jeff Barry is the only member of the board of the education fund and there should be focus on recruiting additional members
 - Grants - more focus and attention by Peter to determine what is available and how to pursue those
 - Scheduled trips with the 6th and 8th grades - fundraising is needed for those two big trips and some parents have been identified
 - Calendar raffle will occur in November
Artie Sullivan proposed an over all goal for the Development Committee to raise - $75K by the end of the school year

 

Fred provided an update
During the previous week a meeting was held to finalize the strategic plan.  Although there were some remaining minor edits, the document is ready for distribution.  The committee was looking to have a vote from the trustees at the next scheduled meeting.
Peter provided his outlook of the plan and urged everyone to consider it more a living document, being adapted to circumstances as they develop.
Additionally he noted that a 3 year plan was more appropriate for a number of factors such as the charter renewal and providing flexibility to reach shorter term goals first.
 

Ian Hunt walked the board through the progress of the Communications Committee.
The following items were highlighted:
 - The school's story - and how MCCPS is a great experience
 - Establishing a standing agenda for Staff meetings 
 - Bench-marking with other school
 - Redesign web-page
 

As previously noted, the group agreed to meet on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Dr. Peter Cohen provided his head of school update and covered all of the items detailed in the document previously distributed.
 

There were no public comments.

Artie Sullivan reminded the board members who have not yet submitted a head shot and a brief biography, that these items should be provided as soon as possible.
Additional information about the upcoming PTO events was provided.

The general items for consideration include:
 - Training on Open Meeting Laws
 - Board on Track use and navigation
 - Development overall
 - Board member recruitment
 - Strengthening sub-committee membership - keep a look out for parents who may be interested
 - Mentoring - those meeting should be scheduled for October

 

The overall consensus was that much was accomplished tonight.