MCCPS Board of Trustees

Minutes

Monthly Board Meeting

Date and Time

Tuesday January 26, 2021 at 7:00 PM

Location

Topic: Board Meeting
Time: 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Passcode: MCCPS

Trustees Present

Artie Sullivan (remote), Ian Hunt (remote), James Rogers (remote), Jessica Xiarhos (remote), Karl Smith (remote), NDack Toure (remote), Paul Baker (remote), Peter Cheney (remote), Peter Cohen (remote), Rebecca Whidden (remote), Richard Doron (remote), Rodolphe Herve (remote)

Trustees Absent

None

Guests Present

Alf Wilson (remote), Andrea Barlow (remote), Claire Hunt (remote), Dylan Uttam (remote), Ellen Lodgen (remote), Jessica Gelb (remote), Nicholas Santoro (remote), Pape Ndaw (remote), Susan Hauck (remote), Ties Jan de Blij (remote)

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance and Guests

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

Artie Sullivan called a meeting of the board of trustees of MCCPS Board of Trustees to order on Tuesday Jan 26, 2021 at 7:02 PM.

C.

Accept Remote Participation

Richard Doron made a motion to Accept the governor's order.
James Rogers seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
Roll Call
Karl Smith
Aye
Peter Cheney
Aye
Artie Sullivan
Aye
Rodolphe Herve
Aye
NDack Toure
Aye
Rebecca Whidden
Aye
Paul Baker
Aye
Ian Hunt
Aye
Jessica Xiarhos
Aye
Peter Cohen
Aye
Richard Doron
Aye
James Rogers
Aye

D.

Approve Minutes

II. Public Comment

A.

Public Comment

There was no public comment at this time.

III. Presentations

A.

Student Presentations

Pape Ndaw
Dylan Uttam
7th grade - reviewed schedule
Slide show presentation - going through first two terms.
Boys did an excellent job

IV. Board Annual Items

A.

Upcoming Meeting Agenda Items

Peter - Presented the draft calendar earlier
March - satisfaction
Annual report
End of year HOS evaluation - can move to February
May - annual evaluation and adoption of the budget

B.

Board Goals for SY 2020-2021

V. HOS Report

A.

Monthly Report

Dr. Cohen - HOS report - Please see his memo for details.
Explained that MCAS is back on for 2021

Reviewed in detail the enrollment figures as well as the current application received.
Social media is a huge source of recognition / spreading the word.

 

VI. Other Business

A.

HOS Mid-Cycle Report

Dr. Cohen - slide deck presentation.
Progress towards goals - spending time with coaching and consulting groups.
Networking with district and charter leaders.  Crisis leadership
Walked the group through the presentation
leadership team - focus on his direct reports
Looking to meet that goal by the end of the school year - a bit behind based on all of the other challenges faced due to the lock-downs / pandemic
Criteria for excellence - provided props to his peeps
Tapping into power of video
Really pushing towards re-establishing full enrollment at 230
Improvement model - meetings - checking in - celebrating successes

Teaching Force Team - timeline has been adjusted / some compromises had to be made
TJ - provided lots of information about the program
Artie - looking forward to a bigger presentation in a few months.

B.

MCCPS Schedule, 2021-2022

Peter presented the calendar.  Marblehead district released theirs - similar.
Presumes closer to normal circumstances - 5 days a week of on site learning.
Snow days are snow days - early indication points to not continuing remote learning during 'snow days'
Calendar not geared toward any specific religious holidays - so any student or faculty that wants a religious day off, that will be excused.
 
Rodolphe Herve made a motion to Accept the proposed school calendar for SY - 21-22.
Paul Baker seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
Roll Call
James Rogers
Aye
Richard Doron
Aye
Paul Baker
Aye
Rodolphe Herve
Aye
NDack Toure
Aye
Rebecca Whidden
Aye
Karl Smith
Aye
Artie Sullivan
Aye
Peter Cohen
Aye
Ian Hunt
Aye
Jessica Xiarhos
Aye
Peter Cheney
Aye

C.

Adopt Board Restricted Fund - First Reading

Two meeting process - first reading - language.
Second meeting could be the approval / passage of the policy.
Karl suggested clarifying that the audited financials of the previous fiscal year.
 

VII. Committee Updates

A.

Governance Committee

No quorum - so no meeting
Looking for an updated policy for board members looking to renew their term.

B.

Finance Committee

Rudi provided the update - over budget.
Expense - almost right on budget.
Surplus at half year mark which will be eroded in the second half of the year.
Jeff, Andrea, Susan - doing great job with grant money - looking for more
Will be creating the budget with enrollment of 215 - with a few different scenarios.
Keep it conservative.

C.

Personnel Committee

Artie - no meeting this month - Feb / March - HOS second half of annual training.
End of year is much more detailed.
 

D.

Academic Excellence

Jess - working on criteria.
Only subject domains are Global Studies and Art
Identify overlaps of this, TeachingForce, and teacher meetings
 

E.

Development & Communications

Paul Baker - had a meeting - Ian shared the slide deck on how this will progress,
Fundraising - Susan shared another $1K donation
Tuesday night dinners are doing well
Susan will be reaching out to individual board members to schedule meetings
Jessica Gelb was thanked for her involvement
 

F.

Strategic Plan Committee

Becca - Jessica has been joining Strategic Plan meetings.
Targeted timeframe of the task force - help keep the board productive.
6 month time-frame - look to provide update in 3 months.
Options in June - align with board retreat
looking to take advantage of warehouse space.
Good group of volunteers
 

G.

Facilities Task Force

H.

Charter Renewal - On Hold until Charter Amendment Status Updates from DESE

VIII. Public Comment

A.

Public Comment

Andrea Barlow - invite everyone to SEPAC meeting - highlighting faculty.
Going through all of the bullets - how to work with the kids
Becca had some great suggestions about how to communicate what the meeting will deliver and who can join.
Parent ambassadors have been very helpful


 

IX. Board Member Comments and Resolutions

A.

Board Member Comments and Resolutions

Any resolutions?  
 

X. Closing Items

A.

Recap Action Items

mid cycle review to Artie by noon- Feb 2nd
 

B.

Meeting Evaluation

C.

Adjourn Meeting

Rebecca Whidden made a motion to Adjourn meeting.
Jessica Xiarhos seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
Roll Call
Paul Baker
Aye
Karl Smith
Aye
James Rogers
Aye
NDack Toure
Aye
Jessica Xiarhos
Aye
Artie Sullivan
Aye
Rodolphe Herve
Aye
Richard Doron
Aye
Ian Hunt
Aye
Peter Cohen
Aye
Rebecca Whidden
Aye
Peter Cheney
Aye
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:23 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
Karl Smith
Documents used during the meeting
  • HOS Report to Board of Trustees 1_20_21.pdf
  • Peter Cohen HOS Self-Assessment Midcycle Jan2021.pdf
  • HOS Mid-cycle Evaluation Form, 20-21.docx
  • Head of School Goals - P. Cohen 2020 DRAFT (2).pdf
  • Marblehead Charter School 2021-2022 Calendar.pdf
  • Board Restricted Fund.docx
  • FinCom_notes_December.pdf
  • Grants FY21.pdf
  • Dec-20.pdf