Linette's term expired 08/31/2024. She expressed her acceptance to run a second term. 

A new item has been added to the agenda due to rechartering. DESE has asked what professional development the board participates in. Darshan informed the Board that the platform Board on Track offers webinars and coaching through our membership with them. On the Board on Track's home page, there are 2-3 monthly sessions. Any outside training can also be counted, Board members would only need to provide the information of their training to place with their file. 

Jayne Andrews from Anstiss provided her report for the financial audit conducted for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. She reported that she had met with the finance committee the week prior. 

ANSTISS requested a representation letter dated with the October 9, 2024 date. 

Jayne Andrews highlighted fluctuations in the financial statements, including an increase in cash and cash equivalents, revenues, and accounts receivable. Jayne also discussed the significant accounting policies and sensitive disclosures in the financial statements. Jayne Andrews also highlighted a significant increase in various expenses such as salaries, rent, and software subscriptions. Jayne explained the increase in office expenses due to additional equipment leases and travel expenses. They also discussed the cash flow statement, noting an increase in cash received from tuition and expenses related to employees, suppliers, and contractors. Jayne confirmed that no issues were noted during the Finance Committee meeting that would require disclosure in the financial statements.

No further questions from the board to Jayne Andrews about her report. 

D. Thakkar asked for management and discussion analysis, it was included in the draft. 

Changing Basis to Basic on page 12 of the draft report. 

Chris Needham raised a question about the Capital Plan, which was clarified by S. Perry.  S. Perry  confirmed that the capital plan for fiscal year 2024- 2025 would not be part of the 2023-2024 audit, as it is a projection for future years.

C. Needham presented a resolution regarding the school's lease of real estate property from Lawrence Family Development, Inc. The resolution aimed to establish a capital plan to fund capital expenditures, including leasehold improvements, and to transfer $1,148,356 to the Capital Reserve to fund the capital plan. The Board discussed the capital plan, which was driven by the school's strong cash position and the need to avoid returning funds to the state. C. Needham states that the board has to approve utilizing the surplus for capital improvements.  The resolution was passed with a supermajority vote.

The Corportate Resolution for 2024-2025 is missing the final two signatures. Chris Needham and Jose Tejada. Chris will sign the document first and scan it to Jose Tejada for signature. 

At the last board meeting the subcommittee was created but no Chair has been appointed. It has been discussed to appoint D. DeFillippo as Chair. Dave accepts and is happy to serve. He expressed that in his research there needs to be more representation of about 8 members with board members, trustees, and school staff on the committee. He is thinking about including a couple of members from the Charter School.  If the board agrees he would like to ask Ms. Castleman to appoint or name 2 individuals (faculty or staff). Dave emphasizes the importance of a fair and transparent selection process with buy-in from all stakeholders.

Dave says the committee meetings have to abide by the open meeting law.  Once they get to the stage of interviewing individuals they can go into executive sessions. Initial meetings can be conducted via Zoom. Regarding a timeline, the peak window for applicants applying is usually November through February. The goal is to start now with the preliminary work to have the job posting by no later than Thanksgiving. 

Jennifer Cedeno is no longer available to participate. 

The AAC will need to elect three board members and 5 faculty. The term is one year for all members. 

D. DeFillippo will continue on the Committee and E. Nolberto will continue as well. G. Lopez will replace J. Cisneros on the committee. 

D. DeFillippo asks that the faculty representation be a new group to provide new perspectives and a wider view of the needs. 

Ms. Castleman says she did put out an announcement to get faculty and she will put it out again. She says in the beginning of the school year there were a lot of competing committees. E. Nolberto says that it is helpful to get the representation. Dave would like a minimum of 3 representatives, one from each building. 

This committee will also have to follow the open meeting law. Any agenda items need to be sent to D. DeFillippo at least a week before the meeting. 

Work continues on this according to D. Thakkar. This is being expanded to include job descriptions of individuals providing the services. This will help in accountability and transparency on both sides of the organization.  

Ms. Castleman said a new health curriculum has been introduced this school year. We need to have a policy sent out in the beginning of the school year although the sexual health unit is not going to be taught until towards the end of the school year. Ms. Castleman presented to the Board a policy that she adopted from the States Department to be voted on and added to the handbook. 

Elizabeth expressed she is content with the transparency on the new health curriculum and appreciates the admin bringing this forward with notice to the parents. 

Nicole Dean-Ward explained to the Board of Trustees what Panorama is. Panorama is a system that offers teachers a comprehensive view of the students, attendance, grades, behavior, test scores and social emotional levels. Panorama syncs with PowerSchool and teachers can view their students and their data in one area. 

N. Dean-Ward presented the results of this Fall's assessment. The data chart represents the children who responded favorably.

Teachers in grades K1 -2nd conducted the surveys for their prospective students. Students in grades 3-8 conducted the assessment themselves. 

N. Dean-Ward compared the results from LFDCS to the national results. The areas of concern were Social Awareness and Self-Efficacy.  

All students in all grades are participating in morning meeting sessions, SEL and the first quarter of the health curriculum touches upon social-emotional health. 

The goal is to conduct the evaluation again in the winter and then in the spring. 

Ms. Castleman reviewed the results of the MCAS for the 2023-2024 school year. Students in grades 3-8 took the exam in math, reading, and science, as well as a new civics test for 8th graders. Ms. Castleman expressed excitement for this "championship year" after last year's "rebuilding year". Overall we are seeing precovid results. These results are also posted on the DESE website. The tests measure student performance against state standards using scoring levels from does not meet to exceeding expectations.

Ms. Castlema also went over the accountability results. She presented the school's progress and achievements, highlighting the increase in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding expectations in various subjects. She noted that the school has moved up from moderate progress to substantial progress towards targets, earning more points in MCAS achievement and student growth. Ms. Castleman also discussed the school's accountability measures, emphasizing the importance of supporting the lowest-performing student groups. She expressed excitement about the progress made and the team effort that contributed to it. 

Ms. Castleman went over the first meeting for the SSC held on 09/25/24. This school year there are returning members and new staff. 

There are currently 6 parent members and even more parents who wanted to be part of the SSC this year. 

Some concerns that were brought up by parents during the meeting were about the uniforms, meal times and health curriculum. School Nutrionist, Rachel Sanchez was present and was able to give an overview of the meal times. At the next meeting, Ms. Castleman will discuss the health curriculum more in depth. 

The Head of School for the Upper School, Ms. Arpin, gave an overview of the High School Fair. This year's fair took place on 10/03/24. All but 2 students from the 8th grade class attended. 50 students from other schools in the city attended. The school received positive feedback from the High School representatives stating that our students asked great questions. There were 32 high schools present. 

Ms. Castleman provided the board with a condensed presentation on what the ALICE training and drills consist of. With ALICE, there have been changes to traditional emergency response. She explained what the school's new emergency preparedness program consists of and what faculty and students are trained on such as situational awareness, communication, and response options. Ms. Castleman explained that staff are trained annually on ALICE protocols and conduct drills with students. The program emphasizes plain language communication in emergencies and encourages staff to evacuate if safe to do so.

One change that was implemented this year in all school buildings due to the ALICE Training is the ability for all staff to be able to page in case of an emergency instead of just being the HOS and receptionist having the ability to announce in the event of a danger. 

School nutritionist, Rachel Sanchez wanted to provide the Board of Directors an update on the changes made last school year through the Wellness Committee. She talked about how they implemented composting in all school buildings and the Green Team. The Green Street Initiative planted trees to reduce heat. They implemented new menu items. She's also worked with different grade levels and implemented activities and taste testing. She conducted surveys and changed the snack schedule. They added a snack to the Upper School which wasn't there before and they also conducted a bullying survey.

For this year they reduced the size of classrooms in the dining area at the K1 and K2 levels. 

For Bullying Prevention Month and to honor this, students will wear orange on Jeans Day. They will continue to have discussions on kindness. She worked to create healthy meal guidelines that are on the website and shared with parents such as during Right from the Start and School Site Council Meeting. 

The wellness committee will be meeting 4-5 times during the year. There are 10 members on the committee. Their goal is to expand composting and healthy eating in and out of school. 

IT Director, Tony Schumann gave an update to the Board of Directors regarding the school's firewall software. The need to upgrade the school's firewalls is due to the manufacturer's discontinuation of support and updates. T. Schumann researched the top 10 companies that provide firewalls. He chose one from the top 3 looking at cost and ease of use. He recommended Fortinet as the new firewall system, highlighting its affordability and widespread use. T. Schumann emphasized the importance of the upgrade to support the increasing number of web applications and devices, and to allow for faster internet speeds and better support for students and infrastructure. 

Germinudy Lopez asked about the possibility of speaking with City Hall about converting 34 West Street to a one-way in the morning and afternoon to ease the traffic for drop-off and pick-up. 

P. Macario said he has tried to control the traffic and has resorted to calling the police and traffic enforcement. 

Pedro, Darshan, and Germinudy will meet to discuss this further.