Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Monday January 27, 2020 at 5:30 PM
Location
Scholars Academy Board Room
Directors Present
A. Farooqi, A. Gozycki, M. Dixon, M. Mittal, M. Ramasamy (remote), S. Dasu, S. Korrapati, S. Liner, S. Schroeck (remote)
Directors Absent
None
Directors who arrived after the meeting opened
M. Ramasamy, S. Schroeck
Ex Officio Members Present
A. Pieper
Non Voting Members Present
A. Pieper
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
M. Dixon called a meeting of the board of directors of Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy to order on Monday Jan 27, 2020 at 5:40 PM.
C.
Read Mission Statement
M. Mittal read the mission statement.
D.
Approval of Prior Minutes
A. Gozycki made a motion to approve the minutes from Special Board Meeting on 12-16-19.
S. Liner seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
E.
Adoption of the Agenda
S. Liner made a motion to approve the agenda.
M. Mittal seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Community Comments (First Opportunity) - subject to guidelines
A.
Community Comments - guidelines
Skipped first round given no community members on the phone or in the meeting room.
S. Schroeck arrived.
M. Ramasamy arrived.
III. Director's Report
A.
General Items
A.Pieper gave the Director's Report
Admissions Update - deadline 2/7, there are currently 300 applications including re-applications.
1:1 Technology Update - all students receiving an Otterbox case along with their Chromebooks, agreement went out to parents, students must return paperwork before they receive the "golden ticket" to get the computer
March 11th: student celebration 20 in 2020, details TBD
Educational Excellence: revamping two things, awards ceremonies and realigning the K-1 expectations to match our revised academic goals for this age group. Both items will be discussed during committee updates later in the meeting.
Mid-year iStation: Matches the other data we see in K-3, skills growing as they get older
iReady will also be done this week in some grades
2nd quarter report cards going home this Friday.
Expansion & Finance
Access Grant - The Board will consider 2020 application and amendment to Admissions Policy for next year.
The grant is designed to help schools expand with the purpose of increasing diversity. Scholars Academy meets the criteria to apply.
Teachers and Staff
Seven scholars teachers plan to attend NCAGT in March. NCAGT will be doing a site visit to Scholars Academy in order to learn about our school culture.
March 13 will be an internal professional development day instead of Gifted Conference this year.
There is a new teacher assistant in 2nd grade, the TA's have been reassigned, one staff member has been moved from part-time to full-time.
Calendar
Because the Republican National Convention will be taking place in Charlotte and increased traffic and road closures are expected, CMS has decided the first day of school will be moved to August 31. SA has the option to follow suit and eliminate two work days to accommodate the shorter school year, or keep the first day on August 26 and keep the work days.
The Board will discuss the calendar in closed session.
Policy
School policy was amended to create a policy around students taking school technology home.
Admissions Update - deadline 2/7, there are currently 300 applications including re-applications.
1:1 Technology Update - all students receiving an Otterbox case along with their Chromebooks, agreement went out to parents, students must return paperwork before they receive the "golden ticket" to get the computer
March 11th: student celebration 20 in 2020, details TBD
Educational Excellence: revamping two things, awards ceremonies and realigning the K-1 expectations to match our revised academic goals for this age group. Both items will be discussed during committee updates later in the meeting.
Mid-year iStation: Matches the other data we see in K-3, skills growing as they get older
iReady will also be done this week in some grades
2nd quarter report cards going home this Friday.
Expansion & Finance
Access Grant - The Board will consider 2020 application and amendment to Admissions Policy for next year.
The grant is designed to help schools expand with the purpose of increasing diversity. Scholars Academy meets the criteria to apply.
Teachers and Staff
Seven scholars teachers plan to attend NCAGT in March. NCAGT will be doing a site visit to Scholars Academy in order to learn about our school culture.
March 13 will be an internal professional development day instead of Gifted Conference this year.
There is a new teacher assistant in 2nd grade, the TA's have been reassigned, one staff member has been moved from part-time to full-time.
Calendar
Because the Republican National Convention will be taking place in Charlotte and increased traffic and road closures are expected, CMS has decided the first day of school will be moved to August 31. SA has the option to follow suit and eliminate two work days to accommodate the shorter school year, or keep the first day on August 26 and keep the work days.
The Board will discuss the calendar in closed session.
Policy
School policy was amended to create a policy around students taking school technology home.
IV. Governance Committee
A.
Governance Committee Update
S. Liner reported.
With the departure of A. O'Rourke from the Board, there is a vacancy on the policy committee. A. Farouqi will take the seat on the committee and will be the committee chair.
Director's Evaluation - board members have received an invitation to fill out Ms. Pieper's evaluation. Deadline is February 24.
A. Gozycki reported on the Strategic Plan.
Continued academic excellence, organized community development, and responsible growth planning are the focuses of the new Strategic Plan.
Members of the Board will go back to the committees to determine actionable tasks that align with the focus of the new Strategic Plan to be worked on from 2021-2025. There is a two month deadline on this feedback. The new plan will be voted on at the April Board Meeting.
With the departure of A. O'Rourke from the Board, there is a vacancy on the policy committee. A. Farouqi will take the seat on the committee and will be the committee chair.
Director's Evaluation - board members have received an invitation to fill out Ms. Pieper's evaluation. Deadline is February 24.
A. Gozycki reported on the Strategic Plan.
Continued academic excellence, organized community development, and responsible growth planning are the focuses of the new Strategic Plan.
Members of the Board will go back to the committees to determine actionable tasks that align with the focus of the new Strategic Plan to be worked on from 2021-2025. There is a two month deadline on this feedback. The new plan will be voted on at the April Board Meeting.
V. Educational Excellence Committee
A.
Ed Ex Update
A. Gozycki gave the Educational Excellence Update
Award Ceremony
The goal is to change the awards and the award ceremony to better align with our goals. We want to focus more on social and emotional skills. Awards will, going forward, focus on the vision explicitly stated in the charter. Intellectual Engagement Awards will be replaced with awards named for the nine bullet points listed under "Vision for our Graduates" document accessible on the school website. Grades 4-8 will be a student-only award ceremony. K-3 awards will be an in-classroom community celebration with parents present. This will start this school year.
K-1 Report Cards
Discussion will be tabled until the February meeting.
Award Ceremony
The goal is to change the awards and the award ceremony to better align with our goals. We want to focus more on social and emotional skills. Awards will, going forward, focus on the vision explicitly stated in the charter. Intellectual Engagement Awards will be replaced with awards named for the nine bullet points listed under "Vision for our Graduates" document accessible on the school website. Grades 4-8 will be a student-only award ceremony. K-3 awards will be an in-classroom community celebration with parents present. This will start this school year.
K-1 Report Cards
Discussion will be tabled until the February meeting.
VI. Finance Committee Update
A.
Finance Committee Update
M. Mittal reported
The Board reviewed proposed budget amendments and the Quarterly Financial Snapshot. M. Mittal also reported an update on the book values of certificates of deposit.
Refinance
SA has six months to make a decision on the refinance of the mortgage.
The Board reviewed proposed budget amendments and the Quarterly Financial Snapshot. M. Mittal also reported an update on the book values of certificates of deposit.
Refinance
SA has six months to make a decision on the refinance of the mortgage.
B.
Budget Amendments
M. Mittal made a motion to approve the proposed budget amendments.
S. Dasu seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
M. Mittal made a motion to Close the Suntrust account and move the money to another bank.
S. Dasu seconded the motion.
This is an emergency fund that was held in Suntrust as to keep it seperate from other funds in the BB&T account. Now that BB&T and Suntrust have merged, the funds should move to another bank.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
The Board acknowledges the receipt of the tax return for the 2018-2019 financial year.
VII. Development Committee
A.
Development Update
A. Farooqi reported
Annual Giving Campaign
Ambassador program has begun. Tracking on pledged gifts and fulfilled pledges is approximately in line with what was received year-to-date last year. Average gift amount is lower than last year.
20 in 2020
Tickets are still on sale. Approximately 68 more tickets need to be sold in order to recover costs for the event.
Annual Giving Campaign
Ambassador program has begun. Tracking on pledged gifts and fulfilled pledges is approximately in line with what was received year-to-date last year. Average gift amount is lower than last year.
20 in 2020
Tickets are still on sale. Approximately 68 more tickets need to be sold in order to recover costs for the event.
VIII. Diversity
A.
Diversity Update
S. Dasu reported.
The committee had an event at the library and had three families show up. The Committee has applied to have a presence at a school fair at Imaginon in February. The Committee is looking to do a Spring event at the school to bring families into the school.
The committee had an event at the library and had three families show up. The Committee has applied to have a presence at a school fair at Imaginon in February. The Committee is looking to do a Spring event at the school to bring families into the school.
IX. Policy Committee
A.
3.1b School-Owned Technology Use Policy and 1:1 Chromebook Use Agreement
The Board was provided with language for a new policy regarding students bringing school technology home. First read was conducted at the December Special Board Meeting, no additional changes were made.
S. Liner made a motion to approve the new policy 3.1b School-Owned Technology Use Policy.
S. Dasu seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
X. Community Comments (Second Opportunity) - Subject to Guidelines
A.
Agenda Item Summary
Skipped second round of community comments as there were no members of the community on the phone or in the meeting room.
XI. Closed Session (if necessary)
A.
Closed Session
S. Liner made a motion to convene in Closed Session pursuant to "Permitted Purposes" under N.C.G.S. ยง143-318.11: (a) To prevent the disclosure of privileged or confidential information.
A. Gozycki seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
XII. Closing Items
A.
Vote on any items from Closed Sessions
S. Liner made a motion to accept all recommendations discussed in closed session.
S. Korrapati seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| A. Farooqi |
Aye
|
| S. Schroeck |
Aye
|
| M. Ramasamy |
Aye
|
| S. Dasu |
Aye
|
| M. Mittal |
Abstain
|
| A. Gozycki |
Aye
|
| S. Liner |
Aye
|
| M. Dixon |
Aye
|
| S. Korrapati |
Aye
|
The Board decided to table the discussion about the calendar to the next meeting.
B.
Adjourn Meeting
S. Liner made a motion to adjourn.
S. Korrapati seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 9:14 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
S. Schroeck