Katie Dulay reported that Jeremy Rike has been working with 7th and 8th grade students. Highlighting how Enlace Middle School is strengthening college and career readiness while intentionally building student belonging. 

Jeremy Rike shared key initiatives and improvements:

• A bi-weekly student belonging survey is administered to gauge student well-being and engagement. 
• Thursday clubs are a central strategy with middle school students participating weekly. 
  • Clubs focus on college and career readiness lessons. 
  • A dedicated College & Career Readiness Coordinator has been hired and is working to support high-quality instruction.
• Enlace is committed to exposing student to higher education:
  • Students are using career interest surveys
  • Each student will visit at least two college campuses this year
  • Students have already visited Ball State and Purdue University during College Day Out. 
  • Students are using Naviance, which connects career interests to college options. 

Student Voice: Academic Preparation

Students shared how Enlace has prepared them for high school and college: 

• Eli shared that he learned how to calculate and monitor his GPA weekly and emphasized lessons on generosity and responsibility
• Massiel noted learning about college options and thinking intentionally about where she wants to attend. 
• Students discussed learning about different high schools, admission events, and postsecondary pathways. 
• Naviance helps with career exploration and it has helped students identify colleges aligned to their interests. 

Board Member & Guest Reflections

Board members and guests shared their professional backgrounds and reinforced college readiness messages:
   •    Caitlin shared her experience as a lawyer, including work in intellectual property law and branding.
   •    Allison, a professor of education at Marian University, discussed teacher preparation.
   •    Brandon spoke about finance, entrepreneurship, and affordable housing development.
   •    Jamie, a consultant, discussed supporting large school districts and continuous improvement.

Key message to students:
   •    College requires responsibility, time management, and accountability.
   •    High school is practice for college.
   •    Taking advantage of opportunities, building connections, and pursuing internships leads to success.
   •    Success in college begins with caring, engagement, and preparation.

Allison reported on iLearn checkpoint data:

• The goal at Enlace is to increase 5%  iLearn ElA and math summative. 
  • For ELA, we are 6% ahead of last fall's checkpoint. 3rd grade, 6th grade, and 7th, and 8th grade cohorts are all 10 points ahead of where they were last fall. 
  • For math, we are 9% points ahead of our spring scores and 12% points ahead of fall's checkpoint. 6-8th grade cohorts are all 15 points ahead of last spring. 
  • Overall on track of where Enlace wants to be. Shared the 25-26 board dashboard. 
  • Attendance and suspension rates are doing great. currently attendance is 96% and suspension rate is currently at 4.30%. Result of a lot of work and deep support for families. 

Financial Update

The September financials have been uploaded for board review.

Brian Anderson reported that the finance committee reviewed the full financial packet and confirmed that Enlace remains financially strong and on track.Enlace continues to thrive financially due to the leadership of Katie Dulay and Denise Hernandez.
   •    As of September, actuals versus budget indicate:
   •    Total revenue: 78.68% collected. At this point in the fiscal year, the target is approximately 75%, indicating performance is on track.
   •    Revenue appears slightly behind due to the reimbursement-based nature of grant funding, but overall revenue remains on track.
   •    Expenses: 79% spent, consistent with projections and on track.
   •    Quarterly performance indicators monitored by OEI show Enlace is meeting all required metrics.
   •    The organization has approximately one year remaining in the current cycle, with several upcoming initiatives and some anticipated uncertainties.
   •    The board was directed to review the October financial summary.

October Financial Snapshot
   •    October financials indicate Enlace is on target, with expenses slightly ahead of projections.
   •    Enrollment was conservatively budgeted at 675 students, while actual enrollment is 681 students.
   •    Enrollment reconciliation occurs in November and December, with funding received after reconciliation.
   •    The school is currently awaiting reimbursement payments.

Audit Report

Brian Anderson presented the Independent Auditor’s Report:
   •    Enlace undergoes an annual independent audit, which is more intensive than audits conducted for many public schools.
   •    The school completes:
   •    A GAAP accrual-based audit
   •    An Indiana State Board of Accounts (SBOA) audit
   •    These audits involve significant scrutiny, which is appropriate and expected.
   •    Enlace has received clean audit opinions with zero findings year after year, including the most recent audit.
   •    The auditors issued an unqualified opinion, stating that the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Enlace.
   •    Financial highlights:
   •    Growth in assets is primarily in cash.
   •    Enlace does not own facilities and has no long-term debt, aside from a remaining balance of approximately $50,000.
   •    Total net assets: approximately $10 million, placing the organization in a strong and stable position to manage future uncertainties and investment changes.
   •    Donor-restricted funds primarily reflect Lilly Endowment Phase II, designated to fund NextGen SIG bilingual instructional assistant positions for one year.
   •    These funds allow Enlace to continue these positions.
   •    Leadership is hopeful for Lilly Phase III funding to sustain these roles longer term.

Patachou School / Facilities Update

Brandon provided an update on facilities projects:
   •    The school is currently out to bid for kitchen renovations.
   •    Bids are due December 5.
   •    Once bids are received in mid-December, the board expects to review details and vote in January on whether to proceed.
   •    Additional building information will be provided through ILEA.

Katie Dulay added:
   •    The process involves numerous rules and restrictions.
   •    Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) has been a strong partner, providing guidance, templates, and platform support.
   •    IPS contractors use the Bonfire procurement platform.
   •    The goal is to streamline projects while ensuring a fair, transparent, and open bidding process, which remains a priority.

Jamie

• ILEA city directed body discussing the future of the Indianapolis public education landscape. 
• came out of last legislative session. What is ilea slide?
  • members, chaired by the mayor. appointment by IPS and mayors office. parent representations. 
  • ILEA goals collaboration. indy has becmore diverse sustainable future who can they work together. key areas to focus include
    • facilities
    • transportation
    • governance structure
    • accountability
    • funding and efficiency
    • special education
  • Charter schools and enrolllmentcy charter authorizer. Enlace is authorize by OEI. 
  • Resident student enrollment in the IPS boundary by school type. 20-21- 24-25. Shift over the years, LEA has gotten smaller and students have gone into other categories. Total enrollment for the same span of years. slight reduction over time. 
  • possible outcomes
    • Currently it is unknown. is informative not binding. Could be policy changes to school operations, funding, or how to treat underperforming 
      • policy changes
      • operational shifts
      • consolidation or closure
      • new accountability metrics
      • potential governance changes
      • continue to closely monitor meetings and coverage. what it means for ips and our school community. 
      • ips communicate conversations
        • nov. 11 6-8pm and november 13 2-3:30pm 
        • ilea meeting 
          • nov 19 city council buildings 6-8. 
          • IPS published a letter about their particular position on it. reducing authorizers to one. Folks in charter community who are affected. 
          • The challenge for us moratorium limiting transitions that better serve families. Decision on speak in next ilea meeting. timeframe is due by December 25. 
          • Allison, how communicate and collaborate- regular meeting for innovation leaders. There are no easy answers, IPS financial situation, things will need to change. Strong alignment of innovation leaders. We are all in different situations. 
          • Communication regarding our facilities, global in nature. IPS has communicated to us according our innovation agreement, on the same timeline. They are trying to align their recommendations and ILEA. IPS is deferring some of those recommendations. Michael Connor is the project plan. 
          • Jamie has been staying in the know and we are grateful for her leadership. 
  • Board retreat, 
    • Next week Tuesday November 18 from 12-4 global welcome village. 
      • do history of the west side. 
      • goals ground ourselves in the history and mission of Enlace Academy/NCN. 
      • build relationships amongst the board
      • Engage in professional learning as a team regarding the qualities of a high-quality board and school. 
    • Upcoming events
      • ILEA Meeting 11/19 at 6pm
      • k-2 music performance 12/4 5:30 -7pm
      • holiday assistance distribution 12/11 2-5:30 and 12/12 3:30-5:30. 
      • Fund for emergency and students.  sponsor a family. 
      • our food pantry is in demand. we have been seeing new families we haven't seen before. We could always use additional funds. In the holiday assistance for families who need food.