No public comment.

Kevin reported that this January meeting was added to meet our meeting cadence. Will be used for quick updates and frame the upcoming semester. 

Returning to school in person

• Jan. 7 MCPHD announced new guidance.
• On Jan. 11 IPS announced their phased-in approach starting on Jan. 19th. 
• NCN decided to pause in-person until Feb.1st. The data from Marion county will be on the decrease like we saw after Thanksgiving. 
• Safety first has been a priority from the start. We have a number of positive cases among our staff. 
• We find ourselves scrambling to fill positions because of quarantine, so planned virtual school is still better than emergency subs. 
• Our virtual academic programming has proven to be significantly better than in the Spring. 
• All MCPHD indicators suggest we are experiencing the Holiday bump that we anticipated

Academic Data Update (From fall 2020 to winter 2020)

• 47% of students met their expected growth in math and ELA. The small increase from last year, driven by 11% increases at Kindezi. 
• 7% decrease in students who met their expected growth in K-3 ELA at Enlace. This was the only place where a decrease was seen. The root cause was due to many new staff members being new and working on obtaining their EL toolkits. 
• 10% percentage by which Black students at Enlace in 1st-3rd are outperforming Latino students. One possible evidence is that our EL techniques work well universally. 

Culture 
We are prepared to distribute staff appreciation gifts upon return Feb. 1st.  Have two new partnership with Naptown Fitness and Wellness.work. 


 

Financial Update 

• Kevin reported that the December financials presented didn't look as good because we had not received our innovation grant money. 
• Terry stated that a full financial update will be provided to the board next meeting. NCN continues to be overbudget particularly in technology, custodial services, and lunch. Most will be offset by CARES, GEER, and Food Services reimbursements. 
• Kevin would like to start the budget process sooner rather than later. 
• A second stimulus passed provides another round of funding for schools. It is unknown at this time how much that will be but it is expected to be bigger than the first round. Our districts will be eligible to receive that funding.
• IQU has a legislative preview on Friday and Kevin will participate in that. They have an excellent lobbyist and Kevin will know more after attending that meeting. 

Audit Update 

• Kevin reported that our financial audit process has become a lot. An extension had to be filed this year. It is beyond what any other public traditional school is required to do. Kevin reached OEI. Patrick suggested meeting with a representative to discuss. The audit is costing schools more and it's taking a long time. Which is not consistent with that traditional public schools are required.
• Kenn and Caitlin would like to know more about what is being asked and what our end goal is so that they can advocate for us.