The Neighborhood Charter Network
Minutes
August Board Meeting 2021
Date and Time
Tuesday August 10, 2021 at 3:00 PM
Location
Enlace Academy
3725 N Kiel Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46224, USA
3725 N Kiel Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46224, USA
The Neighborhood Charter Network is hosting a board meeting every other month as posted on the news/events of the Enlace and Kindezi Academy websites.
Directors Present
C. Byczko (remote), D. Casey (remote), M. Dezelan (remote), P. Castaneda (remote), R. Hall (remote), R. Zavaleta (remote)
Directors Absent
K. Britt, T. Baker
Guests Present
B. Anderson (remote), C. Whitesell (remote), Cindy Farren (remote), D. Castellanos (remote), Dr. Linden Hill (remote), K. Dulay (remote), K. Kubacki (remote), L. Kuruzar (remote), Shanae Andrews (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C. Byczko called a meeting of the board of directors of The Neighborhood Charter Network to order on Tuesday Aug 10, 2021 at 3:03 PM.
II. Approval of Minutes
A.
June Meeting Minutes
P. Castaneda made a motion to approve the minutes from NCN Board Meeting on 06-15-21.
D. Casey seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| K. Britt |
Absent
|
| M. Dezelan |
Aye
|
| C. Byczko |
Aye
|
| R. Hall |
Aye
|
| T. Baker |
Absent
|
| R. Zavaleta |
Aye
|
| D. Casey |
Aye
|
| P. Castaneda |
Aye
|
III. Public Comment
A.
Public Comment
No public comment was made.
IV. Academic Committee
A.
Closing 2020-21
Summer Academy
Kevin reported that NCN had a strong partnership with Marian University. Dr. Linden Hill and Cindy Farron were invited to share the successes we had during Summer Academy.
Kevin presented the ILEARN results to the board. Overall there was a significant drop across the state and neighboring schools.
Kevin reported that NCN had a strong partnership with Marian University. Dr. Linden Hill and Cindy Farron were invited to share the successes we had during Summer Academy.
- 62 students attended the summer academy at Enlace. With an average attendance of 70%
- 47 students attended the summer academy at Kindezi. With an average attendance of 59%
- NCN hired 3 teachers who were hired as contractors for Summer Academy.
- The entire summer academy team was trained on Ortho-Gillingham
- Provided 45-60 additional hours of direct foundational literacy skills instruction, which equates to between 1.5 and 2 months of additional foundational literacy skills instruction.
- Across 11 outcomes, there were no instances of decreased or stagnant scores.
- In 7 of 11 outcomes, there was a statistically significant improvement.
- Will look at data and track growth for those students that attended the summer academy.
- NCN is working with Marian on proposals for future programs or partnerships that have a high learning impact.
Kevin presented the ILEARN results to the board. Overall there was a significant drop across the state and neighboring schools.
- This was a no harm year due to the pandemic so the scores will not affect the school's letter grade.
- Enlace had a 14% passing rate in ELA and a 7.5% passing rate in math.
- Kindezi had a 6.5 ELA passing rate and a 4.6 passing rate in math.
- NCN hired a position with primary job functions, like overseeing afterschool learning opportunities.
- Kevin will provide the board with prior ILEARN comparative data from prior years.
B.
2021-22 School Year
Academic update
Extended Learning Program Next Steps
End of year 20-21
Extended Learning Program Next Steps
- Hired an Assistant Director of Academics, Mark Mosias
- Focus on High-dosage tutoring and after-school enrichment.
- At-home literacy programs being implemented
- Both schools will have a 2022 Summer Academy with the ESSER III grant
- City Connects program has been implemented at Enlace Academy.
End of year 20-21
- Kindezi = 90.7
- Enlace = 92.8
- Kindezi = 85.6
- Enlace = 93%
V. Finance Committee
A.
Finance Update
Enrollment Update
Kindezi
Brian provided the board with an updated 20-21 budget to actuals report for their review.
Kindezi
- Actual 387/Budget: 441 (-54)
- Responses
- We are typically under-enrolled at this time and continue to enroll students
- We have open positions that we won't hire for if enrollment stays low
- Actual: 670/Budget: 620 (+50)
- Responses
- We are fully enrolled now
- There are no new positions that we need to add because we created the structure to handle this many students last year.
Brian provided the board with an updated 20-21 budget to actuals report for their review.
- Brian Anderson reported that the annual financial report goes to the SBOA by the end of the month.
- Overall the budget ended with a surplus and ahead of budget by 195k.
- Overall the schools are in great financial shape.
- The Charter Innovation loan balance combined for both schools is 600k.
B.
Financial Policies and Procedures
Proposal to amend the by-laws.
- Proposal change: We would like to remove the language that states that the Board Treasurer must sign all checks over a specific amount.
- Rationale: We checked with our auditors and other networks, and we determined that this language isn't mandated by SBOA, nor is it common practice. Additionally, we have a purchasing software that requires the Board Treasurer's approval already, so physically signing the checks is unnecessarily redundant.
- Terry, our board treasurer has reviewed the manual and is in full support of this amendment and emailed the board with his recommendation.
D. Casey made a motion to approve the proposed amendment to the by-laws as presented.
P. Castaneda seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| K. Britt |
Absent
|
| T. Baker |
Absent
|
| D. Casey |
Aye
|
| P. Castaneda |
Aye
|
| R. Hall |
Aye
|
| R. Zavaleta |
Aye
|
| C. Byczko |
Aye
|
| M. Dezelan |
Aye
|
M. Dezelan made a motion to to approve the NCN Financial Policies and Procedures Manual as presented.
R. Hall seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| K. Britt |
Absent
|
| M. Dezelan |
Aye
|
| P. Castaneda |
Aye
|
| R. Zavaleta |
Aye
|
| T. Baker |
Absent
|
| D. Casey |
Aye
|
| C. Byczko |
Aye
|
| R. Hall |
Aye
|
VI. Governance Committee
A.
NCN Board Assessment Results
Proposed 21-22 Board Goals
Based on the NCN board assessment that the board completed these are the proposed goals:
1. Create a development plan paired with a three-year budget
2. Increase board recruitment to address fundraising, community engagement, and facilities.
3. Create a new strategic plan
Based on the NCN board assessment that the board completed these are the proposed goals:
1. Create a development plan paired with a three-year budget
2. Increase board recruitment to address fundraising, community engagement, and facilities.
3. Create a new strategic plan
- Potentially find 3-4 hours in October for a board retreat
- The network team creates a proposal that we bring to the Governance Committee prior to the retreat.
B.
Board Dashboard Review and Planning
Kevin provided the board with the Board Dashboard. This is the same dashboard the board has used in prior years. The board will continue to use that dashboard to track progress.
C.
Preview upcoming events
21-22 Preview
1. Kindezi Innovation Renewal
Kevin is in conversation with IPS regarding the possibility of innovation schools receiving referendum dollars. NCN would use that money to address transportation, specifically those students within the 1 mile radius at Kindezi.
1. Kindezi Innovation Renewal
- Request that IPS presents at our board meeting
- We Will need a board focus group
- November date TBD
- This will be part of the chart renewal process
Kevin is in conversation with IPS regarding the possibility of innovation schools receiving referendum dollars. NCN would use that money to address transportation, specifically those students within the 1 mile radius at Kindezi.
VII. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 4:20 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
C. Byczko