The Neighborhood Charter Network
Minutes
May Board Meeting 2023
Date and Time
Tuesday May 9, 2023 at 3:30 PM
Location
Enlace Academy
The Neighborhood Charter Network is hosting a board meeting on the third Thursday of every other month.
Public comment sign up:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J47Tr-yiUsVpogE6UVbNWRN0DVUAKDTbhQUHyBajob4/edit#gid=0
Public Comment:
- Speakers are allowed two (2) minutes to offer comments to the board.
- A timer will start when you begin; please briefly conclude your remarks when you hear the timer go off.
- Comments should be directed to the board collectively, should not be abusive or disruptive, and should not address a topic that might be of a confidential nature or that would compromise the impartiality of the board.
- While the board is happy to receive your comments, we will not respond or answer questions.
Directors Present
B. Delk, C. Byczko, D. Casey, J. Servaas, K. Britt (remote), P. Castaneda, R. Hall (remote), R. Zavaleta (remote)
Directors Absent
M. Dezelan, T. Baker
Guests Present
D. Castellanos, K. Dulay, K. Kubacki, S. Campos
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve Minutes
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| M. Dezelan |
Absent
|
| R. Hall |
Aye
|
| C. Byczko |
Absent
|
| K. Britt |
Aye
|
| P. Castaneda |
Aye
|
| T. Baker |
Absent
|
| D. Casey |
Aye
|
| B. Delk |
Aye
|
| J. Servaas |
Absent
|
| R. Zavaleta |
Aye
|
II. Finance
A.
Finance updates
III. Governance
A.
Reporting
Enlace Academy 10th Year Gala
Enlace staff, NCN board members, Dr. Alessia Johnson and several community partners attended the Enlace 10th Year Gala and celebrated with Enlace staff. Overall it was a great event filled with student performances and staff recognition.
IPS Capital Referendum
The capital referendum was passed. There is 4.5 million budgeted for Enlace which would be used for the repair of roof, HVAC, and installation of new cameras. Repairs will possibly start in the Spring of 2024.
Legislative Updates
- The charter amount is $1,250 per student and will increase to $1,400.
- EL funding will be increased by 25%.
- There will be access to a 25 million dollar pot of money that will be dedicated to facilities for any charter school in the state. The cost would be based per pupil. It would cover custodial and maintenance for us.
Board Recruitment
Kevin presented two potential new board members for approval.
- Jamie Vandewalle for board member recruitment. She left IPS on good terms. She has worked with Enlace for several years while employed with IPS. Jamie will be a great board addition with a lot of expertise.
- Allison Segarra Hansen works currently for Marian and is an EL education expert. She is invested in our students and staff. She meets with Carlota on a week to week basis.
Other Potential Board Members
Jessica Moore - Vice president for YMCA for greater Indianapolis. She has worked for the public library and has grown up in this neighborhood.
Dee Aimed - Originally from Haiti and then moved to Miami. She is with the Haitan Association of Indiana. She helps with the housing side. She also has an educational background.
Dennis and Marty will be rolling off the board. Marty will be working on an Enlace advisory board.
| Roll Call | |
|---|---|
| R. Zavaleta |
Aye
|
| C. Byczko |
Aye
|
| J. Servaas |
Aye
|
| K. Britt |
Aye
|
| M. Dezelan |
Absent
|
| T. Baker |
Absent
|
| R. Hall |
Aye
|
| B. Delk |
Aye
|
| P. Castaneda |
Aye
|
| D. Casey |
Aye
|
IV. Community Outreach
A.
Outreach initiatives
Enlace Academy 10 Year Gala
Patricia thanked Katie Dulay and Denise Hernandez for the 10 year anniversary Gala. Brandon is honored to be part of the board. There was an overwhelming spirit of family.
V. Academic Excellence
A.
Academic Updates
Historical Success
- Charter renewal, unanimous vote from the OEI charter board.
- IPS recognized Enlace outperformed IPS with multilingual learners.
Patrick and Kevin had a meeting and he shared academic data with him. OEI sent a notice after the meeting as a Level 1 Academic notice. Kevin will send the response via DocuSign to the board members to review and sign.
Non-Instructional ratings
- Attendance is 93.8% with the goal being at 95%. There is no school who is meeting that goal currently.
- Suspension rate is 8% and the goal is to be less than 12%.
- Our Parent/Teacher Conference rate is 91% with our goal being 80%
- Enlace is one of the strongest financially stable school in the portfolio.
Enlace is being rated the same that every other school. Enlace services students that have never spoken the English language and taking the same test, in English.
Staff
- New awesome school leader
- 92% staff retention rate
Academics
- Return to co-teaching
- Small group instruction/high dosage tutoring
- The Science of Reading
- SIOP professional development
Kevin presented the finance documents to the board for review. He reported that Enlace is on budget and financially strong. Slight timing differences.