Financial Update

Cash Balance: At 9 -30 -2022: ~$1.9M (~ 4 2 days of cash) Cash at 10 -17 -2022: ~ $2.5M (~ 55 days of cash) FCS has approximately $750 K in grants receivables for which it is waiting for payment from the ASD. 

Current Enrollment for BEP Payments: 

• MLK: 547 (Budget 550)
• Westside: 328 (Budget 335)
• Humes: 207 (Budget 205)
• Total: 1,082 (Budget 1,090)

• BEP funding:Currently calculated at $10,366.43 (less 2.5% fee from ASD). This is slightly lower than projected in the budget ($10,587), but the number will likely change during the year. 
• True-up calculations happen throughout the year (based on actual enrollment). 
• Enrollment is slightly below Board Budget.

School                                                                  MLK            Westside       Humes          Total

Enrollment under Board Approved Budget           550                335             205             1,090

Enrollment on which BEP is currently based        547                328              207              1,082

Current Enrollment Count                                    547                323              190              1,060

(per internal FCS records) 

Mr. Brett Lawson:
 

• So we have a lot going on in academics right now. We are doing a lot of monitoring activities with the state right now. We have completed a desktop monitoring process where we submit some documents to an online portal, and they'll be going through those documents and giving us feedback. 
• Most of them have to do with academics and operations, but I want to make sure you guys are aware of that. Also, they do another compliance checklist, and they call it the November list, which makes me wonder if we're going to get one every month. But in that, you also submit documents for them to review. In addition to that, they'll be coming to MLK to monitor the CTE program in person. And in preparation for that, we had to get several people signed up for a different platform called ePlan, where they will upload documents and answer questions to ePlan in preparation for that visit. All of those things have to be completed before November 18th. And then they'll be coming on December 13th for a visit from the State Department of Education, so the ASD will be sitting on the same side of the table with us on that one working with us to know to have a good review. And quite frankly, they have done that in everything we have dealt with. They are trying to be good partners, not adversarial or simply compliance-driven, and we appreciate that. 
• In addition to those monitoring pieces, we have gotten our case benchmark data back in the first case benchmark. You guys remember that's the test we do that mirrors the state assessment. And so the results look like we would expect at the beginning of the year. They are, in some cases, higher than what students scored last year. So that's encouraging. And we have data going back three years for this particular assessment, so we can see how that has gone. The principals and the MCLs have been analyzing that data. And on Thursday of this week, they will present their STIS plans to the academic team. And so, if you've ever been through an improvement process, you know what that looks like. They're going to look at the data. They're going to see what the data is telling them. They'll ask questions about why, then they'll answer questions about what they can do to improve, who will do it, and when. So it's a constant improvement process that we go through. They present those STIS reports. Every time we do the case assessment. 
• And we're focusing on academics through this process. Even though attendance and behavior are essential, we're capturing that in some other areas and want to keep the principles focused on improving academic achievement. If we don't do that, then we have a program. We also had a visit from opportunity culture, which is a public impact organization, and we used their opportunity culture model. Hence, three program coordinators came to Memphis, spent time with us last week, and walked through the schools. They talked with the MCLs, they spoke to principals, and they talked with the network staff. We had a lot of time to reflect on where the work was and how things were going. They're going to give us a report back on what they saw. And that will benefit us as we think about how things will move forward in our landscape. We have believed in this model since the very beginning, and we need to see proof now that it can improve our academics. And so we're looking at that very closely. 
• That sums up the big rocks, the things that have been going on. We do have progress reports coming up again next week. So this year is running past us. And we will be out for Christmas before you know it, and there's so much to be done. Every day that we're at work, we are still struggling with staffing issues and ensuring that we have staff in place and that they are doing the job we need them to do. So, we're continuing to hire. Could you send them to us if you know anybody thinking about changing careers, getting out of college, graduating, and wondering what their next role is? Please let us know if you know anybody in an education program. Let us have an opportunity to speak with them. 

Mr. Brett Lawson: (Governance Update)

• So we've got things lined up: should we be approved for the charters we are applying for this year, then all schools would transition in 2024/25. It all will be done at one time, and the way we can do that is that we have that second year the parent trigger, so that would be next school year. 
• We are in our planning year right now for Westside. The charter law gives us an additional planning year. And so those two things line up: the first planning year, the first year the parent triggers, and the second planning year, the second year parent triggers all lineup. And we didn't anticipate this would be a possibility. We were not thinking about that second planning year, which was available in the charter law, but it worked out nicely. 
• Now we can't do a parent trigger for Humes or MLK. The approval would happen sometime in July if we are approved. They would give us next year as the planning year. And then we would start in 2024. We would only sometimes exercise second planning here. That does mean that after going through the facilities process with Westside, we've got to move much faster. Westside is the building that is in the best shape. It's got the newest HVAC systems, and it's got newer windows. Just the physical plan is in better condition. MLK and Humes are in such a shape that MSCS is much more likely to say those buildings are not included in our plan. Because we're trying to build this new high school in Frayser, and we were going to shut Humes down, anyway. Under our plan, they would close Humes no matter what if you decided not to apply for the charter and move those kids to Grandview or another school. They only want a little to do with that facility. And they have demonstrated that over and over again by their unwillingness to do things like making it ADA compliant. So that's some behind-the-scenes thinking about what we would do there. That would move a lot quicker for those two facilities than it will for Westside Middle School. Westside Middle is connected to the auditorium, which Westside Elementary School also uses. And so for them to give up Westside Middle School is more of a lift than giving up the other two properties.

Mrs. Arlinda Cathey:

• Last month, we mentioned that Frayser Community Schools has embarked on a Strategic Planning Process, and we want to start delivering an update from month to month regarding where the strategic plan is flowing. We have Ms. Williams with us. So I want to bring her in for this portion of the agenda. 

Ms. Erica Williams:

• Good evening, I will make this brief as Arlinda was saying; we are embarking on a Strategic Planning Process, which is a six-month process. So we held our first meeting on October 18. It was more of an orientation as we discussed what this strategic planning process would look like, so here are a few things about the plan. Again, it's a six-month process, a time frame established by the executive team. And so, our goal is to have the plan completed by May 2023. It allows us to also plan accordingly for that summer before the next school year based on the objectives of that strategic plan; this is important because we are not enlisting an outside firm. We are creating a framework that works for us. And so, with this plan, we need all the assistance we can get, and there will be opportunities for that. But even though we are creating our own framework, there are multiple frameworks. The goal is to answer a few questions that all strategic plans answer, and ours will certainly do that. The plans will answer questions about where we are now and where we want to be. How will we get there from where we currently are? And how will we measure our progress? I am putting a link in here. This link is an overview of the process. Everyone who was at the meeting has this already. There's also a file on the shared drive a folder in the shared drive that has all of the documents, and as we are working through this plan, records will be added. Our plan right now is in the phase of what's considered the environmental scan. It's one of the most important because it's the foundational stuff for the strategic plan. And that is, conducting surveys and answering the question of where we are now and not just based on what we think but what data shows. And that's the process we're in; this is ambitious because we have about a month to do this before the data retreat. For the data retreat, we are looking at December 15 or around that date; it has yet to be voted on, but it will be before Christmas break. Additional information will be collected throughout the process. 

Mrs. Arlinda Cathey:

• I just wanted to make sure that was explained. Because I know we shared with the board Westside Middle Schools' approval. To move back into Shelby County Schools with the usage of the parent trigger time that was given, which is two years, and there was a petition for that parent trigger that was done last year. It allows us to utilize the entire two years but then, under the best circumstances, have all three schools transition back into the district at once. Then that way, it's a coordinated effort amongst all three schools. The charter applications will be submitted to the district for MLK Prep and Humes upon approval. So, I wanted to ensure the board fully understood that, and we'll reiterate it. Thank you for providing that extra for those support members with us this evening. We also had Ms. Williams give an overview of their strategic planning process. So I will ensure that documents are shared with me along the way or shared with you as opportunities for full board involvement. Everyone is encouraged to participate, so if it works with your schedule, feel free to attend those sessions. And the exciting thing is that now we know some of our board members may facilitate them. So that's a great thing that will take place; everyone should know that will probably be something that'll be a regular report as a part of governance. 
• The following few things are just some brief updates. It's November 8, and I'm going to be sending out reminders, of course, updates about completing the boardonTrack training. We've shared this over the past several months: all board members must complete training. New board members, at least six hours or six of those modules. Returning members, at least four hours or for those modules. And also, people have already completed all of their training; if you have, kudos. We appreciate you for getting that done. And if you still need to do it, please don't hesitate to let me know. You have up until the 15th. And I'll send out reminders as we receive reports to see who's completed thus far. We want to ensure we're all completed by the 15th. So if you haven't had time to do it, please you have set some time aside over the next couple of days as well as this weekend to knock out your training. 
• Next, I finalized my one-on-ones with all the new board members. I've had a chance to meet with everyone except for one person, but I will we'll make that connection.
  I want it to list the committees. In our directory, there is a complete list of network staff and board members on the terms of their contact information, but also what you'll find in our directory. I've marked off everyone for their respective committees too. So in the directory portion of BoardonTrack, you can see who's on specific committees. 
• Academic Excellence: Sandra Gibson, Andrea Jacobo, Kevin Armstrong 
• Governance: Arlinda Far Cathey, Kirbi Tucker 
• Development Committee: Charia Jackson, Candice Reddick, and Reginald Robinson. 
• Ms. Adams, who is not on this list, is our board treasurer. So that means that she naturally sits on the Finance Committee. Suppose you want to join any Finance Committee calls. In that case, that is also open for participation. Generally, the committee comprises our board treasurer, Greg, Dr. White, and Mrs. Pearson. So please be sure to look out for the doodle poll I will send to the respective committees. That way, you all can decide on a meeting date and time for this month. And then I'm going to have some objectives that I want you guys to talk through at each of your first committee meetings, which is agreeing on the regular meeting day and time, as well as being able to set out in terms of having some goals, as well as a chair that will lead the committee and provide some reports during our board meeting. So that'll be the information you'll get from me this month. 
• Lastly, some important dates are coming up in December that I want everyone to be aware of. So generally, and in place of our traditional virtual coordinating, December is one of the months we get together in person. There is a holiday dinner with the board as well as several members of the network staff. I'm working with Ms. Warren on getting a location identified. We generally come together at the same time we usually would have our board meetings. But it's just going to be dinner, and it's also going to be holiday-oriented, so it's festive. So we definitely would love to see everyone present. So we're going to work to iron out those details. That way, we can get this on your calendar as soon as possible; that way, everyone can join us because it's an excellent way to wrap up the fall semester and at least have that opportunity to see each other and fellowship in person. So please ensure that you are protecting Tuesday, December 13, the second Tuesday in general, but we want to be in person. So keep that in mind as well as Wednesday, December 14. We, as a board, are looking to join the FCS professional developments that occur not every month but several times throughout the semester. And the next upcoming PD is going to be on December 14. And we will be working with the network team on the agenda. So at the program's front end, we can do some introductions; 2:30 is a tough time, given that we generally work full-time. But I want to put that date out there, then that way, if you can make it awesome. It's just nice for our team to be able to put faces with names and know who is sitting on the board, as well as for us to be able to have an opportunity to meet our staff, our leadership, our network team, as a board.