Guests present included Kathy Hewitt, Tania Reyes, and Mary Grace Keller.

The board held a brief executive session from 6:11pm to 6:27 pm to discuss confidential personnel matters.

Resolution: 
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees has determined that it is in the best interests of the corporation to clarify prior Board meeting minutes for transparency sake;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees of VIDA Charter School clarifies its previous votes, where, in addition to Josef Brandauer being voted President of the Vida Board and Jeanne Arnold being voted Chairperson of the Board Governance Committee, both individuals were also voted to vacant Board Member seats via Board election effective retroactively as of July 1, 2017.

 

Tania Reyes, 1st grade teacher at Vida, addressed the board regarding recent PSSA scores. Ms. Reyes commended Ms. Davis for her outstanding leadership over the last year which she credited to the increase in Vida's PSSA scores. She cited Ms. Davis' high expectations for all, exemplary supervision of faculty, targeted professional development, and attention to data in decision making and intervention strategies as factors contributing to student growth and improved performance. 

Ms Davis reported a substantial increase in student PSSA scores this year. She also explained progress on the plan for improved student math performance and that the ELLs have been tested and are receiving appropriate instruction. School performance profiles have been released and Vida saw its score increase by 11%. Several school events were mentioned as were various marketing strategies and building repairs. Ms. Davis also mentioned that Melissa Turner is transitioning to Operations and Business Manager role and a consultant for PIMS data entry is being hired. Currently we are also using Spanish, Math, and English interventionists to assist students with these instructional needs.

Cindy Bowen and Martha Davis cited substantial increases in PSSA scores for the last school year. Everyone in the Vida community is to be congratulated on their fine work and committment to Vida's mission in seeing students succeed.

The Academic Excellence committee goals for the 2017-18 school year are as follows:

1. Improve Math scores on PSSAs by 20%.
2. Expand Spanish experience for students by 20% of the school day/week.
3. Continue to improve in English Language Arts by 10%

The finance committee goals for 2017-18 are:
1. to continue to maintain the committee calendar
2. to develop and approve a policy pertaining to threshold spending approval procedures
3. to open a line of credit
4. conduct a comprehensive analysis of compensation package for employees

Greg explained that Charter Choices has recommended opening a line of credit should unforeseen circumstances - such as a budget impasse - occur that would necessitate using these funds. The finance committee would like to begin exploring the options as well as developing a set of guidelines and procedures that would provide a framework for its use.

Charter Choices is submitting a PDE document to allow Vida to reimbursed for some of the costs it incurs through paying rent.

Martha Davis would like to clarify the compensation structure for classroom assistants. The administration will continue to make every effort to employ classroom assistants as full-time employees with salaries and benefits.

Work on a comprehensive board manual is underway and slated to be completed and ready for initial review by next month. The committee continues to reach out to community members in an effort to recruit new board members.

Plans continue for a fall retreat. The board underwent training hosted by Vida's legal counsel on legal matters related to board service prior to the October 23, 2017 board meeting. Due to an unforeseen family circumstance, the retreat presenter was unable to attend on the originally scheduled date of the retreat and therefore a later date will be scheduled soon.

The 2017 Governance committee goals are: 
1. Review bylaws and policies as needed.
2. Implement continuity and clear work flow in board membership recruitment process.
3. Recruit board members for upcoming elections and appointments.
4. Explore the use of annual assessments in running an efficient and effective board.

The October personnel report included the hire of an executive secretary, Spanish tutor, part-time PIMS/reporting assistant, the promotion of Melissa Turner to Operational and building Manager, the revision of the Receptionist job description, and the resignation of Jeff Cann. We thank Jeff Cann for his service to Vida Charter School and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Lynn Leonard motioned to move into Executive Session to discuss confidential personnel matters. Cindy Bowen seconded, and all voted in favor of the motion. The board entered executive session at 7:52pm.

The board exited executive session at 8:13pm.