Download minutes PDF Minutes Draft

City Garden Montessori School

Minutes

Governance Committee Meeting

Date and Time

Monday April 29, 2024 at 9:00 AM

Location

In-Person at EAEC 1-117 Conf Room #1

EAEC 1-117, Conf Room #1

Committee Members Present

D. Smith, J. Dixon, L. Schwartze, L. Vowell, S. Haigler

Committee Members Absent

A. Beasley

Guests Present

C. Huck, C. Schell

I. Opening Items

A.

Welcome

B.

Record Attendance

C.

Call the Meeting to Order

J. Dixon called a meeting of the Governance Committee of City Garden Montessori School to order on Monday Apr 29, 2024 at 9:08 AM.

II. Action Items

A.

Approve Feb/March Minutes

D. Smith made a motion to approve the minutes Governance Committee Meeting on 03-29-24.
L. Vowell seconded the motion.

Also approved February minutes.

The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

Board Recruitment

  • Claire shared updates on recruitment process, including new deadline and # of applicants
  • Identified skills gap around fundraising and comms/PR - ask to committee/board to share with their networks; school to provide LinkedIn post template for sharing
  • Discussion about parent participation
    • integrate scenario-based question(s) into interview to gauge ability to stay balanced
    • if parent(s) are selected, we need to ensure additional clarity/parameters for engagement (e.g. conflicts of interest, staff engagement)
  • Jesse/Claire to lead interview process in mid-late May, with 2-3 other committee/board members

C.

Leadership Evaluation

  • Lauren provided update on CEO evaluation process - upcoming board conversation and conversation with Christie about implications for 2024/2025 (e.g. job description, goals)
  • Identified need for connecting succession planning conversation to this annual process; board to revisit process documents in May meeting
  • Board evaluation
    • BoardonTrack evaluation currently does not provide ability to customize so we will create our own tool 
    • Claire to draft based on past evaluations and new board responsibilities/commitments - for committee review via email in early May

D.

Community Engagement

  • Dr. Collins (Columbia University) joined to share insights about community engagement - 
    • Indicators for who will engage - "Participation begets participation"
    • Discussion about best practices (e.g. public comment response, norms of discourse, student comment, policy workshops). 
  • CG community engagement
    • Community listening sessions underway - parents/caregivers in April-early May, students in mid-May.
    • Recommendation to create a cross-stakeholder "task force" for ongoing work over the summer.
    • Will stay engaged with Dr. Collins as we move forward with planning community engagement structures

E.

Board Policies

  • Reviewed policy tracker to align on recommendations/next steps
    • Engagement with new principal on discipline policy/training needed for 2024/2025
    • Committee follow-ups on updates to policies to be approved at May meeting (for June board review/approval)

III. 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 10:35 AM.

Respectfully Submitted,
J. Dixon