City Garden Montessori School
Minutes
Governance Committee Meeting
Date and Time
Friday January 24, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Location
EAEC Conference Room #1
EAEC Conference Room #1
Committee Members Present
J. Dixon, L. Schwartze, S. Haigler
Committee Members Absent
D. Smith, L. Vowell
Guests Present
C. Huck, C. Schell, M. Howard (remote), S. Miner
I. Opening Items
A.
Welcome & Check-Ins
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 Friday Jan 24, 2025 at 9:20 AM.
II. Action Items
A.
Approve November Minutes
S. Haigler made a motion to approve the minutes from Governance Committee Meeting on 11-22-24.
L. Schwartze seconded the motion.
The committee VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Committee priority updates
- CEO evaluation still on track, timeline adjusted slightly.
- Policy updates still on track, significantly less lift for this committee this year
- Other notes - paying attention to changes from administration and any implications for policies, community engagement, communications.
C.
Strategic planning
- Mia shared highlights of board retreat conversation
- Considerations:
- Integrate buffer due to geopolitical climate, ensure responsiveness throughout process
- Milestones for synthesis/launch/pilots at end of each phase - avoiding "planning fatigue"
- Ensure clear connectivity between strategic planning and community engagement
D.
Community engagement
- Claire and Christie shared overview of spring pilot, as well as current state of survey
- Survey feedback -
- Clear communication around ~timeframe to complete
- Copy/paste content into Word/Qualtrix to identify reading level and ensure accessibility
- Ensure touchpoint after each CESC meeting to align on strategic planning and board comms
E.
Board recruitment
- Claire provided updates on behalf of Kitty about relationship mapping process
- Board reviewed almost 600 prospects, identified 150 known relationships, prioritized a subset for invitation to apply for Board and/or donor engagement
- Ask to committee members to engage in application review and/or candidate interviews
F.
Board leadership succession
- Jesse discussed working on a longer-term process that is more inclusive and transparent and the short-term need of identifying new officers
- Committee agreed on the importance of ensuring a leadership pipeline and giving board members opportunities to clearly demonstrate interest and grow into leadership roles
- Next steps -
- Board chair 1:1s to identify interest
- Revisit board role descriptions to ensure clarity and accuracy
- Integrate interest statement into board self-evaluation
III. Updates
A.
Updates from committee members
- Opportunities to engage at City Garden - Mingling Mondays, Colorbrave
- Recognition of the committee's great work and deep conversation
- CG receiving two awards - Diverse Charter Schools Coalition, SLU Prime
IV. Closing Items
A.
February Committee Meeting Reminder
B.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 10:30 AM.
Respectfully Submitted,
J. Dixon