Centennial Academy

Governing Board

Regular Meeting - Monday February 28th, 2022 @5:30 PM

Meeting Minutes

Attendance Summary

Name Status Arrival Time Departure Time
Egbert Perry not present chair
Renee Glover present vice-chair On Time At Adjournment
Tequila Lamar present ex-officio On Time At Adjournment
Demetrius Patterson present member On Time At Adjournment
Panya Lei Yarber-King present member On Time At Adjournment
Walt Higgins present member On Time At Adjournment
Howard Grant not present member
Joseph Handy not present member
Christopher Burke present member On Time At Adjournment
Maurice Baker not present member
Virginia Sheppard present member On Time At Adjournment
Chaundra Gipson present member On Time At Adjournment
Allison Toller present member On Time At Adjournment
Aquaria Smith present member On Time At Adjournment
Rewa Berry present member On Time At Adjournment
Lizanne DeStefano present member On Time At Adjournment

Approval of Agenda & Previous Meeting Minutes

Quorom required to proceed with motion.

Approve previous meeting minutes and current agenda

By: Rewa Berry Seconded by: Panya Lei Yarber-King

All in favor

Chair's Remarks

Vice-Chair Glover reported on the progress made in the planning around Georgia Tech's partnership and Centennial Facilities' Master Plan.





Public Comment

No public comments

Academic Accountability Committee Report

Committee Chair Patterson discussed the School's performance metrics against targets attendance, standardize testing and other benchmarks, and provided a quick status update on the STEAM certification.

Ms. Hodges gave an abbreviated overview of the School's strategies to increase scholar proficiency but noted further review will occur during the Head of School report.



The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:47 pm

Motion to adjourn

By: Renee Glover

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Welcome Call to Order

Vice-Chair Glover called the meeting to order at 5:33 pm.

Governance Committee Report

Committee Chair Yarber-King reviewed the board's training hours status and requested the members to notate any inaccuracies listed in the report. Additionally, she mentioned the possibility to host a full board training at the March and or April meeting.

Finance Committee Report

Mr. Pressas reported on the School's financial reports, including monthly balance sheets, statement of activities, YTD Actuals to Budget. He further mentioned that the School could anticipate a positive cash flow towards the end of the end-of-year.

Committee Chair Glover thanked Ms. Freeman and Attorney Ware for providing an in-depth discussion at the Finance Committee meeting on the SY2022-23 organizational framework, updated the Board on the Capital Campaign progress, and asked for consideration to allocate up to $80K for consulting fees to assist with strategy and planning related to the Feasibility Study for Capital Campaign. She congratulated Coach Willis for the team's win, becoming Atlanta Public Schools' Middle School Basketball Championship. Ms. Berry announced that Coach Willis was named APS Middle School Coach of the Year, and Scholar Barnes was named APS Middle School Most Valuable Player of the year. Ms. Berry proposed that the Board further support the athletic achievement of the team by considering honoring the team with an appreciation gift and recognition award breakfast.


Set aside monies to hire the consultants to the Capital Campaign, and for the Facilities Planning, not to exceed $80K.

By: Renee Glover Seconded by: Christopher Burke

Motion approved unanimously.

Motion to accept Rewa's proposal to celebrate the basketball team's championship with a recognition award breakfast and tokens of appreciation.

By: Panya Lei Yarber-King Seconded by: Virginia Sheppard

Motion approved unanimously. 

Head of School Report

Ms. Lamar briefly highlighted the Head of School's February report. She announced the staff's overwhelming response to readily return to Centennial in the 2022-23 school year, and addressed the school's mitigation strategies around Covid-19 policies due to APS new protocols effective on February 25. Ms. Lamar reported that the SY2022-23 calendar approved at the last meeting requires a change from asynchronous Fridays to early dismissal Fridays.

Ms. Freeman provided a brief overview of the emotional training, which addresses how best to support teachers in managing stress both personally and professionally since Covid-19.

Ms. Hodges presented the School's Curriculum and Instruction report and highlighted strategies for Semesters 1 and 2.

Approve the revised SY2022-23 calendar, which includes the change from asynchronous Fridays to early release Fridays and other changes.

By: Demetrius Patterson Seconded by: Rewa Berry

Motion passed unanimously.

Retain the services of Rocco Testani of Evershed Sutherland, LLP and lead by and advise the Board on going from a current status of conversion charter school to a locally authorized charter school.

By: Renee Glover Seconded by: Allison Toller

Motion approved unanimously.

Executive Session Call To Order

The Board can call this session to order to discuss records (or portions thereof) exempt from public inspection or disclosure pursuant to Article 4 of Chapter 18 of Title 50, (OCGA 50-18-72).  If called, this will be a closed session.

Moved to discuss facilities.

By: Rewa Berry

The motion was approved unanimously.

Reconvene to Board meeting.

There was no notable discussion on the motion.