DeKalb Preparatory Academy

Governing Board

Special Meeting - Monday July 13th, 2020 @6:00 PM

Meeting Minutes

Attendance Summary

Name Status Arrival Time Departure Time
Mrs. Janelle Wilhite not present member
Chris Estes not present ex-officio
Mrs. Wanda McKay not present member
Ms. Suzette Arnold not present chair
Tamara Gammon not present Treasurer
Mrs. Roberta Walker not present vice-chair
Karen Shabazz not present member
Marcus Vassell not present member
Tamseel Syed not present member

Welcome and Call to Order

The meeting will be called to the order at 6:06pm

Regular Session for Adjournment

Motion by Ms. Walker at 8:51pm to adjourn. Second by Mr. Syeed.

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Executive Session

Personnel Matters


Discussion of position, salary, and candidates for the assistant principal role.


Executive session adjourned at 8:49pm. Regular session resumed.

Motion by Ms. Walker, second by Ms. Shabazz, to offer the assistant principal position to one of the top scoring interviewed candidates for a salary $3,000 greater than the original allotted amount for this role.

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Motion by Ms. Walker, second by Mr. Syeed, for the DPA board to join other Dekalb charter schools to address fiscal policies of the Dekalb Co. school district.

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Motion by Ms. Shabazz at 8:49pm to adjourn executive session. Motion second by Ms. Wilhite.

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

FY 21 Matters

School Re-opening

Due to the substantial spread of COVID-19 in Dekalb County, Mr. Estes recommends the 2020-21 school year begin virtually.


Chromebooks will arrive at the school on July 17, 2020. They will be prepared and distributed 7/27/20-8/7/20. Textbooks for math and reading/ELA will be distributed with the Chromebooks. Science and S. St. materials are online.


Parent expectations for digital learning will be included in the Parent/Student handbook.


DPA guidelines for online instruction will be created.


Google classroom will be the platform used for virtual instruction. The academic virtual schedule for all grades will be from 8am-3:30pm with a lunch and recess break midday.


Mr. Estes will provide the board with a plan for a hybrid model for school attendance at the August board meeting.

Motion my Ms. Walker, second by Ms. Shabazz to use virtual learning from July 20, 2020 through October 9, 2020 with the possibility of a hybrid model to be used thereafter.

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Motion by Ms. Walker, second by Ms.Shabazz to approved the revised calendar as presented.

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Motion by Ms. Walker at 8:10pm, second by Ms. Shabazz to adjourn to executive session following a 5 min. break.

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:51 pm

Motion to adjourn

There was no notable discussion on the motion.