Welcome and Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Kathy Ann Young at 6:47 p.m.

Approval of Agenda

The committee approves the agenda for the August 21, 2024 Academic Committee meeting

Review Board Calendar

The Board Activities Calendar was last updated March 2022. The committee conducted an in-depth review of the monthly activities that are to be discussed each month and which committees will report the activities to the Governing Board. **Recommended changes will be typed and forwarded to Ms. Robinson. After review, Ms. Robinson will forward the document to the other committee chairs. All committees will be requested to review and make recommended changes so that the document can be finalized and presented in the September Governing Board meeting for approval. Additional discussion items arose as the committee reviewed the Board Activities Calendar. Those items follow:

Corrective Action Plan - Ms. Robinson stated that the Corrective Action Plan should be presented in the Governance Committee and Governing Board meeting each month until DPA is released from probation. Dr. Bostic stated that the updated Corrective Action Plan will be presented at the DCSD Board meeting on September 9. She invited the Governing Board members to attend the meeting/presentation. Discussion regarding the end date for the Corrective Action Plan. **Dr. Bostic will get clarification after the presentation regarding the end date. 

Fall Festival - **Ms. Young will submit invoices to Dr. Bostic and the Finance Department for the Fall Festival.

Board Training Hours – **Ms. Rodgers will follow-up with the Georgia Charter School Association to ascertain the number of training hours that each board member has completed.

Strategic Plan – Dr. Bostic stated that she and Tamara Cooper have been working on the Strategic Plan Process. **An update will be provided to the Governing Board during the September Governing Board meeting. Dr. Bostic stated that until the strategic plan is developed, the charter contract can be utilized as the current document.

Staff Culture and Climate Survey - **Dr. Bostic will provide a draft proposal of the survey to the Governance Committee for discussion at the October meeting.

HOS Progress/Performance Assessment - **Dr. Bostic to forward a Performance Instrument to Bridget Robinson. Ms. Robinson will follow-up with the Governing Board regarding which instrument will be utilized.

Governing Board Campus Walkthrough – a tool is needed for Board Campus walkthroughs. ****Dr. Bostic stated that she would share a document that DCSD utilizes and a determination will be made as to whether the tool can be utilized or modified to fit.

Website compliance – Dr. Bostic stated that the website is being updated currently. Ms. Rodgers stated that the Principals and Network Manager have been working to update the website along with Dr. Bostic. Ms. Rodgers reminded the committee that DCSD conducts website compliance audits periodically. She also shared the charter school compliance and observation template with the committee.

Vendor review – Discussion regarding the process for conducting/documenting mid-year vendor reviews. Ms. Young asked questions about student satisfaction with the food services vendor. If students do not want the food, they can decline. There is a lot of meal choice redundancy each month for breakfast and lunch. **Dr. Bostic will follow-up with Mr. Dennis and the vendor regarding the frequency with which the same meals are being provided each month. Ms. Rodgers informed the committee of an action that was previously discussed but never implemented regarding receiving student input. The recommendation is to develop a cafeteria satisfaction committee, including students, to get input on food service meals. **Mr. Dennis will work with the principals to identify students and begin the process.

MAP Data – DCSD has changed MAP testing dates. Last year, the second installation of MAP testing was administered in January. This year, the second installation of MAP will be administered in November. Therefore the date to review the data will change to January

Board Retreat

The Board Retreat did not occur in June.** Ms. Robinson will poll the board to determine the best date to schedule the Board Retreat.

Board Elections

Board Elections did not take place in May. **Ms. Robinson will follow-up with Ms. Arnold to discuss the process and possibly add Board Elections to the August Governing Board Meeting agenda.

Executive Session Personnel Matters: Status of Contracts

Dr. Bostic reported that all contracts have been given to staff.

Executive Session Personnel Matters: New Hire/Terminations (Monthly Report)

**New hires/terminations will be included in the Head of Schools monthly report moving forward.

Executive Session Personnel Matters: Exit Interviews (Monthly Report)

**Dr. Bostic shared the Exit Interviews for 2023-24 and will provide updates to the board on a monthly basis.

Executive Session Personnel Matters: Job Descriptions/ Organizational Structure

Brief discussion regarding a specific job description (based on an edict by the Governing Board). **Dr. Bostic will review the job description and make recommended changes (clarification on title, differentiation of duties, salary, fringes) prior to presenting to the Governing Board during Executive Session. (See Board Liaison for details). Discussion regarding the preliminary organizational structure and realignment of positions, particularly the Special Assistant for Special Projects. A listing of duties created by the Special Assistant for Special Projects approximately two years ago was provided to the Governance Committee. Ms. Rodgers shared and excerpt from November 2022 Governance Committee, outlining the process for updating the organizational structure. Ms. Rodgers recommended that DPA conduct a comprehensive compensation study by an outside agency to ensure that all positions are appropriately compensated. (Deferred) **Dr. Bostic to present the new organizational structure, provide documentation regarding Special Assistant for Special Projects duties and responsibilities and provide a comparison of DPAs organizational structure with other charter schools to the Governing Board during Executive Session.

Other Topic Discussions

Bullying – Dr. Merritt and the School Principals have defined and implemented a No Bullying Campaign. Videos have been viewed and documentation will be kept on file for each student. 

Board Member Recruiting – **Ms. Rodgers will provide the committee with the previously posted job description for review. The committee was provided with the Board of Directors Responsibilities and Interest Forms for future review. Two candidates have requested the information. **Ms. Rodgers will provide the documents to the individuals. **Ms. Rodgers will send a test to the Board Interest Form on the website to see if it goes to anyone on the board. Also, Ms. Rodgers will follow-up again with the Network Manager regarding the board’s email address: board1@dekalbprepacademy.org forwarding to all board members.

Stipends- Brief discussion regarding the proposed stipends/bonuses payout schedule. The actual dollar amounts will be discussed in detail in the Finance Committee meeting.

Public Comment

Our Public Comment period is for members of the public to address the board. Each member of the public may sign up to comment at the meeting, and will be allotted two minutes. The board will listen, but may not directly respond to any comments. Our meetings are open to the public and public record. As such, if your comment is about a private matter, please contact the board via email, or speak to the board chair privately.

There were no public comments presented.

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 2:05 pm