Minutes: Ivy Preparatory Academy Governing Board Retreat

AGENDA: Governing Board retreat agenda items are scheduled to be considered as noted in this agenda; however, agenda items may be taken out of the order presented on the agenda at the discretion of the chair. 

ACCOMMODATIONS: Reasonable efforts will be made to assist and accommodate persons with a disability. Please contact Dr. Charcia Nichols at 404-622-2727. Request should be made as early as possible to arrange the accommodations, no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting.

PUBLIC COMMENTS: The Public Comment time period is for the public to address the Governing Board. Those who wish to speak must sign-up before the start of the meeting. Speakers may have up to three minutes to speak. 

Welcome - Board Chair

• Retreat Called to Order at 10:20am - Board Chair
• Roll Call - all present- Board Chair

Vision and Mission - Board Vice Chair

Vision: The Ivy Preparatory Academy for Girls at Kirkwood cultivates female leaders who manifest change in the world.

Mission: The Ivy Preparatory Academy for Girls at Kirkwood fosters a culture of collaboration, passion for learning, integrity and servant leadership in an environment designed especially for girls.

Ivy Preparatory Academy Governing Board members commit to being. Specifically, board members will BE…

1. Prepared. Participate in meetings having read and processed meeting materials; knowing, understanding, and revising board policies and procedures; and focusing on the role and responsibility of the board to govern and provide financial stewardship.
2. Proactive. Anticipate challenges and opportunities and respond to requests and questions from board members and school leadership in a timely manner. 
3. Punctual. Begin and end meetings on time. 
4. Present. Fully engage in meetings with limited distractions. 
5. Personable. Interact with other board members, school leadership, and members of the community with grace and professionalism.  
6. Principled. Work within the school community with transparency and efficiency without ethical challenges and conflicts of interest, or the appearance thereof. 
7. Proficient. Pursue ongoing board training and development to increase and enhance governance skills. 
8. Passionate. Advocate for the school and its leadership, staff, and scholars encouraging and providing academic and financial support.

Public Comments - Board Chair - no speakers; no comments

Transparency: Board meetings are a public forum to provide transparency into the governance of the school. Engagement from the community is strongly encouraged and vital to that governance.

Time Limit: A total of 30 minutes shall be set aside for public comment.  Each speaker will have a maximum of 3 minutes to speak.  A speaker may not sign up to speak more than once during the same public comment period.

Board Action: Board members shall not provide responses nor engage in direct conversation with speakers during public comments. The board will direct the Head of Schools or the Chief Financial Officer to engage in responding at a later time as necessary and appropriate.

Civil Discourse: Speakers are encouraged to maintain decorum and present their comments in a civil manner.  The Governing Board reserves the right to request any speaker engaging in personal attacks, or the use of obscene or derogatory language, to restate their position in a manner more appropriate for a school environment.

• Unpacked Ivy’s Governing Board Member Norms including Norms Self-Assessment
• Reviewed Ivy Governing Board Self Assessment and Analysis
• Reviewed Ivy Governing Board Revised Bylaws (Timeline: 1. Presented/discussed at January board meeting for board and public comment. 2. Recommendation to approve in the Governance committee meeting. 3. Adopted February board meeting; NOTE: a line-by-line crosswalk comparison is available HERE); Minutes-Taking Protocols; Robert’s Rules of Order/ Parliamentary Procedures; and recommended the board consider a parliamentarian board officer position.

Amend Bylaws Section​ 5.3. ​Governance​ ​Committee. 

CHANGE FROM: The Governance Committee shall be composed of two Board members recommended by the Chair and elected by the Board at its annual meeting

TO:  The​ ​Governance​ ​Committee​ ​shall​ ​be​ ​composed​ ​of​ ​two​ or more Board members ​recommended​ ​by​ ​the​ ​Chair​ ​and​ ​elected​ ​by​ ​the Board​.​ 

• Compensation package that assists with effective recruitment and retention (review of practices for hiring highly qualified teachers, turnover rate, current market issues/teacher shortages, exit interviews to capture data)
• Ivy Org Chart
• Leadership roles - recommended future needs (putting strong people in the seats)

1. Academic expert(s) to support Head of Schools
2. Academic leader
3. Academy leader(s) 
4. CFO is also COO (manage operations)

• Recommendations/follow-up at March board meeting

• Discussed LEADright performance review and agreement (first review here; second review as an uploaded file)
• TO DISCUSS AT JANUARY BOARD MEETING: Review of school leader contract to plot out critical dates and review fundraising plan
• TO DISCUSS AT JANUARY BOARD MEETING: HOS Evaluation tool presentation and update
• TO DISCUSS AT JANUARY BOARD MEETING: Set date for annual meeting (To be held in April or May)

Governing Board Meeting: Tuesday, January 24, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.

FY23 SCSC Governance Training Sessions: February 7-8 – Athens, GA OR April 12-13 – Atlanta, GA. Register go to https://scsc.georgia.gov/governance-training-requirement (email Board Secretary registration confirmation)

The meeting adjourned at approximately 2:05 pm