Ivy Preparatory Academy Governing Board Meeting Information 1 minutes

LOCATION: Governing Board meetings are held at Ivy Preparatory Academy at Kirkwood, located at 1807 Memorial Drive, SE Atlanta, GA 30317 in the Art Room.

AGENDA: Governing Board meeting 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. 

ACCOMODATIONS: 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, Vision, And Mission 5 minutes

Welcome - Board Chair

• Meeting Call to Order - Board Chair
• Roll Call - Board Secretary

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.

Approval of Agenda 5 minutes

So that there is agreement between board members on the agenda, and the amount of time spent on the meeting, the board shall vote to approve an agenda for the meeting. To the best of its ability, it will follow that agenda, and allow for the chair to move the board through the agenda as specified.

Public Comment 30 minutes

Public Comments - Board Chair

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.

School Leadership Reports - Academics, Operations, and Finance 60 minutes

Academics and Operations Report - Executive Director/Head of School

• Calendar update
• Marketing Refresh
• Strategic Plan update

Finance Report - Chief Financial Officer

Policy Review 20 minutes

The following policies will be presented for Third Read:

 

·      Employee Email

·      Disability Accommodation

·      At-Will Employment

Report from Governing Board - Mr. Ronnie Banyard, Chair 15 minutes

The Governing Board met on Tuesday April 23rd, 2024 @6:00 PM for what was scheduled to be a 3 hours and 51 minutes long meeting.

Present: Attorney Kristie Battle (board treasurer), Mrs. Stephanie Twitty-Carmon (Board Vice Chair), Mr. Ronnie Banyard Jr (Board Chair), Ms. Leslie Purifoy Plunkett (board secretary)

The members considered the following items:

1. Ivy Preparatory Academy Governing Board Meeting Information

2. Welcome, Vision, And Mission

3. Approval of Agenda

4. Public Comment

5. School Leadership Reports - Academics, Operations, and Finance

6. Policy Review - second read

7. Report from Governing Board - Mr. Ronnie Banyard, Chair

8. Report from Finance Committee - Attorney Kristie Battle, Chair

9. Report from Academic Committee - Stephanie Twitty-Carmon, Chair

10. Consent Items

11. Action Items - voted on two new board members

12. Executive Session - to discuss personnel and litigation

13. Information Items - upcoming meeting schedule and board member training reminders/deadlines

The committee considered 2 motions, of which 2 passed, and 0 failed: 1. Motion to amend the agenda to include a presentation regarding the Principal candidate. (passed) 2. Motion to approve the amended agenda. (passed)

The meeting adjourned at 7:53PM

Report from Finance Committee - Attorney Kristie Battle, Chair 15 minutes

Finance Committee Meeting - May 14, 2024

Called to order at 6:06pm

Updates from CFO

• Camp Bow Wow update - terminate agreement settlement
• Charter Extension: bond refinance contingency was waived and two-year charter extension was granted
• Property management renewal agreement has not been finalized
• New PA system: met with vendor to determine financing options. They have sent a capital and operating lease for the school to review.
• 2024-2025 enrollment update as of 05/09/24
• FY25 current enrollment (456)
• Re-enrollment (355)
• New Scholars (94)
• New Siblings of Returning (7)
• Budget(s) review
• FY24 Amended Budget
• FY25 Proposed Budget

Meeting adjourned at 6:49pm

Report from Academic Committee - Stephanie Twitty-Carmon, Chair 15 minutes

Reports from April and May

April Academic Committee Meeting 4/23/24

Meeting called to order at 5:11p.m.

Ms. Twitty-Carmon: Introductions of Committee Participants

Members Present:

• Dr. Nichols (Head of School)
• Kaila Green (Assistant Principal)
• Pelita Merideth (Director of Curriculum and Instruction)
• Amanda Harris (Interim Assistant Principal)
• Zinta Perkins (Director of Federal Programs)

Academic Work Session Presented by Dr. Nichols

• GAA administered on 4/9/24 and completed on 4/10/24
• GMAS Mock Milestones data (3/26-3/29) is not readily available due to some of the assessments not uploaded in Illuminate
• GKIDS- Almost completed by Kindergarten teachers
• Gifted Updates- Five scholars qualified for gifted and a meeting is to follow for the 2024-2025 school year

Strategic Planning Updates

• Two sessions: The team discussed the common themes and developed three priorities. These priorities are Improve Teacher and Student Culture, STEAM Integration, and Building Confidence and Cultivating Female Leadership Research shows that we do not have a STEAM certified school for girls of color.
• Financial Future- Student Led capstone projects Enterprise funds
• Increased teacher pay Strategic Planning Session #1 with Staff on 4/23/24

FY Stakeholder Groupings Meeting #1 FY24 Stakeholder Input Meeting #1

• Scholar Attendance Scholar attendance percentages demonstrate scholar attendance is much better as we approach the last month of school
• Enrollment 3/22-4/22 Withdrawals(4) occurred in 4th-6th grade. Two scholars moved out of the zone and 2 other scholars went to another charter school

Meeting adjourned at 5:32p.m on 4/23/24

May 14, 2024 meeting minutes

Academic Committee Work Session

The school leader will update the committee on the School and Departments

• Updated FY 25 Calendar: Four digital days for the upcoming school year to include Oct. 11th, March 7th, April 18th, and Jan 17th
• Strategic Plan Updates: Improving staff culture, Improving student culture, STEAM Integration, Solidify financial future, Build student confidence and cultivate female leadership
• iReady Diagnostic EOY: Exponential growth in iReady data; Kindergarten saw the most growth in ELA; Growth in iReady Math
• Preliminary GMAS Data: Preliminary data shows a decrease in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade in ELA, but those students are reading two to three below grade level. Some of the classes had a teacher to leave. iReady data does not coincide with the actual growth of the students. Science saw growth in 5th grade despite not having a teacher. The 8th grade Science teacher left in the beginning of the year. Social Studies saw growth from the previous year in the 8th grade
• Semester 2 Attendance/Discipline Report: High number of incidents in 2nd grade and 5th grade.
• Staff Attendance Data: Number of staff who missed 0-3 days is 46. Staff did not go over this amount, but there is a concern for the cost of a substitute teacher.
• Scholar Attendance Data: Students attendance levels are up. The previous year attendance implementation is effective.
• Marketing Refresh: Different colors for each grade level; the logo will stay the same. Brighter colors for the uniforms and school decor.

Meeting adjourned at 6:55pm

Consent Items 10 minutes

1. Approve Academics and Operations Report from Head of School
2. Approve Finance Report from Chief Financial Officer
3. Adopt the minutes from the April Governing Board meeting
4. Adopt the April & May Academic Committee Report
5. Adopt the May Finance Committee Report

Action Items 20 minutes

Executive Session 30 minutes

The Governing Board closed its meeting as permitted by the Open Meeting Act of Georgia. 

Purpose: to discuss personnel matter and litigation

Information Items 5 minutes

Public Meeting for FY24 Amended Budget: Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at 5:00 pm

Public Meeting for FY25 Proposed Budget: Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at 5:00 pm

Governing Board Meeting: Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at 6:00 pm