Ivy Preparatory Academy Governing Board Meeting Information

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

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

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

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

Academics and Operations Report - Executive Director/Head of School

Finance Report - Chief Financial Officer

Policy Review

The following policies are presented for First Read:

• Adult vs Student Generated Funds
• Bank Statement Reconciliation
• Diabetes Information
• Field Trips
• Paid Parental Leave
• Use of Force
• Seclusion and Restraint

Report from Governing Board - Mr. Ronnie Banyard, Chair

• Chair’s Message
• Executive Director’s Goal and Evaluation Discussion
• Chief Financial Officer’s Goal and Evaluation Discussion
• Principal’s First Month Overview

Meeting minutes from the July Governing Board meeting:

The Governing Board met on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2024, at 5:00 PM for what was scheduled to be a three-hour and sixteen-minute meeting.

Present: Mrs. Stephanie Twitty-Carmon (Board Vice Chair), Mr. Ronnie Banyard Jr (Board Chair), Ms. Leslie Purifoy Plunkett (board secretary), Dr. Tunisia Cornelius (Board Member), Ms. Danielle Harrington (Board Member)

The members considered the following items:

1. Ivy Preparatory Academy Governing Board Meeting Information

2. Approval of Agenda

3. Welcome, Vision, And Mission

4. Public Comment

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

6. Policy Review – First Read of New Policies: Use of Force (School Resource Officer) and Paid Parent Leave

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

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

10. Action Items

11. Consent Items Approved

·      Academics & Operations Report from Head of School

·      Finance Report from Chief Financial Officer

·      Minutes from June 2024 Governing Meeting

·      June Finance Committee Report

·      May Academic Committee Report

·      Employee Handbook

·      Conflict of Interest Forms

12. Information Items – upcoming August 2024 committee and governing meetings

The committee considered 1 motion, of which 1 passed, and 0 failed: 1. Motion to add to the agenda Board Policy review of Admissions, Registration, and Enrollment (passed) The meeting adjourned at 7:28 PM

Report from Finance Committee

The Finance Committee met on Tuesday, August 13th, 2024, at 6:00 PM for what was scheduled to be a one-hour and seven-minute meeting.

Present: Ms. Leslie Purifoy Plunkett (board secretary), Mrs. Laticia Sharp (NON-voting; Chief Financial Officer), Dr. Tunisia Cornelius (Board Member) The members considered the following items:

1. Welcome and Call to Order

2. Approval of Agenda

3. Finance Committee Work Session

Summary:

CFO Updates

2024-2025 Enrollment:

·      Budget - 449

·      Actual - 446

CFO Strategic Planning

Review of Objectives

·      Objective 5 - Strengthen Financial Foundation

·      Optimize revenue-generating streams that share the IPA campus with the broader community

·      Encourage the Governing Board to engage with public, private, philanthropic, and granting partners to increase financial and in-kind support where there is mutual alignment between IPA and partners.

·      Explore asset valuation strategies to increase CPF performance and better position IPA for renewal.

Review of Prior Year Goals

1.    Near-Term Measures - The Chief Financial Officer will prepare and present to the board a proposed budget covering all estimated revenue and proposed expenditures for the fiscal year.

2.    Sustainability measures—The Chief Financial Officer will prepare and present to the board a three-year (preferred 5-year) budget projection covering all estimated revenues and proposed expenditures of the school, including the Debt Reduction Plan. The projection should include fundraising proceeds to go directly toward debt reduction.

3.    Sustainability measures - The Chief Financial Officer will prepare and present to the board a three-year (prefer 5-Year) enrollment (prefer 5-Year) projection to enable the school to operate adequately.

4. Policy Review – N/A

5. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 7:05PM

Report from Academic Committee - Stephanie Twitty-Carmon, Chair

The Academic Committee met on Tuesday August 13th, 2024 @6:00 PM for what was scheduled to be a 0 hours and 57 minutes long meeting. Present: Mrs. Stephanie Twitty-Carmon (Board Vice Chair), Dr. Charcia M. Nichols (NON-voting; Executive Director), Dr. Raymond Mooring (Parent)

The members considered the following items:

1. Welcome and Call to Order

2. Approval of Agenda

3. Academic Work Session

Reviewed the Streamlined CLIP and 90-day plan 

• Compared proficiency numbers with other districts
• Goal 3% increase for ELA for all grade levels, GMAS data 
• Goal 3% increase for Math by iReady Diagnostic Growth for EOY data 
• Action steps aligned within the CLIP plan
• Climate and Culture, SLN-focus-” Courage Cultivation” 
• (e.g. 3 visits this school year- July, October, February, conference in March) 
• Five objectives are now priorities in the Strategic Plan 
• Overview of Pre-planning provided 
• Literacy focus
• “Strive for 5” strategy in practice with teachers practicing as scholars 
• This week’s PD on dyslexia training, discussing the ‘truth and myth’ of it 
• Cox campus platform utilized for Literacy videos related to the Science of Reading 
• Staffing Matrix reviewed 
• New staff in yellow 
• Based on staffing numbers may possibly add another Kindergarten class due to high enrollment numbers (49), possibly collapse a 2nd grade class based on numbers
• 4th Grade Team all new, one will get a Teacher Ed program at GSU, 5th Grade-All certified, 2 moved  up from 4th grade, 6th grade still needs a SS teacher 
• Teachers that looped up to the next grade- Jones, Terrell, Hood, Clark, Young 
• Chorus- possibly contract this position 
• SWD teacher and para recently hired, still need another SWD teacher 
• 77% staff retention rate as of date 

Student Withdrawals & Enrollment 

• 39% scholars moved to different attendance zone, 26% returned to zone, 10.7% different charter, 3 parents moved out of state and homeschooled
• Student Enrollment Summary- 446, 3 students away from meeting budget goal 449 

CPI- Cycle 3 Report 

• Number of days absent and professional development days/for how long 
• Going forward, we need beginning and end time on professional development agendas 
• 64 Full time employed, 553 sick leave days report (averages to 8.64 days per staff), 368 Staff 
• Development days (5.75 days per staff) 

Strategic Plan 

• Professional Learning Plan developed for the entire school year
• Document is fluid, so it will change 
• Carpool conversations explained. Reviews attendance, grades, and homeless eligibility 
• Subgroup updates ○ SWD- 44 (10%), Gifted- 14 (3%), EIP/REP- 151 (34%), 504- 16- % TBD 
• ELA & Lexile charts reviewed for grades 3rd-8th 
• (Red did not beat the state! Green means met the State’s average) 
• We’ll focus on Lower grades to improve scores compared to other girls in nearby Charter Schools
• Why a decline in certain grades? There is a need for more personalized, intentional PD, especially in the    
• Science of Reading: Noticed a decline in 2nd and 3rd grade data, getting parents involved in a more strategic way- modeling from other schools 
• Teacher Certifications reviewed from grade-level bands 
• It is difficult to attract certified teachers due to competitive Metro Districts

4. Adjournment The committee considered 3 motions, of which 2 passed, and 0 failed: 1. Approve the agenda as submitted (passed) 2. Approve the agenda as submitted (proposed) 3. Adjourn meeting at 7:06 pm (passed) The meeting adjourned at 7:06 pm

Action Items

Board Elections - presentation of slate

Heather Gaylord - Board Appointment

Consent Items

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

Information Items

September 2024

Finance Committee: Tuesday, September 10, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. Room 203

Governance Committee: Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. Art Room

Governing Board Meeting: Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. Conference Room

Academic Committee: Tuesday, September 10, 2024 at 6:00 pm Room 202

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 4:52 pm