Ivy Preparatory Academy

Governing Board

Regular Meeting - Tuesday January 28th, 2025 @6:00 PM

Meeting Minutes

Attendance Summary

Name Status Arrival Time Departure Time
Ms. Leslie Purifoy Plunkett (board secretary) present secretary On Time At Adjournment
Dr. Tunisia Cornelius (Board Member) present member On Time At Adjournment
Ms. Danielle Harrington (Board Member) present member On Time At Adjournment
Mrs. Stephanie Twitty-Carmon (Board Vice Chair) present chair On Time At Adjournment
Ms. Heather Gaylord present member On Time At Adjournment
Dr. Tunisia Cornelius (Community Member) present member On Time At Adjournment

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.

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. 

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.

Approve the agenda as submitted

By: Ms. Danielle Harrington (Board Member) Seconded by: Ms. Leslie Purifoy Plunkett (board secretary)

Unanimous

School Leadership Reports - Academics, Operations, and Finance

Academics and Operations Report - Executive Director

Finance Report - Chief Financial Officer






Report from Finance Committee

The Finance Committee met on Tuesday, January 14th, 2025, at 6:00 PM for what was scheduled to be a one-hour and seven-minute meeting.


Present:

Mrs. Laticia Sharp (NON-voting; Chief Financial Officer)

Dr. Tunisia Cornelius (Board Member)

Leslie P. Plunkett (Board Member)


The members considered the following items:


Welcome and Call to Order

Approval of Agenda

Finance Committee Work Session

  • Real estate discussion
  • Amended FY25 budget
  • FY26 Budget

Policy Review - N/A


The meeting adjourned at 6:55 PM

Report from the Governance Committee

The Governance Committee met on Tuesday January 14th, 2025 @5:00 PM for what was scheduled to be a 0 hours and 56 minutes long meeting. Present:

  • Dr. Charcia M. Nichols (NON-voting; Executive Director)
  • Ms. Leslie Purifoy Plunkett (board secretary)
  • Mrs. Stephanie Twitty-Carmon (Board Vice Chair)


Not Present: none


The members considered the following items:

1. Welcome and Call to Order

2. Approval of Agenda

3. Governance Committee Work Session


Governance Committee Work Session

  1. Governance Updates - Committee Chair Governance
  2. Teacher Retention-Intent letters due 01/17/2025
  3. Budget Amendments (2025)
  4. Budget Development (2026)
  5. SCSC Monitoring Results
  6. Leadership Coaching
  7. State of the School (GOSA embargoed data)
  8. Review Board Member Recruitment Plan
  9. Committee Appointments updates
  10. Salary Schedules
  11. Employee Contracts
  12. Policy Review (for 1st read)
  13. Media Protection
  14. Telecommuting


 

Planning of the agenda for Governing Board meeting - 01/28/2025


The meeting adjourned at 7:05 PM


Report from Governing Board

The Governing Board met on Tuesday December 17th, 2024 @6:00 PM for what was scheduled to be a 2 hours and 50 minutes long meeting.


Present: Ms. Leslie Purifoy Plunkett (board secretary), Ms. Danielle Harrington (Board Member), Mrs. Stephanie Twitty-Carmon (Board Vice Chair), Ms. Heather Gaylord


Not Present: Dr. Tunisia Cornelius (Board Member)


The members considered the following items:

  • Approval of Agenda - with amended items
  • Welcome, Vision, And Mission
  • Ivy Preparatory Academy Governing Board Meeting Information
  • Public Comment - NONE
  • School Leadership Reports - Academics, Operations, and Finance
  • Report from Academic Committee
  • Report from Governance Committee
  • Report from the Finance Committee
  • Report from Governing Board - November 2024 meeting
  • Action Items
  • Executive Session
  • Information Items

The meeting adjourned at 7:41 PM.

Policy Review

Approval needed


  • Media Protection
  • Telecommuting

Motion to approve Media Protection and Telecommuting policies with edits from GBI audit findings.

By: Ms. Leslie Purifoy Plunkett (board secretary) Seconded by: Ms. Danielle Harrington (Board Member)

Unanimous

Public Comment

Public Comments - Board Secretary

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.


Mr. Kedrick Range - Parent

Mr. Range inquired about after-school clubs/programs such as Chess, Math and Science for lower academy students.

Dr. Nichols shared information regarding school clubs and programs.

Report from Academic Committee

The Academic Committee met on Monday, January 27, 2025 at 5:00 PM. Ms. Danielle Harrington, Chair provided academic updates.

Action Items

Items for Approval

Executive Director's Report - January 2025

CFO Financial Report - December 2024 Financials

Calendar for 2025-2026 school year (Option 1) approved by stakeholders



Motion to approve Executive Director's Report - January 2025.

By: Ms. Danielle Harrington (Board Member) Seconded by: Ms. Leslie Purifoy Plunkett (board secretary)

Unanimous

Motion to approve CFO Financial Report - December 2024 Financials

By: Ms. Danielle Harrington (Board Member) Seconded by: Dr. Tunisia Cornelius (Board Member)

Unanimous

Information Items

For FY25, the SCSC will host two governance training opportunities on the following dates:


February Governance Training - Atlanta

  • Feb 11, 2025 - 1 - 5 p.m. - New governing board members
  • Feb 12, 2025 - 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. - All governing board members


April Governance Training - Athens

  • Apr 22, 2025 - 1 - 5 p.m. - New governing board members
  • Apr 23, 2025 - 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. - All governing board members


Link to register: https://scsc.georgia.gov/scsc-schools/training-opportunities


Governance Committee Meeting: Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at 5:00 pm

Finance Committee Meeting: Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at 6:00 pm

Academic Committee Meeting: Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at 6:00 pm

Governing Board Meeting: Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at 6:00 pm

Executive Session

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


Personnel discussion

Motion to move into Executive Session at 7:07pm

By: Ms. Leslie Purifoy Plunkett (board secretary) Seconded by: Ms. Danielle Harrington (Board Member)

Unanimous

Motion to move back to general session of Governing Board meeting at 7:34pm.

By: Ms. Leslie Purifoy Plunkett (board secretary) Seconded by: Ms. Danielle Harrington (Board Member)

Unanimous

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 1:35 pm

Motion to adjourn

By: Ms. Danielle Harrington (Board Member) Seconded by: Mrs. Stephanie Twitty-Carmon (Board Vice Chair)

There was no notable discussion on the motion.