Minutes: Regular Meeting

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.

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. 

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.

Academics and Operations Report - Executive Director

Finance Report - Chief Financial Officer

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

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

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.

Approval needed

• Media Protection
• Telecommuting

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.

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

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

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

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

Personnel discussion

The meeting adjourned at approximately 1:35 pm