SLAM ATLANTA

Governing Board

Regular Meeting - Thursday June 18th, 2020 @6:30 PM

Meeting Minutes

Attendance Summary

Name Status Arrival Time Departure Time
Karen Womack present chair On Time At Adjournment
Altrenesha Ervin present secretary On Time At Adjournment
Pardes Sulaiman present Treasurer On Time At Adjournment
Tiffany Russell present member On Time At Adjournment
Charles Jones not present member
Corvis Coleman not present member
Mamie Grimes not present member

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: Pardes Sulaiman Seconded by: Tiffany Russell

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Welcome and Call to Order

The meeting will be called to the order at 6:33 pm by Chair, Karen Womack

Approval of May 7, 2020 Board Meeting Minutes

Approval of the May 7, 2020 Board Meeting Minutes

By: Pardes Sulaiman Seconded by: Altrenesha Ervin

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Approval of New Parent/Student Handbook

Approval of 2020-2021 Parent and Student Handbook

By: Pardes Sulaiman Seconded by: Altrenesha Ervin

and allow Ms. Pierce to add in the additional documentation for DIBIA Dream and the new Behavior Specialist recommendations for classroom management procedures for the upcoming school year.

Monthly Financial Reports

Highlights

  • Total Revenue is $1,710,919.16 - Reflected on the P&L
  • Total Surplus $566,411.64- Reflected on the P&L
  • Total Cash is $653,377.18 - Reflected on the BS
  • Total Long Term Liability $492,061.91: $262,061.91- From Building Hope & $230,000.0 from SLAM Foundation - Reflected on the B&S



Academica Update

Updates from the Education Service Provider

  • Facility Updates

Proposed 2020-2021 SLAM Academy of Atlanta Board Meeting Dates

08/06/2020

09/03/2020

10/08/2020

11/05/2020

12/03/2020

01/07/2021

02/04/2021

03/04/2021

04/08/2021

05/06/2021

06/03/2021

Approve the proposed 2020-2021 Board Meeting Dates

By: Pardes Sulaiman Seconded by: Tiffany Russell

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Update on SCSC Annual Review Submission

Discussion and Motion to create an amendment to expand SLAM's attendance zone

Approve the Board Chair, Karen Womack to work with Principal Pierce to prepare the amendment for submission to the Commission.

By: Pardes Sulaiman Seconded by: Altrenesha Ervin

During the meeting that Ms. Pierce had with Terrence Washington she mentioned to him that SLAM enrollment efforts are somewhat impeded by the fact that we have a number of families from outside the APS school district that want to come to SLAM Academy.  She took the captive time with him to inquire about his thoughts regarding SLAM requesting an amendment to the charter to include Fulton County to the areas that they can enroll students.  Terrence told her that he thought it was a great idea and that the timing was all right to move forward.  Since then Ms. Pierce contacted Sarah Beck to inquire what the steps were.  She informed her that she would need to meet with Katie Mahoney who would be able to assist her in their process.  Ms. Pierce met with Mahoney over the phone and she informed her that it would be best not to limit the area and instead of selecting any specific zip codes to just include all of South Fulton County in the expansion.  At this time we need the Board to empower Ms. Womack to work with Ms. Pierce to submit the request.

SLAM Foundation Update

There were no updates from the SLAM Foundation at this time

Announcements

Upcoming school or Board events

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:54 pm

Motion to adjourn

By: Altrenesha Ervin Seconded by: Pardes Sulaiman

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Meeting Adjourned

Adjourn the meeting

By: Altrenesha Ervin Seconded by: Pardes Sulaiman

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Discussion on School Opening Procedures for 2020-2021

A parent survey will be distributed to all parents regarding options for the return to school. Ms. Pierce will share the results of the survey during the next Board meeting.


Ms. Pierce will also put together a short video presentation of what returning to school would look like operationally for students. This will be placed on the school website and social media sites.

Updated 2020-2021 School Calendar

Principal proposes to do Team A/Team B days for the first two weeks of school and then transition back to full capacity in the building by 8/31. This will provide a window of opportunity to ease the students back into their new routines. The routine of educating during a pandemic. The Board would like for a survey to be sent out so that there is atleast feedback from parents on their comfort level with returning back to school with either option. Angelia offered to send Ms. Pierce the survey that was sent to her daughter from Gwinnett County. Ms. Pierce said that she would also reach out to Academica for support on. communicating a survey. Do we make the decision in July or do we wait make the decison ASAP on what option SLAM will choose. @Altrenesha Ervin suggested that parents be informed that we need the information back ASAP so that we can put together the exact process that will be in place for the students. She also thinks that it is a great idea to ease the students back into the environment slowly so that the can adjust to their new normal. She also suggests that of 8/24 and go full capacity beginning 8/31. Whatever is decided we must ensure that our teachers are comfortable being in the classroom teaching with webcams and headsets if that is going to be the process. On Friday's will teachers teach or do their PD from home since students will be home on Fridays? Ms. Pierce indicated that teachers will be in professional development on Fridays and students will be home except for those who need to come to school because they need supervision. Students will be in class from 8:00 am - 11:00 am and teachers will be in professional learning. For those students who need childcare, SLAM will offer it for $10.00 each student. @Pardes Sulaiman was uncomfortable with the charging of the $10 per student for childcare. Ms. Pierce indicated that this would be a great fundraiser for the school and that the money would help top offset some of the operational costs that will be impacted by budget cuts.

Approve the SLAM Academy of Atlanta 2020-2021 School Calendar

There was no notable discussion on the motion.

Enrollment Update

SMART Academy will defer their opening until the next school year. @Karen Womack spoke the Board Chair and asked if he would connect their 4th and 5th grade parents to SLAM. Chris said that he had already spoken to Ms. Pierce about that effort. We are hoping to be able to support these parents with possible enrollment at SLAM Academy for the upcoming school year.

School Leader Report

Because we did not meet the financial target in the piece we are automatically placed on . I met with Academica to go over what the requirements questionnaire and will.


We are tweaking the Financial policies document as well as the Internal Accounting policies; Alex and Kelly are reviewing and making some edits on cash receipts.


We submitted our enrollment projections on time to the Commission. Mr. Lee and I met with Terrence Washington to go over the template and he was very instrumental in helping us to understand how the funding works for

Every student is worth 6-segments


Federal Programs:

Will have a meeting with Dr. Osunkoya our Title I program specialist to help us understand how to apply the funds that were a result of carryover from 2018-2019. @Pardes Sulaiman would like Ms. Pierce to send a summary. of the information shared during the meeting with Dr. Osunkoya


Enrollment Update:

We currently have a waiting list for kindergarten students. SLAM partnered with EFFECT Fitness to do a live workout, we will be doing family walks on the Beltline to help build community.

Kindergarten 17 applicants 16 seats available

1st grade 4 applicants 7 seats available

2nd grade 2 applicants 7 seats available

3rd grade 2 applicants 7 seats available

4th grade 5 applicants 10 seats available

5th grade 4 applicants 10 seats available


Thank you Pardes for attending the Kindergarten Graduation ceremony and thank you Karen for the letter that you wrote. It was very well received.


Recruitment/Marketing Incentives

• 1:1 iPads for all students

• Poetry SLAM Contest w/ incentive to participate

• Virtual Tour Video • Parent Testimonial Video

• Free summer camp

• Kroger - table set up for recruitment efforts

  • Free Summer Camp offered by Dibia Dream

@Pardes Sulaiman is it realistic that we will be holding classes this fall with everything going on with the Coronavirus? @Kelly Pierce there hasn't been any mandates from the CDC or Governor regarding school closure for the upcoming school year. Ms. Pierce informed the board that she will only be offering a brick and mortar option. @Pardes Sulaiman so we will not offer a virtual option at all. No, it was not my intention to offer an option over in person learning.


School Finances Operating Budget: Alina and Ms. Pierce have been meeting weekly to continue to fine tune the budget for FY21. The state hasn't approved a budget yet therefore we cannot hold our 2 budget hearings to approve our 20-21 budget. We will be prepared to hold the two budget hearings once the state approves a budget. We did receive notice that funding will be reduced by 11% instead of 14%. This is promising news.


We currently have 2 students going through the RTI process. We met with both parents and they were very active and involved in the process. 2 current SPED students are eligible for additional services.


Final report cards went home May 22. We will be retaining 1 student. This is mutually agreed on by the parent and the school.


Facilities: The church has agreed to let us expand into one of the rooms in the back of the. building so that we will be able to social distance staff while school is in session. This additional space will come at an additional $100 additional in rent each month. Ms. Pierce has cleaned the room out that SLAM will use and moved all the clothing and other materials into another room. She has also organized the room to the Churches approval.


Human Resources

HUMAN RESOURCES The following positions remain open for the 20-21 school year: • Special education teacher • 3-5th math/science teacher; though an offer will go out this week.


Additionally due to budget cuts Ms. Pierce would like to ensure that the school will benefit for the maximum T&E dollars possible by offering teaching positions only to certified staff members. This could cause some of the positions that have already been offered to be retracted if certified candidates are interested in working for SLAM. Right now one position is possibly at risk.

The SDOE has decided to cancel Tykes evaluations for the upcoming school year. @Karen Womack mentioned that the cancellation most likely has to do with the number of teachers who are teaching virtually that have never done so before and that have not be properly trained and prepared to be evaluated.

Public Comment

There were no public comments made during this meeting