Welcome and Call to Order

The meeting will be called to the order by the Board Chair at 6:34 pm

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

M. Melissa Clermont asked the Board to ensure that they consider the parents who have small children at home that have small children at home as they consider the reopening plan for SLAM Atlanta

Ms Rashida Musa wanted the Board to check into the buses that have been cancelled on her route. Her children no longer have a way to come to school because of the COVID bus schedules cut back. She went on to express her concerns about the safety for all the children as well as the serious nature of COVID-19

Approve Updated Financial Polices and Procedures

SLAM's response to the SCSC finding on Financial oversight 2(c) - Adherence to Local Units of Administration Manual

Approve the Updated Internal Accounts Policies

Approve the extension of the Birthday Cut off date for SLAM Students

@Altrenesha Ervin asked what happens if the child moves out of the SLAM District and enrolls in another school. Will the grade level that they were granted at SLAM be accepted in the new school. @Pardes Sulaiman says that the Board should create a policy that define what the process will be to determine on a case by case basis the guidelines used in this process.

FY2020 School Reopening Discussion and Decision

@Pardes Sulaiman after looking at the teacher and staff survey results and considering the uptick in COVID-19 cases in my opinion the best thing for us to do is open with virtual instruction only. After that we can evaluate how things are going in the community and then we can determine when and if we move to phase II. @Altrenesha Ervin , I am in agreement with Pardes. Alex Tamargo, Superintendent of SLAM says that SLAM should follow what the school district around them is doing in order not to expose the families to the virus. @Karen Womack , I be opening virtually and not putting any stipulations on a specific ending timeframe for when they will move into phase II is out best option. That way, we can re-evaluate at anytime to determine when we re-open. If we put our best efforts in creating the very best remote live instruction possible our students will not loss out on quality instruction. Our focus should be on having a valuable and safe learning environment for our families. I did speak to Deacon Chambler and he informed me that he was very impressed with the Safety Plan and Virtual and in person instruction plan that Kelly presented at the SLAM Townhall meeting. He told me that Shiloh was supportive of SLAM's decision. The church doesn't have any plans to return to the building any time soon.

Kelly, I want to make sure that we keep in mind that we are speaking of only 130 students and that we do not have to make a decision to put a specific date for closure, i.e, 9-weeks, etc. @Karen Womack , that is not our position at all. Kelly, we need to address accessibility, access to the internet and WIFI bandwidth issues. A few Charter Schools will allow families to come by the school building to access WIFI. I would like to offer something similar for parents. A space in the Fellowship Hall where a few parents that register to bring their children in and stay with them while they are in the building. There will not be any supervision from any staff members. I will be coming to the building each day.

Millie Sanchez - SLAM Foundation. One consideration that you need to make clear to the parents is that if they do choose to come and use SLAM's WIFI, that the children can not be left alone. They must be accompanied by an adult because you will not have staff members to accommodate supervising children.

Kelly - It is imperative that we get a true baseline iReady assessment of our students. I would like to ensure that I have the Board's blessing to administer the test. Alex Tamargo - IReady has made the SLAM school network our very own District and as we pursue our accreditation we must ensure that we administer the test and ensure that it is done without any involvement from their parents. This a concern in a virtual environment. We need to focus on being able to administer the test with the upmost credibility that the student will not receive any assistance from parents or other guardians .

Kelly - Based on the Survey administered to the staff and teachers, 6-people said that they would prefer to work from home, 7-people said home or office. The largest school district in Georgia is requiring their teachers and staff to report to their building every day. I am proposing that we require our teachers and staff to report to the building as well.

Karen, In my opinion I do not think that we need teachers and staff in the building. RLI means that teachers will deliver live instruction remotely. They do not have to be inside of the physical building to do so.

Kelly, Teachers will be teaching remote live instruction from 8:00 am - 3:00 pm each day as though we were in building face to face. If we are not going to require staff to be on campus how do we set up technology. We are providing meals for parents to pick up, how do we do that if staff and teachers are not required to come on site?

Karen - we need to put plans in place to ensure that we have technology in place and ready for parents to pick up for their students. If Mr. Lee needs assistance getting technology ready, we can volunteer to come and help out so that is not a barrier for our families receiving technology. The Board does not support the idea that staff and teachers are required to come into the building . As far as giving out meals, we do not have to have staff in the building to do that . My own personal school district gave out meals during the whole quarter 4 and there was no one in the building. You drove up to the curb and the meals were delivered to your car, the parent then drove off without any interaction with the person delivering the meal and without going into the building.

Millie Sanchez - SLAM Foundation I want to give some perspective on this topic. There is a policy that talks about essential staff and how they operate during this pandemic. Those that are required to come in for essential duties would do so under the Principal's supervision. Who is considered essential?

It is fair to say that there are going to be times when certain staff members need to report to the Building. In order to control this virus we must control in person access. There are certain aspects of each job that have to be done in order for the business of school to continue to run smoothly. Our job is to ensure that everyone will be safe. I would suggest that there is a conversation for essential staff and a schedule developed based on what is needed and when needed.

@Altrenesha Ervin m job has set up a schedule that outlines High, medium and low priorities for staff. Attendance is staggered when in the building to keep the number of people low in the building. There needs to be a Plan A and Plan B to hold people accountable for their own designated time. If there is something that cannot be done from home, then it is necessary for them to come to the building to get it done. If you job responsibilities doesn't require you to come into the building then the employee should not be required to come.

Kelly - What do we do when a teacher needs to meet with one of our Tier II, Tier III a student in person, one on one for tutoring. Is this something that the Board will allow.

Approve the updated school calendar

Announcements

There were no announcements made during the meeting

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:43 pm