- Approve the 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.
The Governing Board met on Tuesday July 27th, 2021 @7:00 PM for what was scheduled to be a 3 hours and 5 minutes long meeting. Present: Bridgett Bell, Kristal Ramirez, Satonja Gilbert Scott, Willie G. Davis, Jr., Mitch Foster II, Carla Wagner, Heather Wells, Ishmael Abdul-Salam, Chanel Recasner, Kim Walker, Brittany Dunn
Not Present: Kristin Jackson, Jennifer Fine, Farand Dolland, Gayla Graves, Terra Person
The members considered the following items:
1. Approval of Agenda
2. Approval of Minutes from July 9, 2021
3. Approval of Minutes from June 29, 2021
4. Public Comment
5. Principal Report
6. Academic & School Performance Committee Report
7. Faculty Report
8. Finance Committee Report
9. Governance Committee Report
10. President’s Report
11. Executive Session
12. Future Business
The committee considered 17 motions, of which 17 passed, and 0 failed:
1. Approve the agenda as submitted (passed)
2. Approve the minutes from July 9, 2021 (passed)
3. Approve the minutes from June 29, 2021 (passed)
4. Move to executive session at 10:13PM (passed)
5. Move to exit executive session at 10:31PM (passed)
6. Approve up to $15,000 for urgent grounds maintenance with the current vendor. (passed)
7. Approve proposed ASP monthly rate adjustment across the board, remove the service fee from the before care and after care programs and continue the three fee waivers for late fees (not monthly fees). The emergency rate is $50 per emergency plus $25 registration fee for the first emergency and $50 for each additional emergency within the school year. (passed)
8. Move to extend the current janitorial service contract through December 31, 2021 and increase from 2.5 full-time personnel to 4 full-time personnel, one of which is a supervisor with a communication device. (passed)
9. Publish the 2021-2022 Student Handbook with the outlined modifications discussed during tonights meeting. (passed)
10. Motion to Approve the Reimbursement Policy that allows up to 5,000.00 of available funds annually (amount not published in handbook) for up to $500.00 of reimbursement funds per individual, annual request. (passed)
11. Motion to appoint Bridgett Bell to serve as board secretary for 21-22. (passed)
12. Motion to ratify Mitch Foster, II as board Treasurer for 21-22. (passed)
13. Approve Mitch Foster, II to continue as Vice Chair of the Board for 21-22. (passed)
14. Elect Kristal Ramirez as second Vice Chair of the board for 21-22. (passed)
15. Move that Heather Wells remain the president of the board for 21-22. (passed)
16. Ratify the ASPC co-chairs: Willie Davis and Kristin Jackson for 21-22. (passed)
17. Ratify Kristal Ramirez as chair of the Governance Committee for 21-22. (passed)
The meeting adjourned at 10:32PM
The Governing Board met on Tuesday August 31st, 2021 @7:04 PM for what was scheduled to be a 2 hours and 50 minutes long meeting. Present: Satonja Gilbert Scott, Kristin Jackson, Willie G. Davis, Jr., Heather Wells, Farand Dolland, Ishmael Abdul-Salam, Chanel Recasner, Kim Walker, Brittany Dunn, Bridgett Bell, Mitch Foster II, Carla Wagner, Kristal Ramirez
Not Present: Jennifer Fine, Gayla Graves, Terra Person, Ishmael Abdul-Salaam, Lisa Simon
The members considered the following items:
1. Approval of Agenda
2. Approval of Minutes from July 27, 2021
3. Public Comment
4. Basement Project Update and Report
5. Principal Report
6. Academic & School Performance Committee Report
7. Faculty Report
8. Finance Committee Report
9. Communications Report
10. Governance Committee Report
11. President’s Report
12. Future Business
The committee considered 6 motions, of which 6 passed, and 0 failed:
1. Approve the agenda as amended. (passed)
2. Amend the agenda to move the finance committee report to follow the basement project update and report. (passed)
3. Approve the Wellness Plan for Covid Mitigation Strategies as presented by the principal. (passed)
4. Motion to approve change order with contractors for the basement project not to exceed $5,000. (passed)
5. Motion to approve updated FYI 21-22 budget to add 3 new positions:
1. Temp - Nurse's Assistant
2. Specials Teachers (2) - {$40,000 provided by Cares Act II Funding} (passed)
6. Motion to approve updated FYI 21-22 budget to add Operations Manager position. (passed)
The meeting adjourned at 10:04PM
Our Public Comment period is for members of the public to address the board. Each member of the public may sign up to comment at the meeting, and will be allotted two (2) minutes. The board will listen, but may not directly respond to any comments. Our meetings are open to the public and public record. As such, if your comment is about a private matter, please contact the board via email, or speak to the board chair privately.
Randy Shrum, Marshall Jones Audit Firm, will present the FY21 Audit Review.
The school leader reports on the status of the school.
ASP Committee Report - September 2021
● During our meeting on Sept 13th, Principal Abdul-Salaam requested we shift our goals of the committee to the School Improvement Plan, Curriculum, and Student Achievement. He stated our meetings should utilize the School Improvement. Plan (SIP) as a core focus. Our SIP has several goals, but ones with upcoming deadlines are priority:
○ iReady: Students will advance two levels in reading and math as
measured by iReady during this school year. This has already begun as
teachers and admin have administered iReady assessments for the Fall
and have begun working on targets for students.
○ Write Score Assessment 2x/year: First assessment is scheduled to be
administered in October
○ Promote a healthy and supporting work environment for staff: Wellness
Wednesdays have taken place consistently since the beginning of the
school year. September was a 30/30 month which promoted 30 minutes
for 30 days of wellness. Weekly Health and Safety Committee meetings
continue and onsite COVID testing began this Monday. Uninterrupted
teacher planning periods are prioritized.
○ Establish protocols to promote transparency and collaboration as well as
shared decision making in the school, including timely feedback: There is
an open door policy with school administration, shared leadership
practices, and grade level meetings to address grade level concerns.
○ Improve frequency of opportunities offered through SEM that enhance
existing curriculum: Ms. Buckley and Ms. Taylor have been working on
SEM offerings which were presented at the most recent PTO meeting.
There is a wide variety of selections available, including ones specifically
for virtual students. The program seems well on its way to meet goals. The
collaboration of the two teachers is going to help ensure success.
○ Administer LKES and TKES in a timely manner to improve administrative
and teaching practices: Ms. Jackson is has taken the LKES course and is
awaiting approval from GA DOE to complete the certification process. The
majority of teachers have completed their Self Assessment (over 90%).
Still working on new teacher to get in the system. We have completed our
first round of Learning Walks which are designed to gather information for
planning purposes.
We also have an update form a public question regarding iReady reports to parents and after-school and Saturday tutorials:
iReady diagnostics reports: when will these be received?
There is no report at this time.
PTO Report
CFO Monthly Report
FY21-22 Audit Draft
ASP fees
FY22 YTD Budget updates
Grant updates
Hiring updates
SPED Stipends
Gift cards for stand-in food staff
SPED - Para Request
Music Stipends
Basement update
Onsite Covid testing
Gym floors
This is to add new business to next month’s agenda.