Welcome and Call to Order

The Meeting will be called to order by the Chair.

Mission: The mission of The Museum School of Avondale Estates is to inspire students, teachers and the community to collaborate to develop strong critical thinking, interpersonal and academic skills in our students, which will prepare them for real-world success.

 

Core Values: Responsibility, Respect, Cooperation, Sustainability, Creativity, Kindness

Public Comment

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 three minutes. The board will listen, but may not directly respond to any comments. Please do not use specific student, teacher or administrator names in your comments as 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.

There were no public comments.

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.

Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes

Approval of regular June meeting and Special Called July meetings.

Principal's Report

Principal Mike Stewart advised the Governing Board that he had received only a few emails related to the return-to-school plans, which were supportive. Mr. Stewart mentioned that TMS student body would be at full capacity (588 students) at the start of the year and that school preparation has included school building work, even though first quarter will be 100% virtual. Mr. Stewart discussed instruction staff's schedule for next week's virtual Summer Institute and pre-planning days which will include an emphasis on assisting students and families adjust to virtual platforms and resources.

He then detailed the planned virtual and in-person family and student school year kick-off events: a new families orientation he hosted via Zoom on July 20; Virtual Open House scheduled by grade levels for August 3 to introduce teachers and assistants to each classroom; and the in-person pick-up for Chromebooks, pre-purchased school supplies and Eureka workbooks August 3-7 (1:00 - 6:00 PM each of those days).

Executive Director's Report

Executive Director Dr. Katherine Kelbaugh also noted the feedback she received on school re-opening was understanding of the challenging circumstances and supportive. Dr. Kelbaugh had several items of note, including that the TMS re-opening plan was in alignment with several of the metro area school districts, given several recent virtual-only announcements around the region.

She discussed preparation underway for the July 30 virtual town hall to further share virtual school details with families. Several questions have been submitted in advance as requested and over 100 pre-registrations received thus far. She mentioned that there were several submitted questions pertaining to options for connecting with other students and families in the current virtual setting. Dr. Kelbaugh noted that the school would not be assigning social connections or communication groups for families but that a sub-committee of the Return-to-School Operations Task Force was creating resources by which families could create their own connections and make their own outreach, as desired. She noted that social/emotional well-being was one of the priorities of the comprehensive virtual school plan and recognized, again, the hard work of the Task Force.

Dr. Kelbaugh provided an update on DeKalb County School District's budgeting status: at DCSD's recent special called board meeting a budget for the upcoming school year had not been approved so a second special called meeting was scheduled (July 27) to address that need. She also noted recent TMS Foundation activities, including determining that a virtual auction will be held on Friday, November 6, 2020.

Finance Committee Update

Treasurer Tamara Richards reported that the tax return had been filed and that year-end financials will be presented during the August 2020 meeting. She further noted that TMS cannot create a new school year budget for Governing Board consideration, as the DeKalb County School District had not yet established its budget (detailed in the Executive Director's report). Ms. Richards then reviewed an August spending proposal to fund TMS anticipated activities for that month. (Ms. Richards had also shared this spending proposal to the Board earlier via email.) Ms. Richards noted that the Paycheck Protection Program forgiveness portal was not yet open as forgiveness rules are still being finalized but that she and the Finance Committee would work on submitting appropriate documentation on the TMS PPP financial support once they were able.

Facilities Committee Update

Facilities Chair Alan Locke reported that HVAC system upgrades were being researched and priced with the anticipation of presenting information to the Governing Board at next month's meeting.

Communications Committee Report

Communications Committee Chair Andrea Jones reported that support was being provided for the Town Hall event.

Diversity Committee Report

Diversity Committee Chair Christina Cassidy could not be present but had submitted her report via email to the Governing Board previously. Ms. Swinks reviewed the diversity dashboard document Ms. Cassidy shared. She reiterated the areas in need of attention, as noted by Ms. Cassidy in her email: Board-level diversity training is needed; identification, recruitment and engagement of at least three socio-demographically diverse individuals to serve as committee members; and that the Governance and Diversity Committees each prioritize recruitment of socio-demographically diverse Governing Board candidates this school year.

Board Chair Report

Board Chair Kelly Swinks thanked the Board for participation in the July special called meetings.

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:49 pm