Highline Academy
Board Minutes
Board of Directors’ Meeting
Highline Academy
2170 S. Dahlia St.
Denver, Colorado 80222
Monday, December 12, 2011
6:15 p.m.
PRESENT STAFF
Tom Bulger Denise Kelso
Jon Lowry Gregg Gonzales
Tina Valtierra Sara Alesandrini
David Larm
Rachel Hutson NONSTAFF
Edith Zemanick
Ruth Kedzior
Jennifer Holladay
Derrick Hudson ADVISORY BOARD
ON PHONE
Francis Scheve
ABSENT Papa Dia
PUBLIC
CALL TO ORDER
President called the meeting to order at 6:22 p.m.
ESTABLISH QUORUM
A quorum was established.
CONFIRM AGENDA
President confirmed agenda.
PUBLIC COMMENT. None.
ADOPTION OF MINUTES
Motion: To approve the minutes of 11.14.11 with corrections.
Jennifer moves the motion, Ruth 2nd.
MPU
ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATE
· Sara Alesandrini, instructional coach, introduced herself and was welcomed.
· Gregg distributed and explained a report on first trimester internal proficiencies. Language arts, math, and literacy have been modified this year to be more in line with Common Standards. Ruth reported that Highline got a B+ on the new website, ColoradoSchoolGrades.com, which grades schools on a scale that’s easy to understand: letter grades A through F. The site was put together by a coalition of 18 community organizations, including Colorado Succeeds (Tim Taylor’s organization).
· Gregg and Jon reported on funds from the bond reserve. There are a small amount of reserve dollars from the bond left, $39,000. Needs for which to use this are being prioritized. We may need to use some on the building itself, as there are continuing problems with areas being cold. We have had engineers and design people out here to discuss this. Leonard is going to bring in Slater Paul and JHL soon to talk about metal panels. This $39,000 may only be used for the facility itself, to increase the quality of the building. We still do not have 6th grade lockers, which is important with enrollment coming up. Jon will talk with Leonard about this. A question was asked if the funds should be signed over to us, or we should continue to have Leonard direct it. Since there is no good reason to change, Leonard will continue to direct this. Tom reminded BOD members that if we are approached by parents with concerns at concerts, etc., we should direct them to Jon or Tom, but say we are committed to getting things fixed.
BUSINESS MATTERS
Reports
Executive Committee
· Francis reported on progress towards principal evaluation. An outcome-focus and a more date-driven process is in the works. The mid-year evaluation template will be distributed by January BOD meeting, so it can be used as part of the process to determine contract renewal in March. The final year-end evaluation form will be discussed at March BOD meeting.
· Tom reported on a need to change policy regarding enrollment cap as it will affect the lottery and school choice which is a priority as it is coming up soon. Historically, priority seating has been given to children of staff, board members, and founding families, but there has been a cap on these, saying they cannot be more than 10 percent of seats available. This is an outdated policy, as those numbers are about 5 percent now. Tom and Jennifer could not find this policy, may have possibly been in the original charter, but needs to be changed now.
Motion: Enrollment policy to extent reflected in any current board policy as relates to children of founding families, faculty, staff, and board members; any cap on enrollment for such children is hereby revoked.
Tom moves the motion, Jon 2nd.
MPU
· Tom reported that Gregg is concerned that no one has stepped up to chair the auction. One parent has shown interest, but a co-chair is needed. Gregg is going to send out a letter, one-call, e-mail blast to try to find someone. The Marina is booked already for this. BOD members are asked to find 5 donations for auction as a show of support. The auction is important, as it is a huge fund raiser for us.
· Jennifer led BOD through annual review of policies Governance Process, 4.1-4.11
SAC. Gregg distributed handouts and led a BOD refresher on Core Knowledge and performance grouping. Core Knowledge refers to content and not skills to be gained. This is followed at Highline, but we also supplement and switch out. The SAC team will report out on how we are using Core Knowledge, but the purpose of this refresher was to inform BOD members so we can discuss intelligently. Rachel suggested this information on Core Knowledge be added as an appendix to the board book.
Development Committee.
· Colorado Gives Day update. In spite of a few glitches, we ended up slightly below last year, but did very well ($15,000) considering there was lots of competition. We do not know yet what the incentive dollar amount will be. Ruth wants to find a corporate sponsor or education philanthropist for next year to put up a match just for us. A big thank you was given to Ruth and Jennifer and others who were involved in making this happen.
Motion: BOD authorizes $50 from the HA Reserve to reimburse Jennifer, after providing appropriate documentation, for Colorado Gives Day expenses,.
Tom moves the motion, Ruth 2nd.
MPU
· We could do better in terms of fund raising coordination, as we are hearing reports of donor fatigue. We should coordinate as soon as possible once we know when Colorado Gives Day is. Some coordination did take place, so we need to build on that. We also need to focus beyond our families. Last August, the BOD allocated $7500 to hire a fundraising consultant. Ruth interviewed several candidates and strongly recommends Kathy Kramer-Ryan from DSST.
Motion: To authorize Ruth as chair of the development committee to proceed with the retention of Kathy Kramer-Ryan.
Tom moves the motion, Rachel 2nd.
MPU
· Ruth relayed Julie Thibideau’s thanks to the BOD for the pies for Gratitude Day.
· Joe Miklosi, who is running for Congress, toured Highline and was impressed. The Denver Post is interested in an article
Communications Committee: Jennifer updated the BOD one of our strategic areas of focus; Brand messaging, how we currently market and brand ourselves. This will help us look at how we are marketing ourselves to prospective families. Part of this is talking to our current families and asking questions like: What are some of the things that keep you here once your students are at Highline? Jennifer has spent a lot of time with Faye, looking at this. A focus group of parents will be created for this. Gregg and Jennifer will work on a parent/guardian community night. BOD members should watch their e-mail for a marketing exercise and get back to Jennifer. More to come.
Finance Committee.
· Fiscal bond obligations and other bond requirements update—still coming.
· We had our first report from S & P. We need $3000 for S & P which charges $3000 annually to review our finances and issue a rating which is a requirement of our bond. Still to be discussed is where this item will fit in future budgets
Motion: BOD allocate $3000 from Highline Reserve for Standard and Poor’s invoice for services this year.
Jennifer moves the motion, Tom 2nd.
MPU
Growth Committee.
· Rachel provided highlights to the BOD about closing the achievement gap by adding ECE to Highline Academy. The need for ECE in our geographic net is persuasive. Rachel learned that Rocky Mountain Prep, a charter, will offer ECE, but enrollment in ECE there does not guarantee a seat in kindergarten. We will keep the ideas flowing. Denise and Edith will help. More to come.
· Gregg and Tom will meet soon on the next steps on replication.
OLD BUSINESS
· Tom gave an update from the Building Corp. on the city of Denver issue. He went to court on Dec. 1. Charges have been dropped, and costs waived.
· Edith gave an update from the group working on playgrounds. She met with Gregg and a parent group. Tours were taken of four different schools. Anna Lieberman has been helping with this. Students in grades 4-8 rated their favorite ideas.
Motion: BOD allocate $3000 of the already allocated $18,000 to the playground project from the HA Reserve for the purpose of investigating possibilities for this.
Tom moves the motion, Jennifer 2nd.
MPU
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dec. 13 Restaurant Night at Panda Express
Dec. 13 3-5 Winter Concert 6:30
Dec. 15 K-2 Winter Concert 6:30
ADJOURNMENT
Motion: To adjourn.
Jon moves the motion, Rachel 2nd. MPU
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