Welcome and Call to Order

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by the Chair, Jennifer Fine

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

No one signed up for public comment.

PTO Report

PTO president, Chandra Graves informed the Board that the PTO will be giving treats and encouragement for Georgia Milestones prep.

Sunshine carts made a debut last Friday for faculty with the help of parent donations. The PTO’s next meeting is the Tuesday after Spring Break. Teacher appreciation and the end-of-year celebration is forthcoming.

Faculty Report

Dr. Tempro discussed some highlights of the SEM program. Students have built an electric car; the motor is running and brakes are working. They are trying to enter a race in Huntsville, Alabama on May 4th and they need a trailer to transport the car. There is another race in Tennessee as well. Testing for the races will commence on the track after Spring Break. The car will be on display for the SEM showcase, the last Friday in April. Fundraising goal is $17,000.

There will be a clean-up day and Georgia Milestones kickoff April 13, 2019 at 9:00 am. The 10th annual Tri-Cities Run/Walk is May 4th, and the student art show is scheduled for April 30th.

Principal Report

Principal Parker stated that Georgia Milestones start in a few days. Most of the CCRPI is based upon it. 17 parents have opted their students out of the tests. The trend is happening across the district. Most of the students who have opted out are in 5th grade. Students who are taking 9th grade classes are still counted in the CCRPI, although they are not taking the milestones.

Since the last meeting, two staff members have attended professional development training.

Finance Committee Report

Board Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair, Bridgett Bell, provided the report.

PTO Financials: Not presented

Finance Committee Update:

The committee met on March 19th and discussed the FY 2020 budget, including issuing personnel contracts and adding positions. Several facility improvement projects have been completed or are planned - new gym LED lights have been installed, the security system has been updated with cameras in each stairwell and restroom stall updates have also been completed.

The main entrance to the school will be upgraded for security from April 10-12.

Voting Items:

1. Communications Committee – Request to create and fund a Communications position in the FY20 Budget.
2. Governing Board - Request for up to $15k plus required travel expenses for consulting services from Van Soelen & Associates for re-charter petition and application. Timeline of contract - March 2019-June 2020.
3. Governing Board – Request to increase the board’s professional development and travel budget to $15k per fiscal year beginning FY20.
4. Finance Committee - Request to transfer $500k into a money market account with Regions Bank.
5. Governing Board - Request for up to $15k for a luncheon for 8th Grade to celebrate the first TMSA Kindergarten class that will now graduate 8th grade and the sustainability of the school. Invitees will include 8th grade students and parents, current faculty/staff, past administrators, previous teachers, former Governing Board, Fulton County Board, local government officials, etc. (approximately 500-600).

Academic & School Performance Committee Report

ASPC Interim Chair, Dr. Johnson Dr. Johnson said the committee met yesterday and received longitudinal data from the i-Ready report. According to the report, 58% of students are in Tier I for reading as compared to 46% earlier in the year. There have been improvements in mathematics as well. In reading, 54% of students scored proficient or above. In mathematics, 39% of students were proficient or above. Due to the cost of the program ($40,000), TMSA is trying to work with charter schools to defray some of the expense. A discussion ensued regarding the best strategies to improve student achievement.

The committee also discussed the following personnel needs for the upcoming school year: four 1st grade assistants, one 8th grade Social Studies teacher, one reading instructional coach (K-5), one TAG resource teacher (K-5), one STEM teacher (specials), one full-time social worker, curriculum instructional support and an administrative assistant for the principal/school attendance clerk.

TMSA is participating in a program that sends books to students in the summer to prepare them for the upcoming school year. There will be 4-6 books in each packet and a workbook. There is an expectation students and teachers will read over the summer and be ready to engage on the first day of school.

The committee also raised the idea of TMSA purchasing of a passenger van to transport smaller groups of students to academic competitions and other events.

Governance Committee Report

Governance Committee Chair, Rebecca Dearolph, said the committee is working on recruiting members for next year. They have had 14 applicants so far. The committee has met to discuss logistics and outreach to the applicants. The goal is to meet with all applicants before the April board meeting, vote in May, train in June and have them ready in July. Ms. Wells has been in contact with Elisa Falco to amend the TMSA bylaws and expects to have proposed revisions by the April meeting.

Communications Report

Farrah Brown mentioned that she has served for the first full month as the Interim Chair of the Communications Committee. Weekly updates and communication has occurred with our consultant Ariana Santiago with Flylight Creative. The Communications Committee met on 3.26.2019.

The Communications Manager position approved by the Board is aligned with the Fulton County standards. Communications Committee still confirming start date with staff. The new position would be trained by Ariana, and once up to speed and in place, the contract between TMSA & Flylight Creative would end.

A communications calendar calendar has been created to help educate all stake holders of the systems and processes that have been adopted by the school. Calendar needs to be approved by administration.

Marketing Collateral will be divided to produce material in two phases. The Communications Team will work with Ariana, Administration and staff to obtain content for the detailed collateral.

As stated in a previous meeting, Ariana took a special group through a brand identity activity to help solidify the value proposition of a brand refresh. The Communications team is in the research phase of identifying mascots in our local area. They would like to include all stakeholders in this process.This is a work in process

To engage and listen to all stakeholders, the Communications Committee would like to create an infographic survey to identify our strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. We will reach out to key persons to retrieve questions to include in the survey.

President’s Report

Board Chair, Jennifer Fine, Ms. Fine informed the board that an ad hoc group had met informally to solidify a task force for the rechartering petition. The group had been waiting for the issuance of a new application or timeline from the state, but it appears said information will not be released prior to TMSA crafting a plan. The group is planning on using the 2018 application. Their kickoff conversation occurred on March 15th. The group includes Ms. Fine, Ms. Wells, Mr. Van Soelen, Elisa Falco, Ms. Smith, Ms. Parker, Robert Baker and Noel Mayeske. The group will be meeting in person at TMSA this Friday, 3/29.

Ms. Fine also reminded everyone to post Committee and staff reports to CharterBoards a week prior to Board meetings and to also send a courtesy email to all board members of any changes to upcoming Committee meeting dates.

Future business:

1. FY 2020 budget items
2. Strategic planning in budgeting
3. Benefits brokers

Future Business

• FY2020 Budget
• Strategic Planning/Budgeting - Year over year staffing plan
• benefits brokers

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 11:43 am

Approval of Minutes

Approval of February 26, 2019 Board meeting minutes.