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. 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.

Email Executive Director, Dr. Katherine Kelbaugh at Katherine.kelbaugh@themuseumschool.org for Zoom access to the meeting.

Public comment (no longer than one page) should be submitted via email to Katherine.kelbaugh@themuseumschool.org. Your comments must be received by 10:00 am on the day of the meeting. Only those emails received during the allotted time will be read aloud and broadcast. Emails received outside of the allotted time will be included in the Public Comments record for the next meeting.

There was no public comment.

Approval of Meeting Minutes

Review and approve minutes of the last two meetings of the Governing Board on November 17 and December 9, 2020.

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.

Principal's Report

Principal Mike Stewart reported on school activities and news. Principal Stewart reviewed enrollment numbers and feedback from the start of school leadership listening sessions to gain input from parents on virtual learning.

Executive Director Report

Executive Director Dr. Katherine Kelbaugh provided further information on instruction and facility plans for January as well as an update from TMS Foundation. Dr. Kelbaugh noted that responses are still coming in from the parent return-to-school survey but that grade-wide data would be shared once it was available. A virtual town hall with details is still planned for January 7, 2021. She also shared summarized staff and parent feedback collected thus far on the return-to-instruction plan.

Dr. Kelbaugh reviewed a history (timeline and content) of the directives shared regarding charter school abilities to plan for return to instruction. She noted that a July 2020 request from DeKalb County School District to create a pandemic plan for use in SY20-21 stated that charter schools have flexibility to implement pandemic plans that best suits the needs of their school communities. However, information just received this evening from DCSD now states that charter schools do not have the authority to adopt a hybrid or face-to-face instruction if the District has determined that to do so poses a risk to the health and safety of students, employees and visitors. Dr. Kelbaugh is reviewing this information as it could counter the January 19 instruction plan that has been shared with TMS families. She will be in touch with the District to address her questions.

Treasurer's and Finance Committee Report

Treasurer Tamara Richards reviewed financials and reported on activities of the Finance Committee. Ms. Richards noted several areas where remote instruction has reduced a few expense line items. She noted that expenditure of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) had not yet occurred and is being carefully monitored.

Facilities Committee Report

Facilities Chair Alan Locke updated the board on installation of the ventilation system upgrades as well as a water system testing and flushing protocol.

Diversity Committee Report

Diversity Committee Chair Christina Cassidy reported on recent efforts of the Committee to communicate their activities and advancements. .

Governance Committee Report

Governance Committee Chair Richard Piercy reminded the board of upcoming trainings. The first training will be January 13, 2021 and a second date needs to still be settled, as soon as board members all complete the polling for that second date.

Chairperson Report

Governing Board Chair Dr. Kelly Swinks thanked the Governing Board for their work.

The Meeting was Adjourned

The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:18 pm