Westside Atlanta Charter School

Governance Committee

Governance Meeting - Wednesday January 7th, 2026 @7:30 AM

Meeting Agenda

Policy Review 30 minutes

Review and update necessary board policies.



Board Retreat Options 15 minutes


GCSA Strategic Planning Options


Option 1: School Facilitated Strategic Plan (Range: An additional $1,000-3,000 above cost for retreat, depending on time scheduled for facilitation)

  • Keep Agenda as is with the SWOT analysis at the board spring retreat
  • Provide the board/leader with a proposed process they could implement to create the strategic plan
  • Support leader as needed through strategic check-ins and feedback cycles

Option 2: GCSA Facilitated Strategic Plan (Range: An additional $8,000-11,000 above the cost for retreat)

  • Keep Agenda as is with the SWOT analysis at the board spring retreat
  • Follow up with a facilitated SWOT analysis with up to 4 stakeholder groups (staff, leadership team, parents, students)
  • Review audits, financials, academic data, and board meetings to identify potential risks/concerns to contextualize and inform strategic plan
  • Utilize the SWOT and data review to facilitate the creation of the 3-5 year strategic plan with a planning committee
  • Create measurable goals and actionable items
  • Present plan to board in a detailed and 1-2 page overview
  • Create tracking mechanism to monitor implementation of plan


Option 3: Operational Assessment and GCSA Facilitated Strategic Plan (Range: An additional $32,000-38,000 above the cost for retreat. Note: This option includes multiple experts in the field to help inform and evaluate the data and inform next steps)

  • Complete a comprehensive operational assessment that includes site visits with instruction walkthroughs, surveys of various stakeholder groups, and listening sessions in the areas of 
  • Leadership and Governance
  • Legal and Compliance
  • Financial
  • Operations
  • Safety and Risk Management
  • Community and Culture
  • Facilities and Grounds
  • Marketing, Recruitment, and Enrollment
  • Humans Resources
  • Academics
  • Special Education
  • Keep Agenda as is with the SWOT analysis at the board spring retreat
  • Follow up with a facilitated SWOT analysis with up to 4 stakeholder groups (staff, leadership team, parents, students)
  • Present the Operational Assessment and Root-Cause Analysis to the Board and Leadership team
  • Utilize the operational assessment and root cause analysis to facilitate the creation of the 3-5 year strategic plan with a planning committee
  • Create measurable goals and actionable items
  • Present plan to board in a detailed and 1-2 page overview
  • Create tracking mechanism to monitor implementation of plan


Set Next Governance Committee Date and Agenda 15 minutes

- Set date for next meeting as _____
- Set agenda items for next month: