Meeting called by: Ann Walton

Meeting type: Regular

Board Attendees: Michel de Knoop, Anne Williams, Ingrid Wibom Tracey Koehlmoos, Sonia Kabir, Diane Lindsey, Michelle Bowen, Gary Mignano (Ambassador’s Representative)

Absentees: Phillip De Cosse
Others present: Walter Plotkin, Brian Brumsickle, Tom Pado, Caroline Jacoby, Ian Hogg,  Diane Brocco, Ihsan Kabir, Steve Augeri, Tracy Hill, Raquibul Husain, Karrie Dietz

Scribe: Diane Lindsey (Board Secretary)

Opening
Action Items
Information Items
Executive Session
Adjournment

Opening
Meeting called to order at 5:10pm. Agenda and minutes were motioned for review and approval and were board approved with the following corrections:

• Steve Augeri will represent high school and middle school.

Information item on Attachments 3 and 4 that there are 30 non-paying students as opposed to 28.     

Action items – attachment 2 – the emergency school closure fund
The number of months and total cost to the school should it be necessary to pay the staff if there is an emergency closure.
Finance committee recommends that we add 100,000 to the closure fund. Question on what it does to the budget? Response is it will come out of general reserve – it will be earmarked.
ESCF fund to meet current obligations as calculated for this year.

• Board Decision: Michele motioned and Tracey seconded – 100,000 will be put into the ESCF

Action item –Make-up day for 23 August 2007
In the policy, number 1.401 states that the school calendar will have make up days automatically built in case of school closure. This was the case on 23 August due to political unrest a curfew was implemented.
Although a make-up day was slotted on October 6th, it was proposed by Walter that we do not use the October 6 day planned because we do not feel that we need it. We can deliver the curriculum with the days we have. For the make-up day we already have scheduled (6 October) the SAT is also on that day.
If we do not have any more disruptions the students will be able to do the work in the days that we have on hand.

• Board Decision: The motion was made by Anne and seconded by Michelle Bowen that 6 October will not be used for a make-up day.

Information item – attachment 3 Student council report
Correction was made to the report that there is swimming invitational and SAISA as well as volleyball tournament.

Information item – attachment 4 –PTA report

• No comments

Information item – attachment 5 –Superintendents report

• Things to note The school calendar has 180 student contact days. It must look at national holidays, breaks throughout the years: October break, spring break and a winter holiday. The spring break folds into the NESA teachers’ conference. The reason for doing it is a way of keeping the school year in the confines of what it has been traditionally. The tradition has been that the school starts mid August and ends the first week of June. After reviewing many years back this was not always the case. The summer closing date of the school is early in comparison to American and international school calendars. We will change things slightly next school year where we have 4 days inservice days before the school opens. We have added a day at the end of the year for teachers’ workday. It is a more reasonable end to the school year.
• Here are issues in December.  Take extra time at Christmas and add it at the end of the calendar, say June... With EID holiday the week before the schedule holiday –increases the chance that parent would add that week to the holiday break. The week of the 14th of December should be off?  How many kids will show up for school? Lots of discussion ensued. Recommendation is that Walter will make another calendar and then present it at the next meeting.
• Lots of discussion on the contractual matters with regard to the superintendent’s contract. When should notification take place? April or May or June? This will be discussed further between Walter and Ann and then come to a recommendation to the next board meeting. Additionally, the superintendent will also have an opportunity to notify the board if he does not want to continue. The annual evaluation is in April.

Information item – attachment 6 –Enrollment status

• Nothing to note

Information item – attachment 7 –Finance report

• The school policy states that there must be a reserve of 1 million and we have slightly more than that.

Information item – attachment 8 –budget preparation timeline

• Nothing to note

Information item – attachment 9 –program committee

• No questions

Information item – attachment 10 –Policy committee

• No questions

Strategic planning update

• Proposal is that the vision statement be finalized and then look at the mission statement and see if that should be more concise. This will be done by the school administration, and then reviewed via email by board members before the next board meeting. The next board meeting is just before the parent’s association meeting and we would like to present the mission, vision and strategic plan update during the parent’s association meeting.
• Walter stated that we have a mission statement and it is actually more than just the mission statement, however he noted that it changes frequently. He would like to refine it but would hope that it does not really change any time soon. The mission is our purpose and our purpose will not change. We are a school and will remain a school.
• The school administration will also draft a statement of philosophy and beliefs for the school.
• We need three statements a vision, mission and statement of philosophy (values) is there agreement on this…Yes.
• People, place and program. There is more work that needs to be done on place. Keith, the consultant will work on it some more based on his notes and then give it to the board to review via email.
• We still need to define community and diversity. The school administration will draft a definition.
• Keith will finalize the TOR and submit to Walter and Ann. Once we get that, then we will map out the rest of the process and agree on the timeline. Generally people are in agreement that we should finish by December.

Caroline Jacoby and Karrie Dietz gave IBPYP presentation
The Elementary School Principal and Elementary School Curriculum Coordinator made a presentation to the board describing the IB PYP and outlining how it fit with our present curriculum model and why it is being proposed for adoption by the school administration. A decision about the formal adoption of the program will be made at the next board meeting.

Meeting ended at 7:30pm.