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Equitas Governing Board

Progress Towards Goals SY 20-21

June 24, 2021

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Equitas Governing Board Structure

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Board of Directors

Governance

Academics

Finance

Development

Working with the CEO to:

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  • define academic excellence
  • ensure that all board members know the charter promises that were made to the community and the authorizer
  • devise clear and consistent measures to monitor these goals

To assume the primary responsibility for matters pertaining to Board of Trustees

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  • Recruitment
  • Nominations
  • Orientation
  • Training
  • Evaluation

Working with the CEO and Chief Operating Officer (COO) to :

  • review and provide recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year budget;
  • presenting budget recommendations to the Board;
  • monitoring implementation of the approved budget on a regular basis and recommending proposed budget revisions;
  • recommending to the Board appropriate policies for the management of the charter school's assets.

To assume the primary responsibility for raising non-grant funds to support the organization’s mission.

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Governance Priorities

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  • Board Slate
    • Secure an Effective Board with a candidate for Chair and membership at 9. (Build slate for 21-22)
      • Candidate (completed)
      • Membership at 9 (in progress)
  • Board Learning, Development and Engagement
    • Support Board in mission engagement & learning through department and staff presentations and learning experiences
      • Scope and Sequence (completed)
      • Committee Chair Presentation of Process for input and agreement (completed)
      • All 4 departments presented to the board (completed)
  • Board Strategy and Retreat
    • Reimagine retreats and development of board strategy.
      • Retreat design focus on board governance and strategy (completed)
      • Retreat design solicited input and feedback from board in design (completed)

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Progress Toward Goals _ Finance

  1. Provide feedback on the organization’s financial reporting and key metrics COMPLETE
    • The committee developed a dashboard that included key metrics to monitor the overall financial health of the organization this dashboard was shared with the entire board at each monthly meeting
    • The dashboard was reviewed mid-year and was revised using input from the committee
  2. Provide feedback on the organization’s long-term financial plan IN PROCESS
    • The committee aligned on the assumptions for the long term plan and will continue the work in the next fiscal year
  3. Provide Feedback on a revised 2020-21 Annual Plan & Budget and the 2021-22 Annual Plan & Budget. COMPLETE

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  1. Monitor facilities projects currently in development— specifically EQ4, EQ5, and EQ6— ensuring projects are on time and budget; COMPLETE
    • EQ4 was completed
    • EQ5 and EQ6 is slated for completion June 2022
  2. Recommend to the board financing for new projects– specifically EQ5 and EQ6. COMPLETE
    • Financing closed december 2020
  3. Engage in professional learning at each of our meetings IN PROCESS

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Academic Priorities, Progress, and Challenges

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OVERARCHING GOAL: To hold Equitas Accountable for aligning with mission and stated strategic goals around academic achievement/curriculum across all subgroups of scholars to ensure excellent and equitable educational opportunities.

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GOAL 1: Ensuring scholars and families are connected through technology platforms, through effective communication and that all feel supported by the school community

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GOAL 2: Ensuring teachers feel prepared and supported with the technology required, curriculum implementation, evaluation, and are emotionally supported through distance learning.

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PROGRESS ACTIONS

  1. Discussed with staff and leadership regarding student engagement and what that looks like. High engagement reported.
  2. Teacher, student and family surveys used to discuss what was needed to navigate distance learning.

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GOAL 3: Begin to figure out how best to support leadership and staff in communicating to the board about academic performance and what that entails.

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GOAL 4: Increase board knowledge of the various factors that go in to supporting and evaluation academic success

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PROGRESS ACTIONS

  1. Committee discussed what goes into great academic performance through the lens of a great classroom. Topics discussed included Academic performance/Testing, School Culture, School Leadership, Social Emotional Wellbeing, Subgroup analytics, etc.
  2. Requested feedback from board on topics they would like the committee to bring to the table

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Academic Priorities, Progress, and Challenges continued

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GOAL 5: Assist in providing data to the board on the various metrics and contributing factors of academic performance

PROGRESS ACTIONS

  1. Committee provided MAP Testing results and discussed implications
  2. Committee presented example of learning loss interventions with the Wilson Reading program
  3. Asked for feedback from staff on types of data available
  4. Asked for board feedback on how they want to receive data

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CHALLENGES

  1. Conversations in the committee meetings were effective and deep but have not fully translated to the board
  2. Committee needs stronger infrastructure to connect to the board and other committees
  3. Very small committee with several shifts in members
  4. Centralized data tracking was not as strong this year
  5. Academic goals were less specific this year and thus more difficult to have oversight

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Resource Development Committee Priorities

Resource Development Committee Priorities/Goals

  1. Board Give/Get - Provide resources for board members to meet individual and group fundraising goals. Update on progress to goals and provide ongoing support to secure meet give/get goals. 

a.     Quarterly progress (update from last meeting)

b.     Give/get goal is $40,000

  • The Why behind fundraising - Identify individual opportunities and touch points to increase Governing Board engagement with the Equitas Academy mission and further align with values.

a.     Equitas volunteer opportunities

  • Virtual Events & Campaigns- Provide tool kit and peer support to the Governing Board in virtual events and fundraising initiatives.
  • Diversify Equitas Fundraising through Individual & Corporate Gifts - Provide means and understanding on steps to diversify Equitas's fundraising portfolio. 

a.     Individual Donors

b.     Corporate Donors 

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Resource Development Committee

Progress Toward Goals

  1. Board Give/Get
    1. 58% of Goal Achieved
    2. 100% Board participation in Give AND Get (CELEBRATE THIS ACCOMPLISHMENT Y’ALL)
    3. Board achieved 73% of the “give” goal
    4. Board achieved 30% of the “get” goal
  2. The Why behind fundraising
    • 75% of Board Members participated in Volunteer Opportunities - reading to classes and sharing career paths
  3. Virtual Events & Campaigns
    • (Our FIRST) Giving Tuesday
    • #March4Equity (Thanks to Wendy Spindler!)
    • High School Preparation & Alumni Programs (STILL TIME TO RAISE!)
  4. Diversify Equitas Fundraising through Individual & Corporate Gifts
    • 67 new individual donors (and 35 retained from FY19-20!)
    • 2 new EQ Vendors gave to the #MarchforEquity campaign (and 2 retained from FY19-20!)
    • 2 new partners!
      1. NFL (THANKS AARON!)
      2. Capital Group (THANKS RLI PROGRAM & DEANNA GARCIA!)

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Mr. Reddy started with a read aloud, which was a great way to let the kids get comfortable with a visitor in the room! He did an excellent job making sure he answered questions in a way that was appropriate for their age group (making finance/investing sound cool to 9 year olds can be a challenge, but he did great!) Students asked lots of great questions about his life, schooling, and career. They really enjoyed the opportunity!

- Caroline Battle, 4th grade teacher, EQ3:

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