Hope Academy

Open Items

Call the meeting to order

Amy Levander called the meeting to order at 7:31am. 

Record Attendance and Guests

Approve the Minutes

The August 24, 2023, Hope Academy High School Board Meeting minutes are approved, with the following corrections:

Public Comment

Open Comment Period

No comment. 

Finance

Finance Committee Report

By June 30, 2024 the board will approve a balanced and fiscally sound budget that aligns with the school program needs for SY 24-25. "

Brian Anderson provided the board with copies of the July-August Statement of Financial Activity and Statement of Financial Position, and Budget vs Actual Summary. On the revenue side, we are ahead due to fundraising and being in receipt of the first half of the charter innovation grant. Our expenditures are right on budget. 

September Financials

Audit Update

Jane Panyard informed the board that we are in the process of the audit right now.  

Academic and Recovery Excellence

Academic and Recovery Committee Goal: Achieve at least 60% retention rate of eligible students by June 2024. "

School Report

Enrollment/Enroll Indy Update

Deb Leser told the board that our current enrollment is at 39, with 2 new student interviews scheduled. ADM count was 40 with a goal of 38. ADA is 46.

Professional Development

We continue to do PLC every Friday afternoon. We are heavily focused on data this year and are getting a head start with a focus on Science of Reading. This Friday we are working on team building and TESA (Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement), which is essentially classroom management 101. 

Formative Assessments

Our students have taken the NWEA and the data will be presented at the next board meeting. The PSAT was yesterday, which was digital this year for the first time.

Data/Goals Update

Academic Dashboard

Grade Distribution for the first six weeks shows the students are doing very well. The Recovery and Wellness grade needs to be above 80 percent per OEI, and we are at 97. Currently all but one of our seniors are on track to graduate. 

School Data Dashboard

Currently have a lot more boys than girls. We also have more Marion County students and are also more diverse.  Student attendance is 93%. Free and Reduced lunch continues to rise.   Special Ed has decreased significantly, mostly due to last year's seniors graduating (all but 2 were Special Ed). 

Collaboration/Concern

It was brought to the boards attention that there are errors on a few documents showing the previous retention rate goal of 60 percent. Those documents will be corrected to show the updated number of 70 percent. 

Development Committee

Development Committee Goal: Hope Academy will raise $710,000 in FY '23-'24.

Development Committee Update

Rise and Shine

Jon Shapiro reminded everyone that Rise and Shine is week from today and thanked everyone who purchased tickets. Thanks to a generous donor, we are using their annual gift as a matching gift opportunity. We are currently sitting at $84k raised, which does not include ticket sales. We have 29 tables. A handful of legislators will be in attendance, including Rep. Ed DeLaney, Rep. Andrea Hunley, Hope Board member Rep. Victoria Wilburn and Rep. Julie McGuire.

Grants and Giving Update

Jon provided the board with the Grant and Fundraising reports. He specifically noted that of the grants we secured this fiscal year a little over $200k will be used to offset staffing costs. 

Marketing Committee

Marketing Committee Goal: To achieve enrollment targets of 38 students in October of 2023 and 41 students in February of 2024.

Marketing Committee Report

Marketing/PR Update

Rachelle introduced Erin Mooney, the new Director of Outreach. Erin gave a brief highlight of her background. She recently met with representatives from Carmel and Avon. Representatives from the Marion County Juvenile Probation were in the building yesterday for a Lunch & Learn as well as a representative from Adult and Child. Schools are still the biggest referral source, with many direct referrals from Shortridge and Tech. 

Community Outreach Update

Our new billboards are up. Ty has been fantastic with pushing us on social media. We have recently been included in news media from Fox 59 and WRTV. We will hopefully see another push with Samantha Johnson of WTHR13 being the MC for upcoming Rise and Shine. 

Governance Committee

Governance Committee Goal: Provide oversight, input, support, and direction to the strategic plan for sustainabilty for the next phase of Hope Academy's growth.

Janine Shopp told the board that the Governance Committee has reviewed the other committees' goals and believe they are in good shape. 

Legislative Update

Amy told the board that this is a non-budget year so we are not anticipating any changes that will affect Hope.  

Executive Director Report

Strategic Plan Update

Rachelle gave an update on the 8th grade program. Linda Gagyi will be focused on developing the program as we transition Erin Mooney into the Linda's former position. 

Staffing Update

Facilities Update

We have been in contact with our landlord regarding the current state of the parking lot. They are working on a solution to fix the potholes and the lights are in the process of being repaired.

Partnership Updates

Andrea Neeley with SYF will be at Rise and Shine, as well as other SYF staff members. OEI will also be at Rise and Shine.  The ARS Board Retreat is being held at Hope in December.