DATE:

January 29, 2007

CHAIR:

Martha Gould-Lehe

RECORDER:

Elizabeth Hancock

Name

Status

Name

Status

Martha Gould-Lehe

P

Shelia Sweetsir

P

Elizabeth Hancock

P

Virginia Juettner

P

Rosemary Savage

P

Mike Huhndorf

P

Janann Kaufman

A

Max Dolchek

A

Lisa Dolchek

A

Deb Pungowiyi

A

Sarah Scalan

P

Sue Button

P

Katilyn Higgins

P

Bev Kirk

P

Andee Corando

P

Dawn Weiyonna

G

Dick Weiyonna

G

SUBJECT

DISCUSSION

RECOMMENDATION/RESOLUTION

School Updates

The APC discussed the following updates:

• Mission Statement

Our mission statement is: The Alaska Native Charter School provides an educational foundation built upon the teaching of Alaska Native Cultures and languages. The APC and others need to be able to articulate the mission statement in four words or less as the core purpose of the school.  The Mission Statement as it currently exists talks more about what things will be done (what is referred to as the 'means') and not about what that will result in (the 'end'). What is critical regarding this issue is to be able to describe what impacts are expected for students as a result of the school’s existence.  In other words, what are the expected outcomes and what does the school expect to achieve for students? 

• Funding Updates

Virginia reported the $50k could be spent now but it is not yet in hand. It can be used for such things as reimbursement for the Bethel trip, research and gathering of materials for curriculum, video conferencing with other locations, site visits in Fairbanks and select lower 48 sites, etc.

The $250k Implementation Grant to the State is in the final stages of completion by Virginia.

Virginia also reported Carol Comeau and the AASB have requested a meeting with the full APC on February 22 to discuss the grant for the Charter School.  There were APC member conflicts for this date; this is a priority meeting that members need to commit to.

·         Building Update

The building lease has not yet been secured. The discussion included reasons the former ASD Admin building is not a suitable site (bowed, earthquake issues, students on different floors and Principal accessibility, downsides of sharing space with another Charter School, major renovations work that would be required, etc.).  Not having the needed funding to secure a lease for the Mountain View Building that the Foraker Group is in has caused the delay in securing that space.  There is concern this location option could go away if the realtor is still looking for other tenants.  Virginia has not had recent conversations with the realtor.

If this location is secured, Virginia and Martha reported the ASD contractor indicated they could have the building renovations done in three months.  The Principal/staff could then order the furniture/equipment through the summer for the school.  This may be too close to an August opening.

The board needs to continue working on articulating the mission statement.

The Building Committee needs to start meeting to discuss the issues about the building and report back to the APC.

Principal Hiring

The timing of the hiring of the Principal was discussed.  Martha reported a meeting of the APC (Elizabeth, Rosemary, Virginia, Sheila, and Martha) is scheduled with the ASD staff on February 6 to review the do's/don'ts of recruitment and interviewing, and then to disseminate the recruitment announcement.  Martha thought the hire date could be as early as mid-March. If it is a principal currently serving in that capacity, he/she would have to work two jobs with no extra pay and there would be other logistics issues if someone from out of Anchorage is hired.

Communications

Mike reported the need for a good brochure that resulted from requests for same at the recent Charter School Fair.  He also mentioned the public asked about a website address which is currently non-existent and to prepare PSA’s and newspaper ads.  From the discussion, it appears various individuals are working on different pieces of the website; Mike will determine who is working on what and develop a detailed plan with timelines that clearly outline responsibilities and consolidates that effort.

Good communications externally and internally are a priority.  The APC and committees need to know what is going on overall, hence the importance of having a good record of meeting notes, decisions made, etc. This will make or break an effort.

The revised brochure needs to be sent out to the committee for a vote.

Overall Work Plan and Decision Making

A question was asked about who was keeping track of all of the decisions being made and the corresponding master work plan with deadline dates, etc.  The APC discussed the need to spend its time during the weekly meetings on the overall work plan and on the issues requiring decisions. It needs to keep a list of what those decisions are so they can be dealt with and the work can get done by the committees.  Sarah will work with Elizabeth on the agendas for the weekly APC meetings so action items are incorporated into the agendas. A decision will be made by the APC on what document to use to track overall progress and who will be responsible for maintaining it.

Sarah and Elizabeth will start meeting to create a master binder of all the APC meeting minutes, agendas, votes, etc.

Board Training

There was some discussion about attending Foraker's Board training.  This may be of benefit to the group down the road, perhaps after the Principal is hired and when the APC can serve in the capacity of a governing Board as opposed to serving both as the staff and Policy Committee as it is doing now.  The APC needs to designate an individual to check Foraker’s training schedule to see if there are any sessions that would help the group move forward.

The APC needs to designate an individual who will look into the training that the Foraker group offers to see which trainings are needed for the board.

Curriculum Issues

Another big issue was whether to have an Immersion Program this year and that the overall curriculum has not yet been finalized for the school.  A decision needs to be made on these soon and be tied to the overall mission of the school and the expected outcomes for the students and what the school intends to achieve.

The curriculum committee needs to meet on this and report back to the APC.

Signature:

Date:

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