The Catalyst Board of Directors' Academic Committee will hold a meeting on November 20, 2024 at 1:00 pm to review academic progress YTD and SY23-24 academic metrics. This meeting will be held by video conference- please contact Catalyst's Director of Administration Michael Kasang at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 773-897-5816 for conference call information.

The Catalyst Board of Directors' Finance Committee will hold a meeting on October 30, 2024 at 12:00 pm to review and vote for approval of the FY24 financial and operational audit. This meeting will be held by video conference- please contact Catalyst's Director of Administration Michael Kasang at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 773-897-5816 for conference call information.

The Catalyst Board of Directors will hold a meeting September 16, 2024 from 3:00-5:00 pm. The agenda and meeting information are below. All Catalyst Board meetings are open to the public, with a public comment portion during the time below.

Location:

Catalyst Circle Rock Charter School

5608 W Washington Blvd

Chicago, Illinois 60644

AGENDA

*3:00- Welcome: Larry Williams, Chair and Gordon Hannon, CEO

• Review of agenda
• Vote to approve Veronica Lane for a three- year initial Board of Directors term
• Vote to approve Claiborne Wade for three- year renewal Board of Directors term
• Vote to approve Ariel Murray for one-year renewal Board of Directors term
• Review and vote for approval of May 20, 2024, Board of Directors meeting minutes; June 16, 2024 Academic Committee meeting minutes; September 10, 2024 Finance Committee meeting minutes; and September 11, 2024 Parent and Community Engagement Committee meeting minutes.

*3:15-3:25 - Public comment (limited to 2 minutes per speaker)

*3:25-4:05 - Academic Committee: Dr. Catherine Burns and Gordon Hannon

• Introduction of Principals (Catherine and Gordon)
• End of SY2023-24 summary and review (Sasha Fawaz)
  • Review of IEP on-time completion percentage, discipline data, and EL metrics YTD SY24-25
• Charter renewal process and status (Sasha Fawaz)
  • SpEd site visits at Catalyst Circle Rock and Catalyst Maria
  • EL site visit at Catalyst Maria

*4:05-4:20 – Parent, Family, Community Engagement Committee: Mitzi Moore, Veronica Lane, Claiborne Wade, Gordon Hannon, Ed Siderewicz, and Michael Kasang

 

• Development of mission/values propositions (Krystina Henley)
• Organization of campus parent meetings that precede and flow into Board meetings
• Updates on charter renewal community meetings, Board of Education forums, overall parent engagement

 

*4:20-4:45 - Finance and Strategic Issues Committee: Yuan-Ying Hsu

 

• FY24 initial summary and upcoming audit
• YTD FY25
  • Increased personnel needs to meet scholar IEPs
• Discussion on Board membership, terms, and recruitment of new Board members

 

*4:45-5:00 – Governance items: Gordon Hannon and Larry Williams

The Catalyst Board of Directors' Finance Committee will hold a meeting on September 10, 2024 at from 1:30 -2:30 to review of financials FY25 YTD and Catalyst bank loans.

The Catalyst Board of Directors' Parent and Community Engagement Committee will hold a meeting on September 11, 2024 at from 8:30 -9:00 to discuss the impact of parents and community at Catalyst. 

These meetings will be held by video conference- please contact Catalyst's Director of Administration Michael Kasang at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 773-897-5816 for conference call information.

Catalyst is very grateful for the many contributions to the Catalyst Maria community by Dawn Donati and Jill Castro, and we are excited to announce a new chapter at CM K-12.  Mrs. Krystina Henley is the new Catalyst Maria Elementary School Principal, an exceptionally qualified leader who brings a wealth of experience to this position! She has been a valued member of the Catalyst family for 15 years, a Golden Apple Scholar with experience teaching across all of our campuses. Her educational background is impressive, with a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction, a Master’s in Educational Leadership, and a principal’s license all building upon her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education. 

 

She will team with Dr. Jacqueline Baker as our new Principal of Catalyst Maria High School! Dr. Jacque Baker has been with Catalyst Schools for over 10 years, first as a contracted Teach For America (TFA) instructional coach for Maria and Circle Rock and then as the Humanities Director of Instruction for Catalyst Maria High School. For the last two years, she has served as a contracted leadership coach for nearly 30 K-12 Catalyst Maria leadership team members and teacher leaders and nearly 40 Catalyst Maria leaders in the last 4 years. Through her various roles in education, she has trained nearly 1,000 teachers, worked with nearly 100 schools in Illinois and Northwest Indiana, and developed over a dozen principals. Dr. Baker holds a Doctorate in education, specializing in curriculum and instruction for child and adult development, as well as organizational and school leadership and improvement. Prior to coming to Catalyst Circle Rock and Catalyst Maria as a TFA instruction coach, Jacque taught in both private Catholic and public schools as a TFA corps member.

Mrs. Henley and Dr. Baker are deeply committed to the success and well-being of our scholars, and we confident that under their leadership with the Director of School Operations Roxanne Salas (the first employee of Catalyst Maria in 2012!) and the rest of the team at CM, Catalyst Maria K-12 will thrive to its highest levels yet!