The Catalyst Board of Directors will hold a meeting Setpember 18, 2023 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
• Call to mission (Ed Siderewicz)
• Review and vote for approval of May 15, 2023, Board of Directors meeting minutes
• Vote to approve Larry Williams for three- year renewal Board of Directors term and Chair of Catalyst Board of Directors
• Vote to approve Terry Toth for three-year renewal Board of Directors term
• Vote to approve Monica Smith for Board of Directors renewal term through June 2024
• Vote to approve Steve Brown for Board of Directors renewal term through June 2024
• Moment to honor Rick Hurd and Velia Soto for their 14 years and 4 years of service to the Board

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

*3:25-4:00 - Academic Committee:

• End of SY2022-23 summary and review
• Charter renewal 

•          Update on SPED timeliness documentation and suspension rates

*4:00-4:20 – Parent, Family, Community Engagement Committee: Mitzi Moore, Monica Smith, Gordon Hannon, Terry Toth, Ed Siderewicz, and Michael Kasang

• Men Take Your Scholar to School Day-September 13, 2023
• Organization of campus parent meetings that precede and flow into Board meetings
• CEO Coffee Chats
• ·     KCA updates (mural unveiling and community impact)

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

• FY23 initial summary and upcoming audit
• YTD FY24
  • Capital projects completed for charter renewal
  • ESSER funds
  • Increased personnel needs to meet scholar IEPs

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

• How do we stay in relationship with Catalyst’s foundational legacy?
• Discussion on Board membership, terms, and recruitment of new Board members

Catalyst is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15^th to October 15^th to uplift the cultural legacy and countless contributions of Hispanic communities. We look forward to celebrating throughout the month!  

Please join us for the public unveiling of the beautiful new mural (pictured below) on the Kehrein Center for the Arts at Catalyst Circle Rock on September 13, 2023 at 9:00am. 

Speakers confirmed for unveiling include Barrett Keithley (muralist), avery r. young (Poet Laureate of Chicago), Orbert Davis (Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra), Representative La Shawn Ford, Reesheda Graham Washington (Kehrein Center Board of Directors) and Catalyst Circle Rock Principal Elizabeth Jamison-Dunn. A community conversation with the artists hosted by WTTW's Angel Idowu will be held after the unveiling.

Please join us at Catalyst Circle Rock and Catalyst Maria as the school communities celebrate Men Bring Your Child to School Day on September 13, 2023! This is an incredible event that has been held at Catalyst Circle Rock for many years (last year is pictured below), when the school welcomes all men of the community to greet scholars as they enter for the day. This will be the inaugural year at Catalyst Maria, and these are incredibly powerful events that have previously been featured on Fox 32 News, linked here. Please connect with Charles Myers at CCR (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and Naurice Olivera at CM (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) for additional information.

Dear Catalyst families,

I hope you are having a wonderful summer and you are ready for another great school year! We are very excited to see you.

I want you to know about an important enhancement in our Catalyst Maria K-12 leadership: Our K-8 Assistant Principal, Mrs. Jill Castro, will now serve as Principal of the K-8 elementary school, while Mrs. Dawn Donati will focus her efforts as Principal of the high school (9-12) and as Executive Director of the overall K-12 program. Mrs. Castro will continue to report directly to Mrs. Donati.

This initiative comes from Mrs. Donati's leadership and reflection on how to best serve our families, and probably comes as no surprise. Mrs. Castro is beginning her sixth year at Catalyst Maria, 22^nd year in education, and is completing her Doctorate in Educational Leadership with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction. Mrs. Castro helped start a network of charter schools in Florida, where she taught advanced middle school math, served as Director of Specialized Services, and as Assistant Principal. Her degrees are in elementary education, Special Education, and she has a Masters degree in Teaching Deaf and Hard of Hearing. This enhancement will provide greater clarity and distinction of  the elementary program and greater efficiency in decision making. We are extraordinarily lucky to have her at Catalyst Maria.

I also want you to know that the Safe Passage program will continue to provide before school and after school adult presence on streets bordering the school, and several parents have been hired as crossing guards. We can’t wait to see your children this Monday! May you have a blessed weekend and we look forward to our best year yet.

Mr. Gordon Hannon,

CEO

Catalyst Schools

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¡Espero que estés teniendo un verano maravilloso y estés listo para otro gran año escolar! Estamos muy emocionados de verte.

Quiero que sepan acerca de una mejora importante en nuestro liderazgo de Catalyst Maria K-12: Nuestra subdirectora K-8, la Sra. Jill Castro, ahora servirá como Directora de la escuela primaria K-8, mientras que la Sra. Dawn Donati enfocará sus esfuerzos como Directora de la escuela secundaria 9-12 y como Directora Ejecutiva del programa general K-12. a Sra.  Castro continuará reportando directamente a la Sra. Donati.

Esta iniciativa viene del liderazgo y reflexión de la Sra. Donati en cómo servir mejor a nuestras familias, y probablemente esta decisión no sea una sorpresa. Castro está comenzando su sexto año en Catalyst Maria, y 22 años de carrera educativa, y está completando su Doctorado en Liderazgo Educativo con un enfoque en Currículo e Instrucción. Castro ayudó a iniciar una red de escuelas charter en Florida, donde enseñó matemáticas avanzadas de secundaria, se desempeñó como directora de Servicios Especializados y como subdirectora. Sus títulos son en educación primaria, educación especial, y tiene una maestría en enseñanza de sordos y personas con dificultades auditivas. Esta mejora proporcionará una mayor claridad y distinción del programa primaria y una mayor eficiencia en la toma de decisiones. Somos extraordinariamente afortunados de tenerla en Catalyst Maria.

También quiero que sepan que el programa Safe Passage continuará proporcionando presencia de adultos antes de la escuela y después de la escuela en las calles que bordean la escuela, y varios padres han sido contratados como guardias de cruce. ¡No podemos esperar a ver a sus hijos este lunes! Que tengan un fin de semana bendecido y esperamos nuestro mejor año hasta ahora.

Sr. Gordon Hannon,

CEO

Escuelas Catalyst