Board of Directors

Message from Board Chairman

Jake Giardina

I welcome you, not only as the chairman of the MAX Charter School Board, but as a committed citizen and a concerned parent who can personally relate to your experience of having a child with dyslexia.
After years of trying to find help for two of my own sons, our family formed the Giardina Family Foundation in 1997 in an effort to address the needs of people with dyslexia and related reading differences.

The realization that even more help was needed for so many under-served children with unique educational needs prompted a meeting with Dr. Steve Hulbert, president of Nicholls State University at that time. Dr. Hulbert liked the idea of establishing a public school on the university campus, and the dream became a reality when the Maxine Giardina Charter School at Nicholls State University opened its doors to a maximum enrollment of 120 students, Grades 1-8, on Wednesday, August 15, 2007.

The school, in collaboration with the Louisiana Center for the Study of Dyslexia and Related Learning Disorders and the College of Education at Nicholls State University, has been in existence eight years and has influenced the lives of the students and parents it serves.

Beginning each day with the philosophy that all children can learn when their learning disorders are properly diagnosed, when their teachers are properly trained, and when their educational environment emphasizes support, dignity, and individual responsibility, the MAX Charter School strives daily to fulfill its mission of empowering the lives of these students who learn differently.

The MAX School is the first of its kind in Louisiana and has become a source for on-going professional development of in-service teachers and field experience training for pre-service teachers at the university. One day it may even be a model of collaboration for other universities and school districts to emulate.

Feel free to visit our website on a regular basis. You’ll soon discover what makes the MAX Charter School so special, so unique, and so necessary.

Sincerely,
Jake Giardina
MAX Charter School Board, Chairman

Board of Directors

Jake Giardina

Chairman

jag@honiron.com

448-1766

Karen Chauvin

President

karen.chauvin@nicholls.edu

Carol "Boo" Broussard

Vice-President

boobroussard@comcast.net

J.J Buquet

Treasurer

jjbuquet@buquetdistributing.com

Janice Fabregas

Secretary

jf.acadia@gmail.com

Dr. Albert Davis

Community Leader

albert.davis@nicholls.edu

Jason Talbot

Member-At-Large

jason.talbot@nicholls.edu

Dr. Steve Welsh

Member-At-Large

steven.welsh@nicholls.edu

Dr. O. Cleveland Hill

Member-At-Large

ohillmax@gmail.com

Lawrence "Larry" Howell

Member-At-Large

larry.howell46@gmail.com

Dr. Scot Rademaker

University Liaison

scot.rademaker@nicholls.edu

Parent

Parent Representative

@maxcharter.org

Parent

Parent Representative

@maxcharter.org

2023-2024

MAX SCHOOL BOARD

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Maxine Giardina Charter School Board of Directors will hold its next monthly meeting on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at 3:30 P.M. at The MAX Charter School.  Meetings are usually held on the last Thursday of each month. The April meeting will be held on Thursday, April 25, 2024.

 

 7-27-23          8-31-23

 9-28-23        10-26-23

 11-30-23        12-14-23*

 1-25-24            2-29-24

 3-28-24           4-25-24

 5-30-24          6-27-24

 

 

*12-14-23…Winter Break…December 21-31, 2023…Moved up

 

**CALENDAR SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING STATE TESTING SCHEDULE**

Tentative State Testing Window is April 15- May 17, 2024

Meetings are usually held on the last Thursday of each month.  The August meeting will be held on Thursday, August 31, 2023.