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
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. Kimberly Reynolds
University Liaison
kimi.reynolds@nicholls.edu
Parent
Parent Representative
@maxcharter.org
Parent
Parent Representative
@maxcharter.org
2025-2026
MAX SCHOOL BOARD
PUBLIC NOTICE
MAX Academy School Board of Directors will hold its next monthly meeting on Thursday, January 29, 2026, at 3:30 P.M. at The MAX Academy at Nicholls State University. Meetings are usually held on the last Thursday of each month. The February meeting will be held on Thursday, February 26, 2026.
The MAX Academy School Board of Directors is scheduled to meet at 3:30 P.M. at the MAX Charter School at Nicholls State University on the last Thursday of every month unless otherwise noted (*). For the 2025-2026 school year, the proposed meeting dates are below:
7-31-26 8-28-25
9-25-25 10-30-25
11-20-25* 12-18-25*
1-29-26 2-26-26
3-26-26 4-30-26
5-28-26 6-26-26
*11-20-25 – Before Thanksgiving break.
*12-18-25 – Before Christmas break
**CALENDAR SUBJECT TO CHANGE PENDING STATE TESTING SCHEDULE**
Tentative State Testing Window is April 1- May 15, 2026