American Dream Charter School
Minutes
ADCS Board of Trustees Monthly Meeting
Date and Time
Monday September 21, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Location
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3880187236
Meeting ID: 892 3909 4103
Trustees Present
A. Cabrera (remote), L. Rojas, P. Simon (remote), R. Espinal, Z. Martinez (remote)
Trustees Absent
None
Guests Present
N. Gallagher
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve Minutes
II. Educational Success
A.
Benchmark 1: Student Performance
B.
No updates were presented.
C.
Benchmark 2: Teaching and Learning
D.
No updates were presented.
E.
BENCHMARK 3: Culture, Climate, and Student and Family Engagement
III. Organizational Soundness
A.
BENCHMARK 4: Financial Condition
Chief of Staff Nicholas Gallagher presented the school's account balances:
B.
BENCHMARK 5: Financial Management
Mr. Gallagher directed the Board to the financial report prepared by Accounting Solutions for the period ending August 31, 2026, which was included in the meeting agenda.
He noted that expenditures in the student recruitment category were approaching the full annual budget allocation. Given the school's ongoing recruitment efforts, a budget reallocation may be necessary to sustain recruitment activities through April 2027.
Trustees were invited to submit questions regarding the financial report for follow-up with Accounting Solutions and Digant.
C.
BENCHMARK 6: Board Oversight and Governance:
Mr. Gallagher reported that several governance-related renewals had been addressed during the prior month's meeting.
Trustees were asked to complete the annual Board self-assessment through BoardOnTrack in preparation for the school's annual reporting requirements. The assessment link was shared during the meeting, and trustees were provided time to complete the exercise.
D.
BENCHMARK 7: Organizational Capacity
E.
No updates were presented.
IV. Faithfulness to Charter & Law
A.
BENCHMARK 8: Mission and Key Design Elements
B.
No changes to the school's mission or key design elements were reported.
C.
BENCHMARK 9: Enrollment, Recruitment, and Retention
Mr. Gallagher presented the school's current enrollment of 542 students, distributed as follows:
Grade - Enrollment
6 - 53
7 - 74
8 - 86
9 - 90
10 - 70
11 - 86
12 - 83
Total - 542
The Board was informed that sixth-grade enrollment had increased from 42 to 53 students since the previous meeting, representing a gain of 11 students.
Although enrollment decreases were reported in several other grades, the sixth-grade growth was highlighted as an encouraging development. Recruitment and retention remained important operational priorities.
Dr. Melissa Melkonian reported a positive start to the 2026–2027 academic year, noting favorable student and staff morale.
The school's annual Latino Heritage Month celebration was scheduled for Friday, October 16, 2026. The event would feature student performances, poetry, musical presentations, and other cultural activities throughout the school day. Board members were invited to attend and participate.