New Heights Academy Charter School
Minutes
Board of Trustees Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday August 29, 2024 at 8:00 PM
Location
1818 Amsterdam Avenue
New York, NY 10031
Trustees Present
A. Vasquez, D. Ortiz, M. Vargas
Trustees Absent
Q. McLain
Guests Present
Fred Givens, K. Valbrun, L. Garcia, Tiffany Wilson, W. Ramos
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
II. Community Comments
A.
Wendy Ramos shared the upcoming calendar of events:
- September 3-6: Tech Pickup and Orientation Meetings with Families & Students
- September 9: First Day of School
- September 13: Back-to-School Carnival Block Party (1:00 PM - 3:00 PM)
- September 25: Back-to-School Night & Bailando (Latinx Celebration)
- September 26-27: Senior Retreat
B.
Tiffany Wilson provided an update on the afterschool partnerships currently being developed.
III. Appove Minutes
A.
Approve Minutes
IV. Academic Update
A.
Charter Renewal
The charter revisions and the executive summary were reviewed.
B.
Resolution to Eliminate Grade 5
The board discussed lowering the total enrollment number from 765 to 740.
V. Finance
A.
Audit Update
Li'Esha Garcia shared that the audit is in progress. The school is on target to meet the November deadline.
VI. Other Business
A.
Retreat Follow-Up
The board reviewed the outstanding questions from the July retreat:
- What are the top priority areas that you would like to work on as a board?
- How can the school support?
- How would you hold yourself accountable?
Response: The board emphasized the urgency of recruiting members with legal and financial expertise. They also expressed their availability to screen potential candidates who have shown interest. Wendy Ramos will assist in coordinating the screening calls.
B.
Executive Session
The board discussed:
- Student performance on the NYS ELA and Math assessments for grades 5-8 was reviewed, along with the results of the NYS Regents and AP exams; and
- Compensation bonus for the former Executive Director.