Bridge Preparatory Charter School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday April 21, 2021 at 7:00 PM
Location
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646 558 8656
Meeting ID: 853 6286 6716
Passcode: 152827
646 558 8656
Meeting ID: 853 6286 6716
Passcode: 152827
Trustees Present
A. Volpe (remote), F. Santarpia (remote), G. Winn (remote), L. Gyimesi (remote), L. Timoney (remote), M. Casale (remote), R. Kerr (remote)
Trustees Absent
A. Margolis
Guests Present
C. Baez (remote), F. Ebanks (remote), G. Kuriakose (remote), J. Lee (remote), K. Baldassano (remote), R. Illuzzi (remote), S. Cucchia (remote), T. Castanza (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
L. Timoney called a meeting of the board of trustees of Bridge Preparatory Charter School to order on Wednesday Apr 21, 2021 at 7:05 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
L. Timoney made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 03-17-21.
G. Winn seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Welcome
R. Kerr welcomed all attendees.
II. Executive Director Update
A.
Introduction of new Director of Teaching & Learning
T. Castanza introduced John Lee, the new Director of Teaching & Learning (DTL), who started on April 19th. He asked J. Lee to say a few words.
J. Lee discussed the following:
J. Lee discussed the following:
- Proud to be a part of the Bridge Prep family; happy to be here and thanked T. Castanza, F. Ebanks and C. Baez;
- F. Ebanks is covering while T. Castanza is out on leave due to the birth of his baby;
- Tomorrow is Earth Day.
B.
ED's Report
T. Castanza discussed the following:
- He thanked L. Timoney for her assistance in the hiring of the new DTL and is looking forward to finding ways to have the school's leadership team attend Board of Trustee's meetings.
- We are still working on hiring an Instructional Math Coach and filling teaching positions for our extended grades; we are going through teacher resumes at this time; the hiring process will launch the week of April 26th;
- The position of Dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for next year will be posted by April 26th;
- The student admission lottery held on April 5th went very smoothly; we are nearly full in 1st, 3rd and 4th grades and have a waiting list for all grades with great interest in 1st grade seats; we are still waiting to hear from some families;
- Many families want to visit the school building so we will arrange a virtual tour for them;
- Tomorrow is the 1st day of NYS ELA testing for 3rd grade students; approximately 50% of our 3rd graders opted out of the testing; NYS Math exam will be given on May 6th; thanked all those who helped with testing preparation and accommodations;
- Kim Santiago, our NYSED liaison will be coming here for a check-in visit on May 14th; the 1st part will be classroom visits; the 2nd part will include talking with school staff, teachers and school leadership team members; NYSED has not asked for any data, but we will share our assessment data since we are ahead with the data NYSED wants; the visit should last about 2 hours and
- The virtual Joint Public Hearing for space expansion was held April 19th at 6pm; 62 people were in attendance; there was a lot of community support for our expansion; many family members spoke about what our school means to their children; the Panel on Educational Policy will vote on our proposed expansion on April 28th.
- Spoke to Interim Acting Superintendent for District 31, Dr. Wilson was very impressed with the support shown for our school at the Joint Public Hearing; also discussed Bridge Prep partnering with other Staten Island schools.
- Eye to Eye is a national nonprofit organization promoting social-emotional growth in students with learning and attention issues; Eye to Eye partners with schools to deliver an after-school mentoring program and we hope to obtain professional development: training for our teachers.
C.
Monthly Financials
T. Castanza discussed the following:
- The second draft of next year's budget was discussed with the Finance Committee; staff salaries have been modified; the amount of individual per pupil revenue has been increased and updated;
- The school's tax returns must be approved by the Board of Trustees before May 15th, but the next regularly scheduled board meeting is May 19th, and that will be too late; so we need to figure out how to get the tax returns approved by the board in time;
- Under the NYS Budget passed in Albany, charter schools will receive the full charter school tuition amount of of $16, 845 per student, a 4.5% increase over this year's per student amount; in addition, charter schools in NYC will receive substantial federal funding to spend for the next 2-3 years;
- An annual review of the school's contracts has begun and recommendations about renewals will be shared with the board.
III. Committee Reports
A.
Executive Committee
R. Kerr stated that the following topics were discussed at the Executive Committee Meeting on April 14th:
- Ed leave update
- Update on hiring of DTL
- NYSED testing of 3rd grade students
- Joint Public Hearing
- Student Admissions/Lottery
- NYSED Check-in School Visit
B.
Finance Committee
G. Winn stated that the following topics were discussed at the Finance Committee Meeting on April 19th:
- Updated school budget will be shared with Board of Trustees in May; we are in a good place with our finances and the surplice;
- The annual review of school contracts is being done now; Orton-Gillingham will remain at the same rate; we have the opportunity to collaborate with other schools who are also doing OG training this year; we may be able to join with them.
- Tax Filing for FY 2020 - 2021 - deadline is May 15th and we need Board of Trustee approval of the tax returns before that deadline;
- Salary Plan for FY 2021 - 2022
- Budget Draft II FY 2021 - 2022
- Finance Committee job description for handbook
- Insurance coverage for 2021-2022
- Financial policies and procedures - proposed updates
- Fire and emergency drills log data
- Payroll Variance Report/ Transaction Report/Investments Report
- Contract renewals
- Budget planning calendar
- Committee goals
C.
Board Development & Governance
L. Gyimesi stated that the following topics were discussed at the Governance Committee Meeting on April 7th:
- Status of potential new board members - update status regarding potential new BOT members and on-boarding those potential members; more new members possible before the end of the year.
- Finalization of Handbook - reviewed proposed Handbook, still being edited and finalized; it can be approved by the board at the May or June meeting;
- Review of draft of bylaws - Annual review of the bylaws; discussed aligning the Charter, the BOT bylaws and the Family Association bylaws; discussion will continue as to any anomalies, ambiguities or issues with the draft bylaws that require updating.
D.
Academic Committee
R. Kerr stated that the following was discussed at the Academic Committee Meeting on April 20th:
- Welcomed 3 new members to the Academic Committee: John Lee, Geena Kuriakose and Diane Hesterhagen;
- Alignment of school schedule for fall 2021 - impact: learning loss recovery, NYSED compliance/not a material change
- Introduction of new DTL - John Lee
- A redesign of the data dashboard is needed to make it more informative and dynamic; some ways to modify the dashboard were explored;
- NYSED visit preparation
- Status of report on compliance and RTI levels in our school;
- Summer learning plans - NYC Summer Rising program is a free summer program for any student in grades K–8; DoE will join with the NYC Youth and Community Development Department to offer an all-in-one academic and recreational program this summer, 5 days per week from 8am-6pm; it is an activity-based summer program available to all students;
- Joint Public Hearing Report
- Site update - PEP meeting April 28th
- Standardized testing update April 22nd
- Status of Math Coach hire.
E.
Facilities Subcommittee
IV. School Update
A.
Family Association Update
A. Volpe discussed the following:
- There is a moratorium on Family Association officers' elections this year, will be held next year;
- O'Neals Dine Out Fundraiser will be held on May 17th;
- Plant Sale will be held during the week of May 10th-May 14th;
- The end of year Family Gathering Celebration will be on June 5th; Board of Trustee members will be invited.
V. Other Business
A.
New Business
VI. Closing Items
A.
Adjourn Meeting
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 8:05 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
K. Baldassano