R. Kerr welcomed the attendees to the last board meeting of this school year; she asks for some additional time to speak a little later in this meeting; but now let's move on. 

R. Kerr stated that she will defer her Academic Committee report to E.D. T. Castanza and DTL C. Volpe to present student data and other academic items.

T. Castanza reported that C. Volpe will cover end-of-year data, but first he wishes to speak about some recent academic achievements: 

• NYS Assessments - we have completed our first round of state assessments: ELA, Math and Science, which has a hands-on component; our 4th grade team did a wonderful job prepping the students for that Science exam; 
• Summer School - we received funding from the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ new Summer Boost NYC program to cover our newly expanded summer school for 50 students over 24 days (from July 5-August 5); he thanked C. Volpe for her assistance in applying for the funding.
• End-of-Year Data - we've completed aggregating the end-of-year MAP data, and will hopefully receive the NYS assessment data in time to be compared and reviewed at the August board meeting. We are starting see how data points sync and intersect with each other and tell us the same results. 
• Professional Learning - we are creating a calendar of professional learning opportunities for teaching staff this summer; starting August 22; the plan includes staff-wide training in The Writing Revolution, PowerSchool, our new math program, Envisions Math, a supplementary math program known as Multisensory Math, The Leader in Me School Culture Program and a Conflict Management and Resolution Workshop; he will be presenting school policy and vision for the upcoming school year; the 5-day OG training is being held in September.

R. Kerr asked if C. Volpe would speak about the F&P (Fountas & Pinnell) data and what it represents.  C. Volpe reviewed the MAP data:

•  Fountas & Pinnell data measures fluency and comprehension of reading.  She added that we've seen a lot of growth this year in OG (Orton-Gillingham) data and F&P (Fountas & Pinnell) data; all grades showed growth in the groups reading at or above grade level; she then reviewed the data for each grade level comparing the beginning-of-year (BOY), middle-of-year (MOY) and end-of-year (EOY) data; she referred to a printed chart of the MAP data for board members to review during this meeting. 
• Highlight of OG data: we see mastery and growth in most skills in all grades; 90% of 1st graders have reached benchmarks for sight words and that's huge; 4th graders mastered 13 out of 15 skills during this year; we know that the OG skills are being applied into their reading and comprehension.

R. Kerr added that there were 2 successful visits to Bridge Prep this month; one on June 6th from NYS Education Commissioner Betty Rosa and Board of Regents member Dr. Christine Cea, everyone pitched in and the visit went well; The other was the NYSED mid-term visit on June 7th. It was a big week for our school. E.D. will give more details during his report later in this meeting.

G. Winn reported that we have a finalized budget to be approved by the board tonight; it took a lot of work; he thanked F. Ebanks and everyone who helped; he then gave the floor to the E.D. to review the budget highlights.

T. Castanza also thanked everyone who was involved in establishing the school's budget, which was gone through line-by-line at a previous meeting; he submitted an updated budget narrative to the board highlighting the following points: 

• The budget is conservative with revenue, while being robust with expenses for both now and the future.  
• Revenue is driven by per pupil funding from NYS along with Special Education Funding from both the state and federal government, as well as grants.
• This budget will provide the school with a strong operational (Net) surplus of $1,631,130 and an ending cash balance (Reserve) of $5,779,278.
• The budget shows us in a strong financial position.

Highlighted Expenses Included in Budget:   

• Organizational retention and staff continuity - Each full- time employee returning for the upcoming school year will receive a $1,500 re-sign stipend, paid out in two $750 increments (September and April). Funding was allocated based on feedback from staff on specific additional benefit offerings, such as a new less-costly HR services provider that would give savings for both the individual employee and the school; the budget also has funding of $50,000 allocated for “Additional Fringe Benefits” to be determined and presented to the Board of Trustees for approval prior to using the funds.
• Staff Support & Professional Learning - With the exception of staff salaries, staff support and professional learning accounts for the majority of budgetary funding
• Increased Staff Headcount - Funding for salaries of new staff members to help complete the phase-in of 5th grade; all vacancies at this time are for new hires & are labeled TBD in the budget.
• Enhancement of the Student Experience - Funding has been allocated to improve the experience for our students, such as field trips, student activities, athletics, after-school programming, new classroom furniture, technology and equipment. Increased funding for student recruitment and retention.
• Cost of memberships, Dues & Miscellaneous Expenses - Our participation in/with organizations/partners that will support our growth and expand our footprint in the community. 
• Grant Writing/Support - Funding includes both Pasek (support with Renewal) and Bill Brinkman, who supports the writing of our Title grants.
• Professional Consultants - Funding of $180,000 has been allocated to account for additional support with charter renewal and expansion planning
• Board of Trustee Expenses - Funding has been included to account for Board on Track, the BOT Administrative Assistant and additional BOT expenses throughout the fiscal year.

A board vote on the budget at tonight's meeting allows the Finance Committee to give approval to the E.D. salary which will be determined after completion of the E.D. evaluation later this month. 

The date of the next Finance Committee Meeting is TBD.

L. Gyimesi thanked the Board Development and Governance Committee members; we have started the process of welcoming 4 new Board of Trustee members and 2 additional candidates may be joining the board later this year. 

Annual review of the Board of Trustee bylaws was done and small bylaw changes regarding term limits will be brought before the board for a vote tonight.

M. Harmon-Vaught stated that the E.D. Evaluation Committee will meet again this month to finalize the evaluation at a date which is convenient for the board members.

L. Timoney added that Board on Track, that has been working with the board on the E.D. evaluation has sent a $100 Amazon gift card as a thank you; the board is donating the gift card to the school.

A general discussion was held regarding whether the Board of Trustees will hold board meetings in July and August; the general feeling seems to be leaning towards no July board meeting, with the next board meeting in August. This year the board has already held more than the minimum of twelve (12) public meetings as required in the board's bylaws, so summer meetings may not be necessary. 

A. Volpe said she was concerned about not holding a meeting in July because summer school will be held at the school for the first time and it's important to have a check-in to see how summer school is going.

R. Kerr responded that the Academic Committee will be on-site and continue to meet with DTL C. Volpe this summer regarding summer school and to prepare for the upcoming fall curriculum. 

G. Winn asked if we need to make a decision immediately on whether to have a July meeting or can we wait to see what might come up?

Since there is so much still to cover at tonight's meeting, the board agreed to table this discussion until later in the meeting and to get on with the business of elections and approvals of various items on the agenda.

R. Kerr said that when Bridge Prep was started, she was chosen as Chair of the Board due to her on-site, in-school administrative experience as a retired school principal. Now that the school has moved on and developed she feels it is time to plan for succession for the sake of the children; she said she will not seek to be Chair, but she will remain on the board as a trustee and she will remain as co-chair of the Academic Committee with board member Maria Casale. She's looking forward to the new people coming onto the board; she wants to say thank you to the board; it has meant a lot to her; the board members and school staff are extraordinary and she wants to say thank you to her colleagues on the board and to the school leadership and the parents and students of the school. 

R. Kerr nominated L. Gyimesi as Chair of the Board of Trustees.

There were no other nominations. 

L. Gyimesi accepted the nomination.

M. Harmon-Vaught called for a vote on this nomination:

RESULTS OF VOTE: 8 YES; 0 NO; 0 ABSTENTIONS

L. Gyimesi is unanimously elected Chair of the Board of Trustees

M. Harmon-Vaught stepped aside and R. Kerr took the floor as Chair for this nomination and vote.

L. Gyimesi nominated M. Harmon-Vaught as Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees.

There were no other nominations.

M. Harmon-Vaught accepted the nomination.

R. Kerr called for a vote on this nomination:

RESULTS OF VOTE: 8 YES; 0 NO; 0 ABSTENTIONS

M. Harmon-Vaught is unanimously elected Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees

M. Harmon-Vaught nominated G. Kuriakose as Secretary of the Board of Trustees.

There were no other nominations.

G. Kuriakose accepted the nomination.

M. Harmon-Vaught called for a vote on this nomination:

RESULTS OF VOTE: 8 YES; 0 NO; 0 ABSTENTIONS

G. Kuriakose is unanimously elected Secretary of the Board of Trustees

L. Gyimesi nominated G. Winn as Treasurer of the Board of Trustees.

There were no other nominations.

G. Winn accepted the nomination.

M. Harmon-Vaught called for a vote on this nomination:

RESULTS OF VOTE: 8 YES; 0 NO; 0 ABSTENTIONS

G. Winn is unanimously elected Treasurer of the Board of Trustees

As per ARTICLE III, C (4)(b) of the Bridge Prep Board of Trustees Bylaws, Maria Casale’s first 3-year term of office as a Trustee is now expiring.

L. Gyimesi nominated Maria Casale to a second 3-year term as a Trustee effective immediately.

M. Harmon-Vaught called for a vote on this nomination:

RESULTS OF VOTE: 8 YES; 0 NO; 0 ABSTENTIONS

Maria Casale is hereby unanimously elected to her second 3-year term as a member of the Board of Trustees.

L. Gyimesi nominated A. Volpe to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of F. Santarpia.

A. Volpe accepted the nomination.

NOTE: A. Volpe was previously a member of the Board of Trustees in her position as President of the Family Association; her position with the Family Association ceases effective June 2022. As per ARTICLE III, C (4)(b) et seq. of the Bridge Prep Board of Trustees Bylaws, she is now eligible to serve as an elected Trustee on the Board.

M. Harmon-Vaught called for a vote on this nomination:

RESULTS OF VOTE: 8 YES; 0 NO; 0 ABSTENTIONS

A. Volpe is hereby unanimously elected to be a member of the Board of Trustees.

T. Castanza thanked the Board of Trustee members for their work throughout the year; this year we can highlight what we've accomplished over the last 3 years.

• We were visited by NYS Education Commissioner Betty Rosa and Regent Dr. Christine Cea on June 2nd including classroom visits and interactions with students and staff; it was a successful visit; Commissioner Rosa knows a lot about our school. Some of her recommendations included an emphasis on early childhood education and literacy (Pre-K and Kindergarten); the identification of a higher education partner to develop a student teacher residency and to support areas such as research-based practices and content specific training (she specifically highlighted Manhattanville College, which is a NYSED partner university); 
  our possible status as a Professional Learning Support School, for grades 2-3, which would come with funding - we are seeking clarity on this and will provide more details later.
• NYSED remotely visited our school on June 7th; we had prepared for their visit by looking at our charter so we could highlight our key developments throughout the school building; we have not yet gotten feedback from NYSED on that visit and we don't know when it will be forthcoming. They had a lot of academic questions for us; NYSED met with parents and we believe the visit went well. R. Kerr added that the purpose of the visit was to give us feedback to prepare for our charter renewal request; to tell us what they want to see for our charter reauthorization.
• A special thank you to R. Kerr for her work as Chair of the Board; he is grateful for her guidance and he said he learned a lot from her.

A. Volpe said this is her last board meeting as President of the Family Association and she thanked the board members for having her; she will continue on the board now as an elected Board Trustee; the Family Association held a Family Fun Day on Sunday, June 12th in Willowbrook Park and in spite of the rain, people showed up and had a wonderful time; NYS Charter Parent Council has recognized her as a Parent of the Year.

She introduced Amanda Wolkowitz, the new President of the Family Association; A. Wolkowitz spoke briefly about her children who attend Bridge Prep and how much she appreciates the school and its staff; she said there are many Family Association events being planned for next year and she is looking forward to working with the board members. 

R. Kerr reminded everyone that earlier tonight, the discussion and decision about whether to hold a Board of Trustees Meeting in the month of July was tabled; she asked if there is consensus now on this topic and if board members are willing to eliminate the July meeting; based on the board's positive response, and there being no objection from any member, the board agreed by general consent that the July full board meeting will not be held. She added that any committee that wishes to meet in July may certainly do so.

T. Castanza said he would send the board members a July E.D. update to keep everyone in the loop.

L. Gyimesi said that the term of founding board member L. Timoney is ending and she has chosen not to run for a seat to remain on the board. She thanked L. Timoney for her vision in forming Bridge Prep, her commitment to the parents of Staten Island and their children; the many tasks she has performed to make Bridge Prep a success; her leadership, her passion and compassion will be sorely missed.

T. Castanza then spoke about how Bridge Prep would not exist if it weren't for the efforts of L. Timoney; much of what we've accomplished could not have happened without her; he said she truly is a "bridge builder" on behalf of the school, he thanked her for everything she's done for Bridge Prep and he presented her with a bridge model.

L. Gyimesi then thanked R. Kerr for her depth of knowledge and vision and is thankful that she is staying on the board; for her efforts in leading the board and her attention that helped make Bridge Prep what it is today; luckily she has agreed to stay on the board as we try to move forward without her at the helm.

M. Harmon-Vaught said he wanted to echo the gratitude for L. Timoney; she and R. Kerr were the first people he spoke to before he even moved to Staten Island; he is grateful for her example, her partnership and the vision that she brought which is why we are all here. She will still be reachable at the Borough President's Office but needs to spend time at home.