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Merrick Academy Charter School

Minutes

Monthly Board Meeting

Date and Time

Tuesday September 24, 2019 at 7:00 PM

Trustees Present

G. Karikari, J. Cummings, J. Ding, T. Boothe, T. Pierre-Louis

Trustees Absent

C. Dalgetty-Jarvis, M. MUNOZ

Guests Present

A. Manuel, C. Watterson, D. Goulbourne, S. Caso, S. Pugh, T. Miller, Y. Valerio

I. Opening Items

A.

Record Attendance and Guests

B.

Call the Meeting to Order

D. Goulbourne called a meeting of the board of trustees of Merrick Academy Charter School to order on Tuesday Sep 24, 2019 at 7:39 PM.

C.

Approve Minutes

T. Pierre-Louis made a motion to approve minutes from the Monthly Board Meeting on 08-14-19 Monthly Board Meeting on 08-14-19.
J. Cummings seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
C. Dalgetty-Jarvis
Aye
M. MUNOZ
Aye
T. Boothe
Aye
G. Karikari
Aye
T. Pierre-Louis
Aye
J. Cummings
Aye
J. Ding
Aye

II. Executive Director's Report

A.

Executive Director's Report

Dr. Manuel reported on following- 
  • On August 26th there was a board discussion on  Merrick Academy's performance on the 2018-19 NYS ELA and Math exams 
  • Merrick Academy students both General and Special Ed outperformed NYS, NYC and District #29 in math, ELA and Science. 
  • We had an overall growth  in math of 12%and ELA at 6%,  
  • He further explained that our 2019-20 growth targets will be focused on closing gaps. 
  • He also noted that for 2019-20 they have developed a set of performance trackers to track  our progress towards meeting our accountability targets at each grade level. 
  • In October their will be a board retreat  to look closer at the performance data from last academic year, and review baseline performance data from this September into early October and to also discuss further with the CAO/ Principal the academic improvement plan. 
  • During the first week of school students participated in the first I-Ready diagnostic tests in ELA and Math, the results from this will be used to plan AIS groups and target specific competence areas. 
  • ANET interim assessments will be administered in mid October for ELA and Math.aw

III. Chief Academic Officer's Report

A.

Chief Academic Officer's Report

Ms Pugh discussed the following in her report; 
  • She noted that pre-service was a success, teachers were engaged in two weeks of professional development sessions. 
  • A great amount of time was spent around the AF curriculum 
  •  Teachers are completing F&P and Dibels assessment, new teachers have been trained  
  • Three new coaches was hired who are apart of our Instructional leadership team. 
  • The instructional has started their first week of observation and feedback around content 
  • The Academic Improvement Plan is now complete 
  • During the summer we attended RELAY on how to give feedback  
  • We have our first meeting with the District Collaborative next week

IV. Operation's Manager

A.

Operation's Manager

  Ms. Miller highlighted the following  in her report; 
  • The operations team started planning for the school year from June, we created a summer calendar that assisted us in planning and executing projects more effectively. 
  • We are currently focused on enrollment, we have  open seats in 4th grade. 
  • The number of students currently enrolled is 553 
  • Student attendance as of today's date is 92.8% 
  • We received approximately 385 lunch applications 
  • Fire inspection scheduled for October 2, 2019 
  • Hired a new Safety Agent and also an additional custodial staff 
  •  We are to date 100% in compliance 
  • We coordinated with the PTO for Dads Take Your Child to School day where over 150 dads participated  
  • The first Breakfast with the Principal was held on Thursday  
  • The school is now on an environmentally responsible pest management plan 

V. PTO President's Report

A.

PTO President Report

Ms. Cummings noted the following;  
  • The first PTO snack sale was held on September 13, 2019, this is expected to be an ongoing event on Fridays
  • We assisted with Breakfast with the Principal on September 19th  
  • The first parent support group meeting was held on September 19th 
  • The PTO has confirmed the Washington DC trip for Martin Luther King weekend on January 18th- 19th 2020 
  • We have also begun our first fundraiser for the school year by having families selling boxes of chocolate. 
  • The PTO GroupMe chat currently has 105 parents
  • The PTO assisted with Dad's take your child to School Day which was an excellent turn out. 
  • Our first PTO meeting was scheduled for September 24th which saw a huge turn out from parents and guardians

VI. Committee Reports

A.

Academic Committee

The academic committee met on  September 19, 2019. They discussed matters around our 2019 Academic performance, I-Ready results and preparations for our official CSI visit.

B.

HR Committee

The HR committee had their first meeting for the academic year on September 19. Dr. Manuel briefed the committee on matters arising from a recent union meeting where the UFT are requesting that Paraprofessionals be unionized.

C.

Finance Committee

There was no finance meeting held this period.

D.

Operations Committee

The operations committee met on September 20, 2019. They discussed the following ; 
  • State of our facilities 
  • Fire inspection update 

VII. Comments from the public

A.

Public Comment

There was an average turnout from the public population which included parents and members of staff. They engaged in a vibrant discussion with members of the board.

VIII. Executive Session

A.

Motion to enter Executive Session

T. Boothe made a motion to enter executive session to discuss the medical, financial, credit, or employment history of a particular person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal, or removal of a particular person or corporation.
T. Pierre-Louis seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
C. Dalgetty-Jarvis
Absent
G. Karikari
Aye
J. Cummings
Aye
J. Ding
Absent
T. Boothe
Aye
T. Pierre-Louis
Aye
M. MUNOZ
Absent

IX. Closing Items

A.

Adjourn Meeting

T. Boothe made a motion to adjourn the meeting.
J. Cummings seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Roll Call
J. Ding
Absent
T. Pierre-Louis
Aye
M. MUNOZ
Absent
G. Karikari
Aye
C. Dalgetty-Jarvis
Absent
J. Cummings
Aye
T. Boothe
Aye
There being no further business to be transacted, and upon motion duly made, seconded and approved, the meeting was adjourned at 11:00 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
D. Goulbourne