Young Scholars Charter School
Minutes
Regular Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday June 10, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Location
Virtual
This meeting is being held in compliance with Open Meeting requirements of the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act and is open to the public. Notices were duly posted and the meeting was advertised in The Philadelphia Daily News. Formal action will be taken.
Trustees Present
A. Wang (remote), B. Harrison (remote), B. Young (remote), E. Kaplin (remote), J. Brown (remote), J. Wang (remote), L. Umbrecht (remote), S. Piltch (remote), T. Rebar (remote), W. Churchill (remote), W. Weisman (remote), r. Halpern (remote)
Trustees Absent
G. Singer
Guests Present
A. Wright (remote), J. Amenda (remote), K. Corcoran (remote), K. Lamilla (remote), K. Tini (remote), S. Smith (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
II. Board Discussion Topics
A.
Dashboard
B.
High School Admissions
The list of high schools where graduating 8th graders are attending was shared with the Board. 100% of all 8th graders successfully matriculated.
C.
Principal Hire and Talent Update
Shakira Smith announced that the school hired a new Principal, Lauren Byrd.
D.
Enrollment Decisions and Budget
Mr. Amenda gave an update on enrollment numbers for the 25-26 school year and any budget adjustments that may occur.
E.
Student Health Initiative
A wellness proposal from InSite Health was reviewed with the board. The proposal included onsite psychiatrist visits and mental health counselors 5 days a week.
F.
Fundraising Needs
The list of fundraising needs for the 25-26 school year was reviewed with the board. The fundraising needs include nursing services, mental health services, transportation, high impact tutoring, athletics, and technology.
G.
Land Progress
Mr. Amenda shared renderings of future school building reconfigurations and additions.
H.
Special Education Cyclical Monitoring Report
The school's special education cyclical monitoring report was shared with the board for compliance purposes.
I.
Committee Updates Where Applicable
Kevin Corcoran from Vertex Education gave the standard review of the schools year-to-date finances.
III. Approval of Minutes
A.
Resolved that the Board approve the Regular session minutes from the May 6, 2025 meeting.
IV. Motions for Approval
A.
To accept the appointment of Robin Halpern as Board Chair effective June 10, 2025
V. Executive Session
A.
24-25 School Safety Report
The board went into Executive Session to review the 24-25 School Safety Report.
John Amenda gave the standard review of year-to-date performance on the school's dashboard.