Young Scholars Charter School

Minutes

Regular Board Meeting

Date and Time

Tuesday December 16, 2025 at 4:00 PM

Location

Remote only

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

G. Singer (remote), J. Brown (remote), L. Umbrecht (remote), R. Halpern (remote), S. Piltch (remote), W. Churchill (remote), W. Weisman (remote)

Trustees Absent

A. Wang, B. Young

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

R. Halpern called a meeting of the board of trustees of Young Scholars Charter School to order on Tuesday Dec 16, 2025 at 4:00 PM.

C.

Nomination and Appointment of Trustee Shana Schwartz

R. Halpern made a motion to Accept the nomination and appointment of Shana Schwartz as a new Trustee, effective December 16, 2025.
W. Churchill seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

II. Board Discussion Topics

A.

Dashboard

John Amenda shared highlights from the school's dashboard that is presented at each board meeting. Performance indicators are currently within reach (Goal: 25% Proficiency in Math and Reading), attendance requires continued monitoring but is improving, increased interventions targeted to students with 5+ absences are increasingly effective with more students attending 90% or more of instructional days, and suspensions remain lower than last year; culture strengthening and culture team now fully staffed.

B.

Facility Update

John Amenda shared that the school successfully expanded the courtyard, which has tripled the outdoor space, replaced chain link fencing with metal slat fencing, added turf and leveled blacktop space for gathering and play.

C.

Talent Update

Aniyah Wright gave the talent update and reviewed current vacancies and recruitment strategies being used to attract new talent. 

D.

Committee Updates Where Applicable

  • Finance & Audit- Kevin Corcoran gave an update on the school's finance operations and reviewed the FY25 audit. The audit was added to the motions for approval towards the end of the meeting. The school is in a healthy financial position. 
  • Development- Robin Halpern and John Amenda reviewed the results of the student uniform fundraising initiative, current fundraising numbers, and the annual appeal that is being mailed to board members and their networks. Fundraising numbers are looking positive and are on track to exceed the goal by the end of the fiscal year. 

III. Approval of Minutes

A.

Resolved that the Board approve the Regular session minutes from the November 4, 2025 meeting.

R. Halpern made a motion to approve the minutes from the November 4, 2025 meeting Regular Board Meeting on 11-04-25.
W. Weisman seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

IV. Motions for Approval

A.

To approve the FY25 Financial Audit reviewed during discussion.

R. Halpern made a motion to Approve the FY25 Financial Audit.
W. Churchill seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

B.

To approve the second TEACH LLC agreement.

R. Halpern made a motion to Approve the second TEACH LLC agreement.
W. Churchill seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.

V. 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 5:15 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,
W. Weisman