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
C.
Nomination and Appointment of Trustee Shana Schwartz
II. Board Discussion Topics
A.
Dashboard
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.
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.