Young Scholars Charter School
Minutes
Regular Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday December 5, 2023 at 3:45 PM
Location
Remote Only- https://phillyscholars-org.zoom.us/j/81047119449
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. Young (remote), E. Ashe (remote), E. Kaplin (remote), I. Brind (remote), J. Brown (remote), J. Wang (remote), T. Rebar (remote), W. Churchill (remote), W. Weisman (remote), r. Halpern (remote)
Trustees Absent
B. Harrison, D. Dwirantwi, G. Singer
Guests Present
B. Chazin (remote), Beth Birnkrant (remote), Catalina Ramos (remote), Dianna Phelps (remote), Elyse Capone (remote), J. Amenda (remote), K. Corcoran (remote), K. Lamilla (remote), K. Tini (remote), Masud AbdusShaheed (remote), Rachel Cohen (remote), S. Smith (remote), Samantha Banks- Friends of YSCS (remote), Sierra Fries (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
To accept the resignation of Board Trustee, Valerie Schwartz, effective December 5, 2023.
II. Board Discussion Topics
A.
Departmental Rotations: Special Education Team
B.
High School Placement Update
Dianna Phelps gave an overview of high school placement, including application process, high school meetings, and number of applications submitted. 100% of parents have participated in high school meetings. Moving forward, the team would like to go on more aspirational visits.
C.
Fundraising Update and Consultant Proposal Review
John Amenda shared that we've exceeded our annual fundraising goal and would like to continue fundraising efforts. A potential capital campaign was also discussed. Proposals from different consultants will be shared at the next meeting.
D.
Finance and Audit for Acceptance
Kevin Corcoran gave an overview of the school's current financial position, which is healthy and meeting all targets. A motion to accept the draft audit report and delegate any subsequent actions to Finance Committee as needed was resolved at the end of the meeting.
E.
Facility and Land Acquisition Update
Engaged Friends of YSCS board. phase 1 environmental study is underway. survey and site plan are being produced for landbank application finalization.
F.
5th Grade Application- Submission Timeline and Decision Timeline
John Amenda discussed plans to submit an amendment to expand to 5th grade. The amendment is due in January.
Members of the Special Education department were present at the meeting to introduce themselves and discuss how they have improved specialized programming and priorities for the 23-24 school year- 1- Increase academic achievement in math and PSSA scores through small group instruction and evidence based curriculum, 2- Decrease suspension numbers through SEL programming.