Young Scholars Charter School
Minutes
Regular Board Meeting
Date and Time
Monday May 13, 2024 at 3:45 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
A. Wang (remote), E. Ashe (remote), G. Singer (remote), I. Brind (remote), J. Wang (remote), T. Rebar (remote), W. Churchill (remote), W. Weisman (remote), r. Halpern (remote)
Trustees Absent
B. Harrison, B. Young, E. Kaplin, J. Brown
Guests Present
B. Chazin (remote), C. Freyer (remote), J. Amenda (remote), John Cacciola, Aegis (remote), K. Lamilla (remote), K. Tini (remote), S. Smith (remote), Sammi Aufiero (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
II. Board Discussion Topics
A.
Dashboard
B.
Strategic Plan/Headlines Overview
Mr. Amenda went through the strategic headlines that were presented at the last board meeting. He updated the board on timeline for the strategic plan, enrollment plans, and Design Sprint planning process.
C.
Phase 1 Facility Planning, Scope and Cost
Exciting updates on the school's renovation plans. Schematics have moved forward, selected a general contractor to work on major renovations this summer. Aegis, the school's building project manager, then presented their update on the building renovation plans. We submitted permit set to city last week, hoping to have approvals back soon. On our way through Phase 1 with Blackney Hayes and P. Agnes. Construction will start around June 19th. Set to complete project on August 8th.
D.
Transportation
Shakira Smith gave an update on our transportation exploration and planning. Currently students with IEPs are only eligible for school bus transportation. Rest are giving SEPTA cards. She presented 2 options- continue to route transportation to Spec-Ed students only through SDP chargeback system. Option 2- enter into direct contract with a school bus company, independent of SDP, to provide bus services to at least 6th grade, eventually 5th grade in addition to Sped-Ed students. YSCS would be responsible for routing.
E.
Elevate 215 Grant and Design Team Launch
John Amenda went through the Elevate 215 budget.
F.
High School Placement and Talent
Becca Chazin went through a high school admissions update, including how many students have been accepted at which high schools and how many students are still confirming final decisions.
Becca also gave a talent update. 78% staff retention, already have 5 new hires. Recruitment is moving at a good pace.
G.
Capital Campaign
All internal interviews have been completed by Schultz & Williams. We just received the results of our data analysis from our Data Analytics team, so we’re now digging into your prospect pool. Next, we are compiling our findings, which we hope to share with you the week following Memorial Day weekend. Stay tuned for suggested dates/times for a Zoom call. Once we present our findings, we will begin drafting the capsule case for support, and Greg and I work with you to create the top prospect / external interviewee list.
H.
24-25 Budget and Approval
John Amenda went through the 24-25 budget in Kevin Corcoran's absence. Goals for this budget sustain low staff turnover through competitive pay and benefits, deliver high instruction, navigate the end of federal COVID relief funding, make smart capital investments to improve facility and spaces, plan for future challenges including possible legislative funding cuts to special education.
John Amenda went through the dashboard. Students recently took the PSSA and results will be presented at the June 11th board meeting. Attendance and retention are all strong.