Young Scholars Charter School
Minutes
Regular Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday February 4, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Location
Remote
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), J. Brown (remote), J. Wang (remote), S. Piltch (remote), T. Rebar (remote), W. Churchill (remote), r. Halpern (remote)
Trustees Absent
B. Harrison, G. Singer, W. Weisman
Guests Present
C. Freyer (remote), J. Amenda (remote), K. Corcoran (remote), K. Lamilla (remote), K. Tini (remote), L. Umbrecht (remote), S. Smith (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
II. Board Discussion Topics
A.
Dashboard
B.
Capital Campaign/Fundraising- Lobbying Firm Update
The board discussed a lobbyist proposal who the team could engage with to help school continue to move land acquisition forward and also support with other funding opportunities.
C.
Draft Staffing Model and Budget
The team is currently working on next year's budget. The school is planning to enroll 150 new students and 5 more staff members next year. The team will be doing more authentic onboarding for students this summer.
D.
Finance
Kevin Corcoran gave a summary of the school's finances. The school is green on all metrics that the school district tracks.
E.
Insurance Coverage
The team quickly reviewed insurances that the school currently has.
F.
Safe Zone Guidance Refugee and Immigrant Student Protection
John Amenda shared the school's Safe Zone guidance and Immigrant Student Protection procedures. The school is designated as a safe zone school.
G.
Committee Updates Where Applicable
Jim Brown reported on the School Performance Committee meeting. The committee talked about measures of school performance and other possible measures that could be added, including more social and emotional development, character development, family engagement.
H.
Statement of Financial Interest forms due February 15, 2025
Reminder for board members to submit their Statement of Financial Interests form by 2/15.
There are no concerns in the items that the school is tracking. Staff attendance and student retention are both especially strong. The team is doing a lot of academic interventions right now to make sure students are engaged. High school admissions results are coming in. There is no concern with achievement data at this time.