Amani Public Charter School
Minutes
Amani Board Meeting
Date and Time
Monday September 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Location
Amani Public Charter School
Third Floor Conference Room
Directors Present
A. Spencer, G. Sardi, J. Kuo (remote), K. Wigfall (remote), M. Smith, P. Morenberg (remote), S. WuDunn (remote)
Directors Absent
J. Chacon
Ex Officio Members Present
D. Stern
Non Voting Members Present
D. Stern
Guests Present
C. Stern, Candace Gomez (remote), Dave Marshall (remote), J. Ciavirella, T. Cajoux
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
M. Smith called a meeting of the board of directors of Amani Public Charter School to order on Monday Sep 8, 2025 at 6:09 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
G. Sardi made a motion to approve the minutes from June 2025.
S. WuDunn seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
II. Chair Report
A.
Amani School was also invited to participate in the "March for Excellence as a Civil Right" rally starting at Cadman Plaza, followed by a march across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall. Unfortunately hard for Amani to join since not located in NYC.
III. Expansion
A.
Board voted and approved to move into executive session to discuss capital planning.
IV. Educational Accountability
A.
School principal J. Ciavirella provided an overview of 2024-2025 NYS Education Department's Data, saying that Amani perforned above the state average on reading proficiency. 59% of Amani students scored proficient in reading, vs the state average of 46%
B.
Beyond academics, the principal said Grade 5's Rites of Passage Trip to Health Barn was a success. The trip is a meaningful tradition at Amani designed to celebrate, honor and empower students as they begin a new academic/personal experience at Amani.
V. Executive Director Report
A.
Executive Director D. Stern provided an overview of upcoming school events, including "Rites of Passage" field trips by grade in the first week of school. These included trips to Health Barn, Sharpe Reservation, Hapik and Hartley Park.
VI. Fundraising - Gala
A.
Fundraising chair P. Morenberg gave an update on the event and noted that although the gala is still two months away, the committee's biggest challenge was obtaining corporate sponsorship. He called upon members to solicit sponsors,auction items, tickets.
VII. 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 8:07 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
S. WuDunn
She noted that Amani students had made significant growth in reading proficiency post-Pandemic, adding that 5th grade in particular saw reading surge 23% to nearly 48%, thus outpacing state growth rates. 8th graders' reading rates outperformed state averages.
Math, however, was more challenging, she noted. J. Ciavirella acknowledged staff turnover and lack of professional development for staff contributed to lower math score results. Going forward, the focus will be on providing targeted and consistent instructional math support for students, aided by data-driven interventions and greater student engagement.
In science, she said the gap between Amani and the State average had narrowed slightly, although science performance remained below NYS benchmarks.