The New American Academy Charter School
Minutes
TNAACS Board Meeting
Date and Time
Tuesday June 25, 2024 at 5:00 PM
Directors Present
C. Cuellar-Lezcano, C. Kelly (remote), F. Monrose (remote), H. Hunt, V. McDonald (remote)
Directors Absent
E. DeAngelis, K. Yu, M. Lynch
Guests Present
J. Trani (remote), L. Parquette Silva
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve Minutes
II. Finance & Data
A.
TNAACS Budget for the 2024/2025 School Year
Elaine Schmiedeshoff of CSBM first reviewed the May 2024 monthly financials. She reported no surprises or significant changes from the previous month. Currently, we have 4.3 months of cash on hand and are projected to have 3.9 months at the end of the year. TNAACS is projected to be in the black by the end of the year. Next, Elaine and Jenny Trani presented the 2024/2025 school year budget. After discussion a motion was made to approve the budget and the motion passed
B.
Lavinia Contract for Services 2024-2025
Jennifer Trani shared the proposed contract from Lavinia for the 2024/2025 school year. She shared that for next year, Lavinia would provide professional development in both ELA and math, which the staff has requested. She shared that our staff developer will remain the same. This vote took place after the discussion of our year-end academic data. After a review of the contract, a motion was made to approve signing the contract, and the motion was passed.
C.
Schola and Schoolmint Marketing
The board discussed whether or not to continue utilizing Schola and Schoolmint Marketing to recruit TNAACS students. It discussed how each company supports student recruitment in different ways. The board also discussed the importance of enrollment because we have not yet reached our 280-student enrollment target.
D.
End of Year Academic Data
III. Governance
A.
Board Members and Board Expansion
The board discussed the need to expand its membership. Two potential new board members were in attendance at this meeting. During the meeting, it was discussed that the board needs to ensure Michelle Lynch becomes an official board member since our previous liaison retired during her becoming an official member. A motion was made to make Michelle an official board member, and the motion was passed. The board then discussed board member Kevin. YU has not been in contact with the board for several months and has not attended board meetings. Under the board's direction, Lisa said she would reach out via email to see what is going on and if Kevin wants to resign. If the board does not hear from Kevin by the next board meeting, a vote to remove him from the board will take place
B.
Governance Committee
The Principal self-evaluation and board self-evaluations were discussed. Lisa shared that she had not been able to complete her evaluation due to the many deadlines in June. Colleen asked if May would be better. Lisa Shared that May or July would work best. Lisa stated she would complete the survey the week of the 8th. Colleen shared that interviews for new potential board members will occur between now and the July Board meeting and that the vote on new board members will occur during the July meeting. Lisa shared she was currently working on the renewal application, which is due August 30th, and will have a draft to share before the August board meeting.
C.
Parent Participation
Mac brought up the need to ensure we are engaging our parents and families during the upcoming school year. Mac suggested exploring the possibility of having a parent on the board. Lisa shared she thought this had been researched in the past and that parents were not permitted to serve as board members in NYS, but she was unsure if this was or still is the case. Lisa volunteered to email the liaison to find out if this is allowed.
Jennifer Trani shared the end-of-year iReady Data for TNAACS in reading and math. In math, TNAACS is falling into the low-performance/high-growth quadrant. Jenny shared iReady data across three years. In math, in June 2024, 33% of TNAACS students were at or above grade level, a 13% increase from June 2022. Jenny also discussed annual typical growth and stretch growth. Our median for typical growth exceeded 100% at 128% in math. In reading, in June 2024, 44% of TNAACS students were at or above grade level, a 13% increase from June 2022. Our median for typical growth exceeded 100% at 116% in reading.