Bedford Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter Schools
Minutes
Bedford Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter Schools Board Meeting
Date and Time
Wednesday September 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Location
82 Lewis Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11206
Trustees Present
Cecelia Russo, John Matos, Kevin Nesbitt, Shawn Carson, Simone Pratt, Victor Rivera, Vishal Gupta
Trustees Absent
Cynthia Aker, Doris Givens, Joseph Sciame
Ex Officio Members Present
Nicholas Tishuk
Non Voting Members Present
Nicholas Tishuk
Guests Present
Lamar Renee Garcia, Lisa-Renée Brown, Michael Taylor, Patience Brown, Patricia Bramwell
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
C.
Approve August Meeting Minutes
II. Academic and Family Life Committee
A.
Committee Update
III. Governance Committee
A.
Committee Update
Executive Director Tishuk updated the Board on recent candidates and the overall framework for accepting new Trustees. A conversation is occurring regarding the needs of the Board and the commitments for Trustees.
IV. Development Committee
A.
Committee Update
Chair Simone Pratt updated the Board on the work of the development committee. The focus is on partnership development and looked at the existing model and how to plug into those needs based on student interests and school needs.
The mirror (what students are interested in) and the window (what we can offer and improve) including the establishment of new partnerships. We are also looking into earned media and spotlighting programming in our social media, community engagement and programming.
V. Finance Committee
A.
Finance Committee Update
Treasurer John Matos updated the Board on the work of the Finance committee, including the Student Enrollments including General Education, Special Education and the bank balances.
Chief Operating Officer Michael Taylor updated the Board on the financials of the school, which are all in good order, including the projections, budgeted and actual enrollment of the school and our current vendorportal process.
VI. Public Comments
A.
Public comments
Patricia Bramwell echoed the well wishes of the Board and school community to Trustee Joe Sciame, our founding Chair, in his health and recovery.
Chair Cecelia updated the Board on the progress of the academic committee, including high school enrollment and K-8's stable program. CAO Brown updated the Board on our program, including students, staff and academic programming. October is anti-bullying month at BSNBCS and our first big event for the Fall is Hispanic Heritage Festival on October 15th.
In the High School, we have a big focus on partnerships, including internships in New Jersey and Brooklyn, engaging academic content and programming for the fall. Our most recent cohort, the class of 2028, had a phenomenal performance on their Regents with 93% and 94% in the Math and Science exams respectively. We are putting a lot energy into student culture, including our Student Support Team, College Bound Program and our Project Based Learning framework.