Pharos Academy Charter School
Minutes
PHACS Monthly Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday December 18, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Location
https://pharosbx.zoom.us/j/5239033349?pwd=2WLTisGPjTdftRJ9m7yHYDr1je2xYw.1
1005 Intervale Avenue
Bronx, NY 10459
4th Floor
All meetings of the Board of Trustees of the Pharos Academy Charter School are held in compliance with New York State Open Meeting Law.
Date: December 18, 2025
Time: 6:30 pm
Location: 1005 Intervale Avenue, Bronx, NY 10459
Other Location(s): https://bronxlighthouse.zoom.us/j/5239033349
863 Home Street, Bronx, NY 10459
ALL ARE INVITED TO ATTEND!
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PHAROS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL
DE LA JUNTA ADMINISTRATIVA
Realizamos todas las reuniones de la Junta Administrativa de la escuela Pharos Academy Charter School conforme a la Ley de Reuniones Abiertas del Estado de Nueva York.
Día: 18 de deciembre 2025
Hora: 6:30 pm
Lugar: 1005 Intervale Avenue, Bronx, NY 10459
Otros Lugares: https://bronxlighthouse.zoom.us/j/5239033349
863 Home Street, Bronx, NY 10459
Trustees Present
J. Lopez-Molina, J. Rivera, K. Shah (remote), P. Wesonga, T. Perez, T. South (remote), V. Angeles
Trustees Absent
G. Garcia, J. Sowell
Guests Present
C. Russell, M. Dorsey, T. Brown
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
II. Board Governance
A.
Approve Minutes
B.
Charter Renewal Update
III. Finance Committee Review
A.
Finance Committee Report
Finance Committee update presented by Keyur Shah:
Reviewed the financial statements, enrollment updates and business insurance from current broker, forecasting a possible 13% increase.
Market will be reviewed for potential other insurance options.
B.
Investment Account Update
C.
Items Over 50K
IV. Executive Director's Report
A.
Executive Director's Report
Dr. Brown shared the recent trip to London/Oxford.
Dr. Brown handing out data related to the recent testing results. Numbers are trending the same over the years. Academically the school is moving well and proficiency numbers are high and now we are tools that the school can ask the questions what are the next steps to take with the level of proficiency that we are currently holding at. What are the next 10 years looking like now the level of proficiency has been met.
Desire to provide eduction and environment with more complexity, more courses and various opportunities.
Dr. Brown would like to do more than reach data levels but create various levels of movement to match the proficiency levels.
Recommendations/suggestions:
1. YearBook Courses
2. Internships
Board Members invited to attend London/Oxford next year.
V. Executive Session
A.
Executive Session
Executive Session- Enter In 7:46 PM
Board discussions related to legal matters and expansion opportunities.
Executive Session- Exit Out 8:20 PM
Dr. Brown provided update regarding the DOE Visit that occurred on 12/16/2025 - Tuesday.
3 - DOE Representatives
2 - Special Education Representatives
10 Classroom were reviewed and Student and Staff Members were met with
Overall a very positive visit and they were looking to learn and provide a critical review of areas to improve. There were no issues highlighted. The debriefing was regarding the Special Ed numbers compared to the District.
The Board discussed Special Education percentage at the school. School District is currently at 30% .
Special Education procedures discussed in detail as it relates to the data at Pharos Academy Charter School.
Suggestion to provide data over the past 3 years regarding the retaining and reclassification of the SPED process.
Discussion related to the last Charter Renewal and the topics raised during the previous meeting. (3 Years Ago)
Past procedures that the school has followed has been related to the Lottery and provide seats for the scholars that have IEPS.
There are no major reasons preventing the possibility of 5 year renewal. The approval in the past has been 3-5 years.
Meeting with the Board /DOE is scheduled for Friday 12/19/2025.
Topics of possible discussion :
1. Lottery procedure for SPED needs
2. ICT
3. Positives the stood out during the evaluation process
4. Declassification data