Pharos Academy Charter School
Minutes
Pharos Academy Charter School Board Meeting
Date and Time
Thursday December 16, 2021 at 6:30 PM
Location
1001 Intervale Avenue
Bronx, NY 10459
Bronx, NY 10459
PHAROS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL
BOARD of TRUSTEES MEETING
BOARD of TRUSTEES MEETING
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 16, 2021
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: 1001 Intervale Avenue, Bronx, NY 10459
Other Location(s): https://bronxlighthouse.zoom.us/j/5239033349
Día: 16 de deciembre 2021
Hora: 6:30 p.m.
Lugar: 1001 Intervale Avenue, Bronx, NY 10459
Otros Lugares: https://bronxlighthouse.zoom.us/j/523903334
Date: December 16, 2021
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: 1001 Intervale Avenue, Bronx, NY 10459
Other Location(s): https://bronxlighthouse.zoom.us/j/5239033349
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.DE LA JUNTA ADMINISTRATIVA
Día: 16 de deciembre 2021
Hora: 6:30 p.m.
Lugar: 1001 Intervale Avenue, Bronx, NY 10459
Otros Lugares: https://bronxlighthouse.zoom.us/j/523903334
Trustees Present
B. Thompson (remote), J. Lopez-Molina (remote), K. Shah (remote), R. Granado (remote), S. Sutherland (remote), T. Perez (remote)
Trustees Absent
A. Abreu, N. Jones, S. Jean-Jacques
Guests Present
J. Sowell (remote), M. Dorsey (remote), S. Beier (remote), T. Brown (remote)
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
J. Lopez-Molina called a meeting of the board of trustees of Pharos Academy Charter School to order on Thursday Dec 16, 2021 at 6:34 PM.
II. Public Comments
A.
Public Comments
No public comments
III. Board Governance
A.
Approve Minutes
J. Lopez-Molina made a motion to approve the minutes from Pharos Academy Charter School Board Meeting on 11-18-21.
R. Granado seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
NYC DOE Charter Renewal
December Prep Session for NYC DOE Charter Renewal
Public Hearing took place, successful and a number of parents, leaders and teachers that spoke.
All positive comments for the school.
Everything is progressing as expected as the school prepares for NYC DOE visits and interviews.
Academic & Fiscal Health to be reviewed this evening with the Board and School Leadership.
Jarrod Sowell concerned about his statements being accepted, as he is not an official Board Member.
Courtney Russell does not see this as a problem and may work in moving the process along.
Principal Brown provided the Academic Health highlights for the Board:
Scores prior to COVID exceeded the City & Community School District
High School graduation rate and Regents scores exceeded the City & Community School District
Demonstration of the a progressive momentum to show growth over time to be presented
Special Population exceeded the City and Community School District
SAT Scores growing gradually over the years.
70% sat for Testing during the Pandemic - Story to tell regarding the % of Students who sat for the Test.
How strong is our program and did we test our students ?
Principal can prepare a 1 Page document providing further details around the academic details.
Fiscal Health - Financial viable School, with strong financial accounts
Financial Policy, Investment Policy, Grant Funds.
January 18, 2022 - Tuesday: Event Reminder for the Board
C.
Board Recruitment
To be reviewed in January 2022
IV. Finance Committee Review
A.
Finance Committee Report
Budget amendment in progress, with an anticipated presentation date to the Board in January 2022.
K. Shah made a motion to Approve the November 2021 Financials.
J. Lopez-Molina seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Investment Account Update
C.
Expenses Over 50K, Navigating Forward
V. COVID-19 Updates
A.
COVID-19 Updates
COVID & Health the volume has increased in terms of COVID positive cases.
This month 6 staff members tested positive.
Virtual Days considered to approach the return from the Holiday Break.
Have all scholars tested when returning from the Holiday Break.
Great idea to plan and be ready to have some virtual days after returning from the Holiday Break.
Over the last 2 -3 Weeks, numbers growing from Seasonal Colds/Flu Symptoms and call outs due to illness.
VI. Follow Up Items
A.
BPHC Dissolution
BPHC dissolution has taken placed. Everything is taken care of and the certificate has been received.
VII. Culture Committee Report
A.
Culture Committee Report
Catering staff lunch for the Pharos Staff.
VIII. Academic Committee Report
A.
Academic Committee Report
Academic Committee met and provided details related to the testing data and the staffing strategy the school is currently using , which covers the probability of staff absences.
Grades 3-8 IA1 Data presented to the Board for review and discussion.
February 2022 - Additional IA data will be available.
IA - useful for internal academic checks and not normally used for the DOE discussions.
The way we assess from IA1 and IA2, IA2 serves as a test run for the NY State Test.
Tutoring Service Updates:
High School AfterSchool services - Partnering with NY Edge with Homework helping and tutoring.
NY Edge services comes from a Grant for Middle School students, which is scheduled to launch in January 2022.
Social Workers services will be added in the future, especially for the lower grades. NYC Cope partnership has been successful used at the school. The school community has been hit hard with the loss of loved ones, so the services have proven to be a great help during this season.
IX. Facilities
A.
Facilities Update
Facilities Update presented to the Board:
S. Tieger Plumbing has become the new plumbing vendor to perform the work needed to repair the gas work. MLK Weekend - Target Date - January 17, 2022.
The new contractor has provided consistent communication and will be working over the next 2-3 weeks to get the work completed.
Robb Granado volunteered to represent the Board in the event of any purchases are needed to be made to complete any emergency activities
J. Lopez-Molina made a motion to Appoint Robb Granado as the Facility Board Representative with purchasing power of 100K, to facilitate and execute any emergency work needed to manage and maintain facility repair services.
B. Thompson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
X. Executive Session
A.
Executive Session
Board entered into Executive Session at 7:53 PM , inviting Travis Brown and Courtney Russell
Board exited out of Executive Session at 8:04 PM.
J. Lopez-Molina made a motion to Enter into Executive Session at 7:53 PM.
B. Thompson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
J. Lopez-Molina made a motion to Exit out of Executive Session at 8:04 PM.
B. Thompson seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
XI. 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 8:05 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
M. Dorsey