The Board will review the minutes from February at the April meeting.

Mr. Bautista, the new RTI teacher, introduced himself to the board.

Ms. Rodriguez, a parent expressed concern about the rooftop and whether it is safe for the students.

Ms. Laraway presented the Board Chair update.  Board members are encouraged to visit the school this spring or attend a field trip with students.

Ms. Laraway discussed board recruitment. The ideal size for the board is 9 to 11 members. The board will look to add members with some of the following backgrounds or skill sets: finance, Spanish speaker, human resources, facilities, current teacher or principal, practicing attorney. The board discussed recruitment of an additional parent board member.

Mr. Pham provided an update on the building financing, including the timing and structure of the transaction. The project is currently on track for a timely submission to Build NYC; approval is expected in June 2017 with an issuance projected for late-summer 2017.  

The board will continue to evaluate a proposal to further develop the rooftop and has been advised to make a decision, for purposes of financing, by June 2017.  The board has requested that LHA provide an analysis of the additional cost per year of financing such a project.

Timing of rooftop amount ... should decide by June 2017.  Will need to do an analysis of how much will cost per year.  Application for the conduit issuer, Build NYC, is due April 25, 2017.  On track to submit to Build NYC in May and expect to get approval in June; expect issuance in late Summer 2017.

Mr. Mustafa addressed the transition of the facilities contract. In January 2017 Lighthouse Academies assumed the contract between CSSS and MetLCS to manage the facilities in order to maintain historic records and documentation and preserve the services for schools. LHA will be responsible for the services outlined in the contract with CSSS.  Moving forward, these responsibilities will become part of the agreement with LHA.  Services will be managed by LHA regional facilities personnel, including Ms. Russell.  Mr. Mustafa will provide a monthly report to the Board, including a series of KPIs.

Mr. Mustafa discussed the progress of the project to explore enhancement of the rooftop with an enclosure.  LHA has engaged three architectural firms. PFA completed a development analysis, which provides four options for the project.  The next step would be a feasibility study to determine which of the project options are possible. The Board requested that Mr. Mustafa and Ms. Russell work with the teachers and principal to develop and present the purposes and priorities for the rooftop space. Mr. Mustafa will also explore short term options for the roof flooring.

Ms. Williams presented an overview of the school dashboard. Ms. Williams discussed a planned intervention with families of kindergarten students to encourage more consistent attendance.

The students will begin their New York State testing next week. 

Based on the results of an intent to return form, Ms. Williams is projecting the following teacher vacancies that will need to be filled for the upcoming year: 3 in the upper academy, 3 in the lower academy; and 3 interventionists.  There are two current openings for interventionists.  Some other teachers may not be asked back. Ms. Milsap discussed the variety of reasons that staff will not return.  Ms. Laraway asked that the budget for the retention strategies be discussed at the next meeting.

 

Ms. Milsap introduced Mr. Brown who has been hired as the principal for the CPA; he will begin his role in April 2017.

Ms. Milsap will provide a comprehensive overview of the charter renewal goals at the April meeting.  The Board reviewed a comparison of MetLCS performance against a set of comparison charter schools in NYC, as well as against the district. 

Ms. Milsap discussed the common assessments being disseminated at the school and the impact on teaching and learning. Ms. Williams and Ms Milsap continue to conduct targeted classroom walk-throughs to provide additional feedback to teachers to strengthen instruction.

The Education Committee will present an update on the dashboard at the April 1, 2017 meeting.  The committee will continue to incorporate an education-related topic into each meeting.

Ms. Rousseau provided the financial report: the cash position remains strong; student enrollment is on track.  Revenues are higher than projected due to additional enrollment.  Variances on expenditures for staffing are the result of vacancies being filled by temporary workers.