Board Chair Aaron Bothner reviewed the agenda.

Board Vice-Chair Anuj Khatiwada shared what the MetLCS Mission/Vision means to him.  He reflected upon his experience with the night's K - 8 Electives showcase and how this represents the mission/vision of the school.

MetLCS K - 8 Principal Kurt Davidson provided his report.  Adonai John-Shiman, Vice-Principal of the K - 8, joined Mr. Davidson.

The team shared tonight's focus would be on Kindergarten through Second grades.  The Education Committee discussed K - 2 data.  With K scholars there is work to be done.

In terms of the attendance data, December was a lower month due to season and holiday break.  Several scholars have moved and are enrolled internationally, the school is working with the NYC DOE to get these scholars discharged.

Interim Assessments are underway, today was the first day of testing and this will continue tomorrow. NWEA core testing has been completed and makeups will continue tomorrow.

The NYC DOE School Report Card was discussed.  Academics are the biggest area of growth.  The school must get K - 2 right to allow the impact to be felt throughout the school.  Part of the report card is the scholar, staff, and family survey data.  Scholar satisfaction is strong.  Family satisfaction is strong. Teacher satisfaction is mixed.  The report is another indicator that we continue to focus on quality instruction for scholars. 

Ms. Shiman presented.  The emphasis of her work is with the K - 2 program, starting at the ground and working the way up.  She elaborated on the Fundations program which is a phonemic approach to getting scholars reading-ready.  This is coupled with Reading Ready.  She also shared assessment data, including NWEA but also a K - 2 specific literacy data tool (mCLASS) which also has an intervention component.  This is part of a three-year plan.

MetCPA 9 - 11 Principal Tyra Williams shared her report.  The School Quality Snapshot data for the high school is very similar to the K - 8.  Scholars take the survey in grades 6 - 12. 

Principal Williams discussed the approach of scholars taking the Regents early in the 9th grade.  All but one scholar were asked to take college courses.  The school has a partnership with Hostos Community College. 

This week is Regents week.  January Regents is typically when a scholar has failed one or more Regent.  This can be a challenging time of year to give the Regents again.  The English Regents was an 85% pass rate.  Scoring is currently taking place so Principal Williams will have this data to provide at the February meeting.

During the Ed Committee call Principal Williams explained one of the hardest things to do is to get scholars who are already struggling to continue to persevere.  Struggling learners are not always taking intervention work seriously.  The NWEA data is available.  The challenge with this is that 11th graders not having an RIT goal.  Programs such as Read 180 and Math 180 allow the school to closely explore performance and needs for all scholars in grades 9 - 11.  The Principal speaks with scholars about doing their best via avenues such as Town Hall meetings.  Scholars have been paired with adult mentors in the building which aligns with College, Career, and Life Readiness.  Principal Williams is considering expanding the mentoring program to reach more scholars.

Principal Williams is into a program called Co-op Tech.  This provides options for scholars who may be interested in exploring various career paths. 

Board Member Tim Bryan inquired about the NYC School Survey and asked the Principals to further explain about the School Leadership ratings on the survey.  Curriculum and instruction is well-coordinated at different grade levels was discussed.  Principal Davidson shared that curricula and systems have not changed but have been made better over time.  Another element was around "The Principal knows what is going on in my classroom".  Principal Davidson shared his thoughts on perception versus reality and also his leadership team and work that is being done with Karin McGuire in reviewing and responding to the survey results.  Principal Williams discussed survey results about culture in the high school.  A committee has been proposed to work on areas that were frustrating teachers around school culture; only one teacher has signed up to date.  Principal Williams has chats with her teachers, this serves as a touch point with teachers at least twice a year. 

Aaron shared if there are further comments on the survey to reach out to him so he can direct the feedback to the right committee.

Board Member Anuj Khatiwada encouraged all Board members to thoroughly review the dashboard in advance of the Board meeting.  Questions should be directed to the Education Committee Chair Ellen Chen.

Karin McGuire sent an email about the computer lab.  Board Member Ellen Chen spoke to this and the physical space for the computer lab.  Principal Williams shared based on where the school is in terms of space for next year, they are considering next steps.  All laptops are being programmed and will be on the 5th floor so they are accessible to teachers as a mobile lab. 

Manager, Operations Melissa Alston provided the first in a series of updates regarding lottery applications for the 2020 - 2021 school year.  She prepared a packet via the school's lottery platform, School Mint, to provide various data to the Board.  Melissa shared various methods the school is using to recruit scholars such as an iHeartRadio ad, the operations team going out into the community and actively recruiting, and more. 

Principal self-reflections are due to Karin McGuire on January 29.  Karin's evaluations will then be sent to the Board for review.  She will discuss this on the MetLCS Leadership call on February 11.  The debrief with Karin will take place the week of February 10.  Finally, Principals will have the ability to revise their school action plans by February 21.

Jessica Boulet and Aaron Bothner will discuss the evaluation of Lighthouse Academies.

There were no public comments.

Mary Beth Rousseau provided an update around school finances. 

The financials for the month of December were discussed.  The current assets are 8.4 million and total assets of 9.9 million.  Liabilities are at 2.8 million.  That gives the school strong ratios of 3.01 meaning there are three assets for every one liability.  The debt to asset ratio is very small, 0.28.  Cash on hand in operating and investment accounts is 8.3 million, expenses per day are 31 - 32,000 which gives 264 days cash on hand. This is a very strong cash position.  The debt service coverage ratio is strong.  Net income is at $800,000 with income for debt service over 2 million with a strong debt ratio.  The school is in very good strong position all around.

The statement of activities was presented.  The net surplus on a budgetary basis has increased from November to December.  This is due to the timing of the expenses, this trend is not expected to continue. 

$500,000 of the 1.2 million dollar budget has been spent for the rooftop project.  The facilities committee will review and respond to Brent's email.

The school has gained approximately $100,000 which includes unrecognized gains of $17,000.

Approximately 21% is in the money market fund, 12% in short-term investments, and 57% in long-term investments. 

The asset allocation is in compliance with the investment policy that the Board adopted.

One thing to note at this point of the year is that the school reallocated, the investments were in corporate-backed funds that did not align with the Investment Policy.  These funds were allocated into government securities. 

In February the Board will have its annual meeting to approve the Investment Committee; a call will also be scheduled with the Financial Advisor at JP Morgan Chase. 

Ellen Chen and Kamaria Brisseau requested to join the call with JP Morgan in February.

Brent Elliott discussed the RFP process, the applicants, and the scoring process.  The LHA Finance Team has recommended proceeding with MMB to be considered.

The MetLCS Board will vote at the February meeting. 

Courtney Russell provided Monica Rivera's report in her absence. 

She discussed the rooftop gymnasium, the elevator requirements, and the potential space for the MetCPA.

The rooftop project is scheduled to be completed in the Spring; there have been slight delays due to approvals needed from the city and some materials being delayed.

LHA and the school are working diligently with Kone to meet the requirement for all NYC buildings with elevators.

Finally, Courtney reviewed the progress made on the potential 9 - 12 space.  The lease will be presented and voted upon in February.

Aaron Bothner shared the questions of how we can do this in a way that is revenue neutral and is everyone (LHA, Principals, Board, etc.) bought into this?  Aaron shared that the Board would want a budget projection through the length of the lease before signing the lease, and may include more Board involvement than typical.

 

There are no updates at this time.  Courtney Russell reached out to the NYC DOE but a response has not yet been received.

Board member Jessica Boulet shared an update regarding the MetLCS Board Grievance policy.  The purpose of the update is to make the policy aligned with current practices, Board structure, etc.  This document is important for members of the public to be able to access.  The document is in line with the Board bylaws.

Aaron provided context around year-long processes to memorialize Board practices, policies, etc. 

Ellen shared she is interested in revisiting the school website and making improvements to same.

Board Member Kamaria Brisseau provided an update regarding recent phone conversations and upcoming phone conversations.

The structure will be Kamaria will ask the Board member several questions.  She will open it up to the Board to ask questions.  Finally, Aluta will have the opportunity to ask questions.

Board member candidate Aluta Khanile introduced himself.  Aluta responded to a variety of questions including why he wants to join the Board, what he could bring to the Board, his ability to commit, and more.  He shared about his work, his personal life, and his desire and commitment to join the MetLCS Board.

The Board members asked several follow up questions.

The Board discussed a personnel matter.