Rochester Academy Charter School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Friday August 19, 2016 at 6:00 PM
Location
Latta Building-1777 Latta Road Rochester, NY 14612
Trustees Present
D. Calder, J. Santos, M. Gedemenli, M. Guler, W. Middleton, Y. Bilgic
Trustees Absent
G. Aktas
Guests Present
D. Ozcan, M. Demirtas
I. Opening Items
A.
Record Attendance and Guests
B.
Call the Meeting to Order
M. Gedemenli called a meeting of the board of trustees of Rochester Academy Charter School to order on Friday Aug 19, 2016 at 6:30 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
M. Guler made a motion to approve the minutes from Board Meeting on 07-15-16.
D. Calder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
II. Approve minutes
A.
New item
M. Guler made a motion to approve minutes from the Board Meeting on 07-21-16 Board Meeting on 07-21-16.
D. Calder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Director's Report
Current enrollment 354, 16 shy of 370 target.
We need to enroll 7 in 7th grade, 2 in eighth grade and 7 in 9th grade.
We have sufficient students on the waiting list for other grades, but not 7th grade, so open spots will be filled as possible.
One problem we have is that some students want to enroll in a school with a football program, which we can't afford.
State test results:
ELA 7; Our test scores are only marginally betters than RCSD and considerably below charter schools that are K-12; this is the biggest reason that we are transitioning to K-12.
ELA-8 is considerably better than RCSD, but still below the K-12 charter schools.
ELA 7; Our test scores are only marginally betters than RCSD and considerably below charter schools that are K-12; this is the biggest reason that we are transitioning to K-12.
ELA-8 is considerably better than RCSD, but still below the K-12 charter schools.
Math 7 is only marginally better than RCSD, and below the K-12 charters.
Math 8 is significantly higher than RCSD (11.1% vs. 0.7%) and is second only to one K-12 charter.
Math 8 is significantly higher than RCSD (11.1% vs. 0.7%) and is second only to one K-12 charter.
93% graduation rate, 13.6% Advanced Regents Diploma, 72.7% Regents Diploma, 6.8% Local diploma.
2016 cohort Regents Results exceed state averages in all categories.
Annual Regents results exceed RCSD in every category except US history.
III. Academic Excellence
A.
Code of Conduct Revision
If a student receives a suspension of up to three days, the suspension can be reversed if the student's parent "shadows" the student.
This has been a highly successful strategy where implemented.
Policy needs to have a provision for parents who work and cannot come in to school at the drop of a hat (eg. deferred scheduling).
This has been a highly successful strategy where implemented.
Policy needs to have a provision for parents who work and cannot come in to school at the drop of a hat (eg. deferred scheduling).
Vote will be deferred till the Retreat next week--language will be revised.
Removing the "within a semester" definition and replacing it with "within a year".
J. Santos made a motion to Revise the language to the Repeated Major Infractions section of the code of conduct.
D. Calder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
B.
Policy for Academic Intervention Services
Add four additional English and four additional Math classes for students needing AIS services.
M. Guler made a motion to Approve AIS program.
J. Santos seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
IV. Finance, Facilities & Audit
A.
Financial Review
Deferred to Board Retreat next week.
B.
Conflict of Interest Policy Update Approval
Deferred till Board Retreat next week.
C.
Electronic Devices Password Policy
External Auditor recommended that we adopt a policy requiring passwords by all faculty and staff using personal devices.
M. Guler made a motion to To adopt recommended password policy.
D. Calder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Board Info for Annual Audit
Board provided contact information.
E.
Budget 15-16 Revision
Will be presented at the Board Retreat.
F.
Lease agreement
Changed date of move in on lease to August 1, lease amount is prorated
annual lease amount is 359,000 in 12 monthly payments of 29,916.67.
annual lease amount is 359,000 in 12 monthly payments of 29,916.67.
We (RACS) are not paying for the renovations as originally stipulated.
M. Guler made a motion to Approve updated contract for Latta Road building.
D. Calder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
Agreement with bank that if Terra defaults, we will make our payments to the bank ourselves.
M. Guler made a motion to approve amendment to lease in which we make payments to bank in the event of Terra Defaulting.
Y. Bilgic seconded the motion.
The board VOTED to approve the motion.
V. Other Business
A.
New HIres and REsignations
Various faculty have resigned, and we have some new hires.
M. Guler made a motion to to approve hires and resignations.
D. Calder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VI. 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 8:19 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
W. Middleton