Rochester Academy Charter School
Minutes
Board Meeting
Date and Time
Friday November 20, 2015 at 6:00 PM
Location
Genesee Building
Trustees Present
D. Calder, G. Aktas, J. Santos, M. Gedemenli, M. Guler, W. Middleton, Y. Bilgic
Trustees Absent
None
Guests Present
D. Ozcan, Jen Doyle, 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 Nov 20, 2015 at 6:33 PM.
C.
Approve Minutes
M. Guler made a motion to approve minutes from the Board Meeting on 10-16-15 Board Meeting on 10-16-15.
Y. Bilgic seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Student Recognition
Tonight we had a dinner honoring students in 7th and 8th grade math.
II. Finance, Facilities & Audit
A.
Monthly Financial Report
Revenues and Expenses are about even; total revenues are 149692; total expenses are 1473790.
All diagnostics are within tolerance.
B.
Budget Revisions
Several changes need to be made at the suggestion of the auditor.
Uniform sales and purchases should be on different budget lines.
M. Guler made a motion to Change accounting lines as recommended by auditor.
D. Calder seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
C.
New Building Lease Agreement
The charter school office approved the move to the building on latta road; the board needs to approve the signing of the lease.
Our headquarters will remain at the Genesee building and we will continue to recruit our students from the Rochester City School District.
Lease on the Latta Road building is for 15 years.
If possible we will purchase the Genesee building.
M. Gedemenli made a motion to Approve signing the Latta Road building lease.
M. Guler seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
D.
Board Approval Bundle
Personal Handbook Approval.
Highland Cleaning Company did not meet terms of contract; need to switch to the second option of Vanguard which was presented to the board in the previous meetings. Emergency decision had to make.
990 Approval.
M. Guler made a motion to Approve the three recommendations.
G. Aktas seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
III. Academic Excellence
A.
Academic Excellence Committee Report
AEC met last month; RACS will recognize student performance.
We should set a budget for interior design to make RACS look like a STEM school.
Committee is reviewing effectiveness of Data Driven Instruction meetings in tailoring instruction to individual student needs.
B.
Director's Monthly Report
Enrollment has dropped from 369 to 366; two seniors moved out of district and one sophomore was withdrawn.
If student performance follows current trends, 25% of students in 7th and 8th grade should be proficient.
State approved the move to Greece for the high school building.
Students in STEM program engaged in a bridge building competition.
C.
Jenn Doyle Report on Middle School
Report on student performance in 7th and 8th grade-for returning students we have last year's scores, and each subsequent monthly test this year.
We are using the test data to gauge student progress over the year, and project future scores and estimate growth.
Each class has two instructors and we have a math tutor as well.
First time RACS students generally start in poor shape on the tests, but after a year, they are doing much better.
There is a monthly data driven instruction meeting after each of the tests.
ELA has a similar result.
We are using Read 180 for the first time this year-helps students who are a lower level, challenges higher performing students.
All math and ELA faculty are working on incentive structures.
Lower level students are using Read 180 during their study hall.
Data Driven Instruction meetings get faculty together once per month to discuss previous test scores and compare them to present year, look at multiple data for each student, identify what students need to do to meet proficiency and grow.
The data driven instruction plan is designed to identify how we can meet our goals.
Significant changes are made after each meeting.
There is growth in both Math and ELA.
Each student is reviewed every month.
Dean of Middle School made a visit to Syracuse to learn how they have gone about meeting their goals on the basis of their Data Driven instruction program.
Major improvements to IT/Instructional infrastructure.
IV. Governance
A.
Governance Committee Report
RACS web page will be updated with the new terms of the trustees.
Gungor will review the situation and report back.
B.
Board Re-Election Process
V. Other Business
A.
Staffing
Music teacher and Spanish teacher resigned; both have been replaced.
We hired a math tutor, after another candidate was subsequently hired as a principle elsewhere.
Geometry teacher wil be leaving for another job.
M. Guler made a motion to Approve new hires.
Y. Bilgic seconded the motion.
The board VOTED unanimously to approve the motion.
VI. Development/Community Outreach
A.
Development Committee Meeting
Meeting has been scheduled for early december.
We need to be prepared for backlash against charter schools.
We need to inform people about the coming building change.
VII. 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 7:36 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
W. Middleton