OR. RICHARD IZQUIERDO HEALTH & SciENCE CH ARTER ScHOOL DUARNA Oll.ER, 80erd Chair RJCHARD E. BURKE, Head ofScboollPriocipal

Board of Tnutees Meeting

Tuesday, December IS, 2015, 6:00 PM

Meeting Minutes

Trustees Present

Dr. Richard Izquierdo, Founder

Marshall Kesten, Treasurer

Duarna Oller, Chairperson

PaJoma Hernandez, Secretary

Rosa Agosto

£pifanio Castillo

Francisco Lugoviila

Trustees Excused

Dr. Samuel De Leon

Kenzena Brown- Torrcs

Mallory Locke

Laura Chavez

Slllff Present

Richard Burke, Head of SchooVPrincipal

Cdl to Order:

Chairperson Ms. Oller called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

Distribution of Agenda:

The agenda for the meeting was distributed to all Board members.

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DR. RICHARD IZQUIERDO HEAIJ'H & SoENCE CHARTER ScHOOL DUARNA OLLER. Boan1 Chair RICHARD E. BURKE, Head orSchooVPrincipal

Chairperson Oller began her report by thanking everyone for coming and wishing happy holidays to all. The hearing last Tuesday had a great turnout with about 25 speakers present. These included parents, educators, and scholars all with Positive remarks. Now the next steps in the renewal process are to wait to see the draft from DOE, make revisions in their application report, and gel a date for the Regents meeting.

The community was here tonight at the toy giveaway and Community Board 3 President John Dudley was also. Ms. Oller thanked them for recogoizing ihe board and what they bave accomplished.

Approval of Minutes:

Ms. Oller motioned to approve November t7, 2015, Board Minutes, seconded by Marshall Kesten. All were in favor, and the motion is passed.

Comm_ittee Reports:

Finance Report:

Mr. Kesten began his December Finance report by stating that the school recognized revenues 1% lower than originally budgeted through November. Projections anticipate revenues will be less than I% higher than budgeted through the end of this FY. Please note these reports are based on the updated budget previously approved by the board

Expenses through November are 9% lower than budget, primarily due to the payroll lag and timing of the report. Spending is expected to catch up to the budget, and year-end projections indicate spending will be slightly over budget «I%). Projections are based on the updated approved budget along with some projected updates based on actual spending.

The ba1ance sheet shows that the school remains in a comfortable cash position, with roughly 2 months ofcash on hand at any given time. The main operating account should meet the on­going cash flow needs of the school.

Education & AccountabiUty Committee:

Mr. Castillo stated they have met at an Education Committee meeting and debriefed about the renewal and the next steps. Everything that could have been done on our part for the renewal application has been eompleted, and now they are waiting for a date for die Regents meeting. Some additional items that are being evaJuated are staffing issues. There are currently some vacant positions that the school is trying to fill. Numerous resumes have been received.. but none that fulfill the required experience qualifications for what the school needs.

Another item that was discussed was external school programs. Mr. Castillo stated that in the future, procedures with specific details about trips should be put in place so that the board is Wonned of wbere the student body is going to be. The school is moving forward with the Abacus program. The goal of this program is to help set up the dual language program at the school. Lastly, Ms. Agosto, Mr. Castillo. and Mr. Bwke need to meet to

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'(I) '" ,~.~,",-~ "~,~."'-,,"m, " ... :. DUARNA OLLER, Board Chair§ RICHARD E. BURKE, Head orScbooVPMClpal .• JI

",,' ~--E (;\'\1<" discuss the goals that are in the charter renewal, come up with a working plan, and figure oul

what measures are going to be set forth and how to track its success.

Head of ScbooVPrincipal:

Mr. Burke began his report by discussing the visit from the DOE on November lJIh. This visit went well, and the DOE commented on the growth in such a short amount of time. TIley said they saw more student-centered activities and more rigor, as well . They also commented that things look positive, and our CTE (EMn program was impressive. The next step is our December Hearing.

Parent teacher conference twnout was very positive; over 400 parents attended. There was a breakfast and lunch with parents and over 30 parents attended each event. Updates on student assessment results will be discussed next month with the data received from ANET.

Directors Report.,,:

Higb Scbool DTL Report November 201S- Ms. Buckman November started with our interim projects for the 10mand ll'h grade. This year we had

eight projects running. Scholars had the opportunity to sclf·register for their projects. The teachers came up \\rith ideas and led the project.;;. The project groups were: Live Robotic Surgery, Water Pollution Study, Sports Drink Study, History of Prescriptive Medicine vs. Homeopathic Medicine, A look into Health and Nutrition of AthJetes, and the creation of a DRrHSCS artistic movie. All students were responsible for the haods·on experience, research , and presentation components or the project. A presentation fair was beld in the auditorium where scholars got to present their projects to the 9th grade and each other. Students overall enjoyed the oppommity to learn outside the classroom.

The teachers were well prepared fo r the renewal visit. Leadership spent time focusing on teachers' lesson plans ensuring that differentiation was happening and evident to observers s ince this was a major focus of area and growth. We worked with teachers to ensure that the lessons are allowing students to discuss and ask higher-level questions. Overall, the DOE reviewers saw exactly what we stated they would see in the high school: scholars doing the heavy lifting when it comes to learning, engaged students, students asking questions, and student·ccntercd instruction.

Tem 1 concluded, and Parent· Teacher Conferences went smoothly. We pUShed for teachers to get in contact with every scholar, especially those that are failing one or more classes to attend the conferences. If they weren '( at conierences, we are still reaching out to those parents 10 make conlaCl regarding srudenl progress. There was a fair lurn OUI for the High School across all the grades.

We are still conducting professional development meetings three times a week in the morning. From tbese meeting, we can discuss students that may be baving difficulties, trends in the classroom, and grade level issues.

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r@~''''b DR. R ICflARD [zQUIEROC HEALTH & ScIENCE CHARTER ScHOOL :, f)UARN/\ OlLER.lloard Chlllr ~ RICHARD E. BURKE, Head of ScbooIIPrillClpal

, R'"":/>' ''C 0'0"'/ ' We are beginning to look into curriculum design and course offerings for nex.t year and awaiting

PSAT scores to determine those course offerings and students ' ability to be successful in these courses such as AP and honors. PSAT scores will be available in early December.

More infomlation on scores and the status orthe new transition wiU be discussed in lhe December 2015 DTL notes. .

Middle Scbool DTL Report ror November 2015- Mr, Blougb

November began with the November 3rd day of professional development and planning. We held coaching meetings on content and planning, and we he1d an inclusion PD in the aftemoon for the full staff. The starr used the day to prepare units, lessons and plans for the DOE visit. November also started with the first week with our first Interim assessment, ANET Al .

We tested our seholars in ELA and Math on November 4th and 5th. As we have done i.n the past, we ran the ANET assessment just like the State Assessment with full accommodations and si mulated State Test proctoring. The testing went smoothly_ Our results demonstrated that we bave a lot of work to do but we are progressing, and we beat the network in most areas . We held a Data Day for the Middle School on November 20th.

This was an introduction to the process for our new teachers and a review and introduction of updates for our returning staff. It was led by Liza our ANET representative, our Math, and ELA- leads and I. After the overview of the process, we broke into content groups for item analysiS and to plan the reteach lessons of standards that the scholars didn't score as well on. It was a successful cycle and yielded great reteach lessons. The data from the reteach lessons will be discussed in the December report.

We also ended our first quarter and held our fmt round ofParent-Teacher Conferences. The turnout for the conferences was great: 295 parents. Parents are happy with our program and the experience their scholars are receiving. One takeaway was that the parents want more homework to be accessible from the parent portal. This was noted and addressed with staff. and teachers are now seeing the benefit of having more exposure to their assignments in this way.

DTL for Special Programming: - Mr. Sharpe With the efforts of the high school students, the Art Department finished refreshing the 911 1 memorial mural outside the main office. The Physical Education & Health department welcomed a new teacher, Jennifer O'Gorman. Additionally, the CSAA Junior Varsity Basketball season is well Wldenvay, and our schoLar-athletes arc showing great improvement over last year, winning many games! Music is preparing for their two upcoming performances: the Festival of Lights in December and the January semester-end perfonnancc. They are also expanding their music production program with the purchase of recording and mixing software.

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r'· ·, ....'b DR. R ICHARD IZQUIERDO HEALTH & SciENCE CHARTER ScHOOL :. DUARNA OLLER, Board Chair8 RICHARD E. BURKE. HeM! ofSdlooVPrindpai

. R ~ "~"""E o''''~~DiredOr of College TraDSition- Ms. Muhammad

Continuing to make coUege and career awareness part of the cultural fabric of Dr. Richard Izquierdo Health & Science Charter School, we have moved beyond focusing on college planning and career by creating lessons for professors to deliver to all of our scholars. Topics created are part of the nuances that have the potential to build the professional brand of each scholar. Scholars have learned about things from e-mail etiquette to how to properly request a letter of recommendation . The college tour of the month was to the College of Mount Saint Vincent. Throughout the month of November, we have continued to partner with CollegeBoard to secure testing accommodations for all fEP and ELL scholars. As we continue to restructure the school counseling program,l have partnered with the Director of Data and Assessment to create a college transition Iin.k on the school's website.

Director of Academic and School Culture - Mr. Palamore In the month ofNovember, school culture focused on intervening with the students who stnlggled with behavior in the month ofOctobcr. Additionally, learning new strategies to deal with chronic absence for students.

In the month of October, the discipline numbers showed a dramatic increase in removals and suspensions from the previous month and from the October in the previous year. This was a result of coaching teachers not to be reluctant to use the removal process. It helps the Director and the deans identify who needs intervention. The Associate Dean, Mr. G, and the Director met with many parents to help develop successful plans for students who were struggling with behavior. Some students were referred to our school counselors and social workers to begin work with them. Some of the students have seen a dramatic improvement in a short amount of time. These interventions helped in a decrease in removals by 43%.

In the month ofNovembcr. the Director and Mr. Hill. the Attendance Initiative Coordinator, attended a professional development on strategies to deal with chronic absenteeism at Monroe College in collaboration v.i.th Bronx Rising. The largest takeaways were systems for tracking students who are chronically absent and being more nuanced in lhe way we track attendance for initiatives. As a result of tbe professional development, the school culture department will begin working with the social workers to identify rC8S0ns for chronic absenteeism, follow up with students. and develop and move fotward with actions steps.

Public Comments:

There were no comments from the public

Adjournm~Dl:

The meeting was adjourned at 7:02 p.m.

=~-'--"=__ Date Submitted: _I_I\-.\,--<1~I-,-1'--iP_ ___

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