June 16, 2020
The meeting started with Deirdra Grode leading the board through a review of the annual contract renewals for various contracted service providers. Most of these providers support the school’s work around health and Child Study Team services. Recommendations were made to the board for new classroom hires for the 2020-2021 school year. Deirdra Grode enthusiastically presented Steve Literati for the role of Chief Financial Officer, Board Treasurer and Board Secretary and spoke to his experience and the hiring process. Steve Literati spoke about his experience and responded to questions from the board members. The board voted to give contracts to Mr. Literati, a teacher and a maternity leave replacement teacher.
Deirdra Grode spoke to end of the year events. More detailed reports from administration can be found in the board agenda to the right. Elizabeth Palma spoke to the School Safety Team Self-Evaluation and the State reporting process.
Amanda Grant updated the board on the capital campaign which has already raised an impressive $18,000 from individuals and companies. Joy Wheeler updated the board on the 709 Washington Street progress as well as the move from 360 First St. and 124 Grand Street to 709 Washington Street.
The board thanked Kelly Wilson Pansy for her service to the Board of Trustees via her role on the Finance Committee and approved her appointment to the Board.
June 10, 2020
For this special board meeting, the Board of Trustees discussed the new PPP application and approved accepting the funds.
May 26, 2020
Deirdra Grode, Executive Director, provided an update regarding the upcoming move of the upper school from the 360 First Street and 124 Grand Street locations to 709-711 Washington Street and the board went into executive session.
May 20, 2020
The Board of Trustees returned to a review of the Paycheck Protection Program after considerable research and discussions since the May 12, 2020 meeting. Vishal Khosla and Devjit Nayar, two HCS parents, spoke about their support for the school’s participation in the program and shared insight as two individuals working with the program via their professional work.
May 12, 2020
The meeting started with Chris Kunkel, HCS STEM and Testing Coordinator, reviewing 2019 science data results. While data is limited with last year being NJ’s first year of implementation of these exams (e.g., no cohort comparisons), he shared HCS comparisons against results across the State as well as areas of strength and opportunities for growth among scientific domains and practices.
The Board moved into a discussion around the federal Payroll Protection Program. The school’s application and possible opportunities afforded with this loan program as well as their eligibility for participation were discussed. Trustees of the Board committed to seeking more information before voting to accept the funds with a special board meeting to follow.
2020-2021 faculty/staff contracts were approved and the administration provided reports as found in the agenda to the right and engaged in a discussion around grading and end of the year events.
Deirdra Grode spoke to the Health-Related School Closure Plan which the Board of Trustees approved for submission to the NJDOE. Revisions around the re-opening of the school will be made as we receive more guidance from the NJDOE, DOH and the governor’s office.
Mark Silberberg, Chair of the Management Committee, asked Deirdra Grode to speak to her annual self-evaluation. She spoke to topics of the school closure, mission and integration work, business office oversight, the 709 Washington project and the move to a single campus as well as overall school management.
Joy Wheeler, Chair of the Facilities Committee, provided updates to the 709 Washington St. project and impending move. Amanda Grant spoke to her work on the Capital Campaign and announced that they have already secured two commitments for donations. Lisa McIntyre and Deirdra Grode spoke to updates around grant-writing initiatives via Enrollhand.
April 21, 2020
The administrative team spoke about the evolution of remote instruction at HCS over the past weeks and what it looks like today. Parent and faculty/staff feedback was solicited to inform the changes to the initial program. The team spoke not just about the general educational program currently but additionally how HCS is supporting students with IEPs and 504 plans and who receive various related services. The school continues to provide social work, guidance counseling and speech therapy services remotely via our contracted staff. More detailed information can be found in the administrative reports in the agenda to the right.
Deirdra Grode, Executive Director, and Lauren Calmas, Chair of the Finance Committee, spoke about their recent finance committee call and outlined possible savings and revenue losses as a result of the school closure. They also shared information on funds they hoped to be eligible for and will pursue via the CARES Act. Joy Wheeler, Chair of the Facilities Committee, provided updates on the impact of COVID-19 on the 709 Washington Street project. The project is still on track to be completed before the September start school. Amanda Grant, who is leading the Board of Trustees’ work on the capital campaign, shared updates on the team’s work, including the start of outreach, and a transition away from approaching small businesses at this time. Mark Silberberg, Chair of the Management Committee, reviewed the annual evaluation process for the role of Executive Director which will occur in May.
March 17, 2020
The Board of Trustees and administration discussed the transition from onsite to remote learning and plans for moving forward, especially in light of an anticipated longer closure. In addition to discussing the goal of incorporating more opportunities for classroom and divisional human interaction, connection and engagement, opportunities to reinforce the School’s mission of service were discussed as it could pertain to the community in these challenging times.
Deirdra Grode then presented the FY21 budget noting efficiencies in a unified campus and areas of anticipated increased and decreased spending. Since the Board approved the presented budget in this first of two scheduled March meetings, they canceled the second March meeting.
Joy Wheeler shared an update on 709-711 Washington Street, Amanda Grant provided updates on the capital campaign work and efforts to secure long term supportive partnerships (the pitch deck is being finalized and the targeted supporter list is being amended in light of the national emergency) and Lisa McIntryre shared that Enrollhand was extending their focus area beyond STEM for their grant writing and funds search. There will be a new focus on restorative practices.
February 24, 2020
The open session of the February 24th board meeting consisted primarily of several committee reports. Lauren Calmas provided an update on the school’s financial status as well as Finance Committee discussions around a possible change to the payroll schedule for the 2020-2021 school year. Amanda Grant provided updates on the capital campaign work and efforts to secure long term supportive partnerships. Lauren Calmas also provided a 709-711 facilities update. The 709-711 project is on track for a September opening!
Lisa McIntyre provided an update on work with Enrollhand toward extending highly effective middle school STEM programming through the upper school and creating additional interage experiences in STEM for our K-12 students.
The Board also discussed opportunities to share and promote our mission via signage, logo and promotional materials. Reports regarding the K-12 program can be found in the meeting agenda as well.
January 21, 2020
Jen Tarangelo, 4th Grade Teacher, and six 4th grade students presented about their impressive Pennies for Patients campaign through which they raised for over $8,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Students shared what they learned in the process including numerous STEM, communication and SEL standards and skills. The presentation was very impressive!
School financial report information as well as lottery results and enrollment figures were shared. Reports regarding the K-12 program can be found in the meeting agenda as well.
Lisa McIntyre provided an update on work with Enrollhand toward extending highly effective middle school STEM programming through the upper school and creating additional interage experiences in STEM for our K-12 students. She and Deirdra Grode spoke about an additional grant they have been working on with the goal of furnishing the upper school with Steelcase furniture and equipment and benefiting from professional development to support active learning principles.
December 16, 2019
A presentation was given by Darren Fusaro and Isabel Del Corral of McIntee Fusaro Del Corral, LLC regarding the school’s annual Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and Auditor’s Management Report (AMR). Chuck De Meola of De Meola Zawacki Mingione & Co., LLC presented on the School’s Form 990.
The Board voted to approve the Family and Medical Leaves and Benefits policy as can be found in the posted agenda.
Approvals as found in the agenda to the right were made around personnel, educational planning and finances. Reports regarding the K-12 program can be found in the meeting agenda as well.
Lisa McIntyre provided an update on work with Enrollhand toward extending highly effective middle school STEM programming through the upper school and creating additional interage experiences in STEM for our K-12 students. Extensive data collection has occurred and has been shared with the organization in this initial phase of the project.
Deirdra Grode shared that upon return from winter break, all K-12 students will engage in lessons designed to familiarize all HCS students with the school’s mission and key principles of social justice education, service-learning and learner-centered practices. By the end of the month of January, all students across K-12 will have shared language around these principles.
November 19, 2019
The Board conducted a first read on a proposed Family and Medical Leaves and Benefits policy as can be found in the posted agenda.
Approvals as found in the agenda to the right were made around personnel, educational planning and finances. Reports from the Executive Director and Principals can be found in the meeting agenda as well.
Lisa McIntyre provided an update on work with Enrollhand. The School has decided to focus initial grant-writing around extending STEM programming through the upper school and creating additional interage experiences in STEM for our students.
Mark Silberberg and Deirdra Grode updated the Board on ongoing strategic planning work. Information on a weeklong mission week at the upper school and the new middle school mission labs were shared.
Amanda Grant shared updates on the Capital Campaign work.
Lauren Calmas provided an update on the construction of 709-711 Washington Street. Demo has been completed, excavation for the rear extension has started and foundations have been poured. Next to come are the footings, walls and block work. We are still on track to have the building ready for a September 2020 opening.
October 15, 2019
Chris Kunkel, Schoolwide Testing Coordinator, presented on Hoboken Charter School’s 2019 New Student Learning Assessment scores. Overall comparisons were made of each class against their previous year’s scores as well as against the State averages.
Sivan Noy, Friends of Hoboken Charter School President, presented an update on fundraising initiatives for the year.
The Board approved a contract with Enrollhand, a company that supports organizations with grant research and writing services.
The Board also approved hiring Salma Malik, who has been working with the school on an interim basis over the past few weeks, as K-12 School Nurse.
Reports from the Executive Director and Principals were given. (See text of reports in the meeting agenda to the right.)
Deirdra Grode, Executive Director, discussed the school’s recent work, led by the Mission and Integration Team, to establish user-friendly universal definitions for the school’s core principles as well as related implementation and communication planning. Ultimately, every student and family member at HCS should be able to define social justice education, service-learning and learner-centered education and articulate what these principles look like in action in their classrooms and school.
Joy Wheeler, Facilities Committee Chair, shared an update on 709 Washington Street. The construction is continuing with the demolition complete, the excavation and foundation work being addressed this week and the masonry wall work starting next week. We are still on track to have the building ready for a September 2020 opening.
Prior to adjourning the meeting, the Board went into closed session for a discussion related to discipline.
September 17, 2019
The HCS Board of Trustees approved two new members. Joy Wheeler, a parent of an HCS graduate and a middle school student, brings vast experience in real estate, operations, sales and project management and will be a valuable addition to the board as Chair of the Facilities Committee. Amanda Grant, parent to a lower school student, has extensive experience in asset management and executive recruitment, serves on an advisory board of Pace University and will be a critical contributor to the Joint HCS and Friends of HCS Committee as they embark on a capital campaign.
A parent asked about efforts to coordinate security and communication with other schools in town and the City. Deirdra Grode shared that the school leaders of all K-12 schools in town (public and private) have begun to meet with the Mayor’s office, with the HPD participating in one session to date, and that improving communication and coordination across schools was a goal of these meetings and is happy to share updates in the future.
Board Member Lisa McIntyre shared information on the school’s historical approaches to grant-writing as well as research she has been conducting over the last months around grant options for the school. This information is being shared with the Joint HCS and Friends of HCS Committee as they embark on a capital campaign.
Further reports from the Executive Director and building principals were given. See text of reports in the meeting agenda to the right. In addition to the agenda report, Deirdra Grode shared that the leaders of the four public districts in town (the HBOE and three charter schools) met with the Mayor’s office and Councilwoman Jabbour to explore ways in which we can better coordinate efforts to best serve Hoboken’s most economically disadvantaged students. Also discussed were ways in which the City can help disseminate information regarding public school options in town. The City of Hoboken has since posted information about all public school options in town on their website. Deirdra Grode also spoke about strategic planning work particularly around the articulation and communication of the school’s mission. Joanna Weintraub spoke to ways in which the school was working to design an upper school experience that is meaningfully different than what is found in other schools in the area.
August 20, 2019
The Board of Trustees approved amendments made to the Comprehensive Equity Plan for the 2019-2022 school years, and they authorized submission of the plan to the NJDOE with a commitment to its full implementation. Additionally, the Board of Trustees approved the NJDOE-recommended Suspected Gang Activity policy. New hires and the July and August financial reports were approved.
July 9, 2019
Deirdra Grode introduced Michael Falkowski, HCS’s new School Business Administrator, to the Board. He attended the meeting and offered insight on how our operations appear to compare with other charter schools and districts he has worked with based upon an initial review. His diverse experiences will prove very valuable to the school.
Ms. Grode reviewed the process for the annual report submission which the Board had time to review in advance of the meeting. The report will be submitted to the NJDOE this month. It was shared that some of the narratives about mission-aligned work would be interesting to some of our families to read. Deirdra Grode later outlined a future communication plan and included this recommendation.
As per administrative code, the Board reviewed the School Safety and Climate Team’s 2018-2019 Self-Assessment Grade and the accompanying rationale and were notified that the NJDOE has accepted the score for the 2017-2018 school year.
The Board conducted their annual review of school leader and teacher evaluation systems and conducted a first read of the NJDOE-recommended Suspected Gang Activity policy.
The administration spoke about a commitment to increasing the salary scale for its faculty and the Board discussed options to increase revenue. Joanna Weintraub spoke about new partnerships with Saint Peter’s University and Hudson County Community College to increase offerings for our upper school students that provide college credit. Lauren Calmas and Deirdra Grode spoke about a meeting the previous night with the two other Hoboken charter schools’ leadership with the goal of working collaboratively around outreach and advocacy.
Deirdra Grode outlined a communication plan to increase understanding of the mission among all HCS stakeholders.