Shirley Brady
June 14, 2021
BEACON PTA MEETING MINUTES – JUNE 2021
Beacon PTA Monthly General Meeting – Minutes
June 14, 2021 (6PM, Zoom)
AGENDA
- WELCOME – Shirley Brady, Robin Broshi, Nancy Molesworth (PTA Co-Presidents)
- PRINCIPAL REPORT – Brady Smith
6/18 – workshops will be held for students from 9-12 to celebrate Juneteenth and PRIDE. Students should sign up for sessions.
6/15-16 – open houses for incoming 9th graders. Only students will be allowed inside. Parents can wait outside and meet members of the PTA.
6/22 – Graduation will be held in the Brooklyn Cyclone Stadium (now called Maimonides Park).
6/25 – Virtual Graduation Ceremony
Enrichment programs over the summer with Beacon teachers and outside partners. A directory has been emailed to parents and students of the offerings.
NX Resolution – students will have until the fall to resolve, with support available this summer.
Grades can be converted to a “CR” as was done with fall grades
Zoom bombing incident: leads have been developed and are moving forward. No evidence it was Beacon students.
Professional Development plans for next year are underway. Much is being driven by DEI. The teachers will return to meeting for 80 minutes every Monday.
The NYC school survey deadline has been extended until June 18. We haven’t yet reached the response threshold they are hoping for. - ELECTION – PTA Executive Board (2021-22)
Following parents are running as a slate:
President: Shirley Brady, Robin Broshi, Nancy Molesworth
Recording Secretary: Anju Gupta
Treasurer: Spencer Green
Asst. Treasurer: Katherine Bruck, Andrew Flamm
VP, General: Carole Fennell, Robin Krugman, Kim Youngberg
VP, Fundraising: Karen Jolicoeur, Alison Overholser
VP, Communications: Irene Baigorri, Justine Keil [note: Irene later withdrew]
VP, Community Building: Karen Stonely, Natasha Zaretsky
VP, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Gary Anthony Ramsay, Windell Williams
VP, Merchandise: Julie Harding, Diana Mahiques
VP, Auction: —
VP, Hospitality: Jennifer Weisbord
• Voting will be Yes/No for the entire slate.
• All Beacon parents/guardians, teachers and staff are eligible to vote.
Motion to make a slate was passed.
Motion to approve the slate was approved by a vote. - ELECTION – School Leadership Team (2021-22)
- NAMES WITH ASTERISKS WERE ELECTED
The parents running for 5 SLT parent reps will each receive 90 seconds to
introduce themselves (or have a statement read on their behalf):
Rose Arce *
Gustavo Azenha
Harriette Cole
Carole Fennell *
David Gould
Suzanne Klein – statement read
Olivia Poor *
Shakira Provasoli
Sarah Sidi *
Windell Williams *
• Note: Only Beacon parents/guardians are eligible to vote. Voters can select
up to 5 candidates for SLT. Eligibility of voters will be verified by Beacon
parent coordinator Erdene Greene. Tabulation of votes by Zoom poll will take
place by parent volunteer Christine Hegel while the meeting continues, with
a report at the end. - APPROVAL OF MINUTES – Anju Gupta & Katherine Bruck
• May 12, 2021 PTA meeting minutes presented for approval (click here)
Minutes were entered and approved (Motion: N. Molesworth; Second: W. Williams) - COMMITTEE REPORTS
• Treasurers (Spencer Green & Andrew Flamm)
Raised $262k this year vs. $250k budgeted
Expenses: $250-260k vs. $300k budget
Funding Requests – ALL WERE APPROVED
$2,000 for a graduation video (40 hours at $50/hour edited by a former Beacon student)
$3,300 for t-shirts & phone pocket for Summer Bridge program
$3,000 for new merchandise for September/fall
• Fundraising (Karen Jolicoeur & Alison Overholser)
Raffle – moving to the beginning of next school year
NY Yankees event (no upfront ticket purchase required)
Fun Run – Beacon will once again participate; October 24
• Auction (Diana Mahiques)
$20k raised
Second chance auction now running through 6/19
• Diversity Equity & Inclusion (Gary Ramsay & Windell Williams)
Parent survey now and again in the fall to see about DEI expectations
Working on the mission statement to include DEI initiatives
Successful year of programming (Content & Community Subcommittee) & progress by other committees
Focused on two cultures coming together in Sept with 2 grades of students having not been in the building before.
Updating the parent and student handbook
Updating marketing materials to reach communities of people of color.
• Community Building/Relations (Karen Stonely)
Neighborhood reps had a successful year: 6/11 meet-up saw 30-35 parents met in Central Park, including some incoming 9th grade parents. Another parent meet-up is being planned for summer.
Grade reps: Parent activities & student meetups across grades were successful this year.
Special Ed community: final monthly meeting will be on 6/17. All are welcome to attend.
• Communications (Justine Keil & Kathy Morgenstern) – no report
• Merchandising (Tali Mermelstein & Jeff Rosenblum) – no report
• Hospitality (Elle Melaver & Kate Williams) – no report - SLT UPDATE (Robin Broshi & Windell Williams)
At the SLT’s June meeting, the following issues were discussed:
Finalizing the Comprehensive Education Plan sections to submit the goals
Summer Bridge program
Re-entry for students in the fall - OTHER BUSINESS
—6/15-16 Open Houses: 25 parent volunteers over 2 nights will greet incoming 9th grade families at Pier 84 while students attend 30-minute in-building info sessions. Parents will wear Beacon swag/name tag; welcome email from PTA to incoming 9th grade parents will be sent.
—6/16 Beacon Sports end-of-year celebration (3pm, Central Park)
—6/17 Special Education Parents meeting (5pm; Zoom)
—6/23 PTA panel for families on conscious reintegration (7:30, Zoom)
—Naeem family update & support (Karen Stonely)
Email beaconhelpingbeacon@gmail.com to help support this family after their tragedy
—Other upcoming events can be viewed here. - SLT ELECTION RESULTS
Results of Zoom poll vote announced by Christine Hegel (parent volunteer). - MEETING ADJOURNED
Upcoming events
6/16 Last day of class instruction before PBA Week
6/16 College Office: Sophomore parents coffee talk
6/17-24 PBA Week
6/17 Special Education Parents Town Hall (6pm)
6/18 Morning: Juneteenth & Pride programming (in-school; virtual panels & events)
6/18 Afternoon: SGA organizing student activities
6/18 DOE School Survey deadline (extended from 6/11)
6/22 Class of 2021 Graduation (9:30am, Maimonides Park, formerly Brooklyn Cyclones Park)
6/22 College Office: Junior parents coffee talk
6/23 Parent panel on conscious reintegration (7:30pm)
6/25 Virtual graduation ceremony & last day of school!
7/6-8/13 Summer Rising enrichment program
8/30-31 Summer Bridge for incoming 9th graders
9/1-2 Summer Bridge for rising 10th graders
9/6 Labor Day
9/13 First day of 2021-22 school year
9/16 No school (Yom Kippur)
9/17 11th and 12th Grade Students orientation (in-school)
Questions? Contact beaconpta@beaconschool.org
