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Parents » School Leadership Team » SLT Minutes September 2025

SLT Minutes September 2025

SLT Meeting

September 29, 2025

Attendance:

 

Present - Staff

  • Ms. Amaguana - Parent
  • Ms. Allie - DC-37
  • Ms. Barone - Teacher
  • Ms. Cohen, CSA
  • Mr. Daliposki, Principal
  • Ms. Dentrone, CSA
  • Ms. Murphy, CBO Representative

Present - Families

  • Ms. Gonzalez - Parent/PTA President
  • Ms. Khan-Torres - Parent
  • Ms. Lem - Parent
  • Ms. Loftus, Teacher
  • Ms. Morales - Parent
  • Mr. Rosario - Parent/Title I PAC 

Not present:

  • Ms. Arocena - Teacher/UFT Chapter Co-Chair
  • Ms. Bruno, Teacher/UFT Chapter Co-Chair

                                        

  1. Roles
  1. Chairperson - Ms. Loftus
  2. Financial Liaison - Ms. Vicki
  3. Notetaker - Ms. Cohen
  1. Membership
  1. Currently 7 staff members and 6 parents (one available seat)
  2. Election will take place Thursday, October 9th to fill the additional seat (6:30 PM)
  3. Current bylaw says we need more than half of the members in person (4 parents and 4 staff)
  1. Dates for the year - 4:30 PM
    1. October 27th
    2. November 17th
    3. December 15th
    4. January 12th
    5. February 9th
    6. March 16th
    7. April 20th
    8. May 18th
    9. June 15th
  1. Principal’s Report
  1. Title I PAC
  1. On May 23, we reviewed Title I and held Title I PAC Elections for the 2025-2026 school year.  The Title I Parent Advisory Council (PAC) chair is Michael Rosario; and the Parent Advisory Council chair alternate is Damien Ferro. Congratulations to both. 
  1. The Title I set aside is $3,109. We have already met and are in the process of discussing a plan for the 2025-2026 school year. 
  1. Meet the Teacher Night: 
  1. Last night, we hosted our first in-person Meet the Teacher Night since the COVID pandemic. 185 families attended one of the two sessions, which is 41% - a 9% percent increase from previous year, which were virtual. Thank you to all the families that participated, and to all the teachers for making it a good learning experience for the students. 
  1. Opening Day
  1. We had one of the smoothest openings. Thank you to all staff for their support and for parents for having your updated emails on file, which allowed us to send class information to you. Only 45 kicked back to me - we were able to contact most of them. 
  1. Feedback from families for arrival
    1. Permanent laminated signs for morning arrival
    2. Double check backpack tags
    3. Ensure all staff have class rosters ahead of time
    4. Falcon mascot was missed
Dentist
    1. 130 students in K-5 saw the NYC Smile dentist. 
    2. Assemblymember Valdez took a tour of our school yesterday and saw the dentist
Events: 
    1. We are hosting a lot of events in the next month. Please look at our website and calendar for updated events. Some events include the Charter Champion, City Harvest Workshop, The Hort Gardening, and CAPP Mandated workshops for all students and staff. 
    2. September 15th to October 15th is Spanish Heritage Month - Spirit Week will be Oct. 6th
    3. Schools were closed on September 23rd and 24th for Rosh Hashanah. They are closed on  October 2 for Yom Kippur, October 13th for Italian Heritage &  Indigenous Peoples Day; and October 20th for Dawali. To all staff, students, and families celebrating, we send our warmest wishes for a joyful and meaningful holiday.
    4. On Saturday, September 20th, District 24 hosted  a Back to School Bash from 10-1 at IS 61 Schoolyard in Corona. There will be music, activities, and giveaways. 
Safety 
    1. We have conducted 5 evacuation drills out of the 8 mandatory drills by December 31st.
    2. First soft lockdown drill will be held before 10/31/25, and date will be announced
    3. Parents are notified, students and staff are notified, and students receive training about what to do in the event of a soft lockdown
Parent Concerns: 
    1. Crossing Guard - we don’t have control on how many crossing guards we get or their location. However, I’ve reached out to the NYPD - waiting on a response. 
Budget:
    1. Unfortunately, we are down 12 students from our projected numbers. Currently, we are approximately $180,000 in the red, which means we have to return that back. As of now, one staff member has been notified of possible excessing.
Q&A
    1. Where does money to pay back the deficit come from? - Ms. Amaguana
      1. School funded after school clubs, staff positions such as out of classroom staff/school aides. Certain funding sources cannot be touched, and others they will pull away from my budget.
    2. Will this impact students with their classes and their teachers? - Ms. Morales
      1. For now I am avoiding any class changes by reducing costs elsewhere. 
    3. What does it mean if we are over capacity in Kindergarten? - Ms. Morales
      1. Nothing - we are not required to be 100% in compliance with the Class Size Law for another two years. We applied for a grant so we could move towards 100% this year.
  1. UFT Report (Ms. Barone is designee)
      1. Nothing to report
  1. PTA Report
    1. The first general meeting and elections were held last week. One of the members selected for SLT was not eligible as she is a grandmother and not the legal guardian. Ms. Khan-Torres is a new member. Ms. Amaguana and Ms. Lem were elected in the Spring
    2. October 23rd will be Hispanic Heritage month family bachata dance lesson
    3. October 30th - PTA meeting and Charter Champion Celebration
    4. November 17th Picture day - looking for parent volunteers
    5. November 19th - Membership Meeting at 6 PM. Nurse Basma is special guest to present about cold and flu season
  1. Sunnyside Report
    1. 10/20 - Holiday camp on Diwali
    2. 10/23 - Lights on after school
    3. Week of 10/27 - Spooky Spirit Week
    4. Date TBD (November) - Author speaking event from a 12 year old author. Kids will receive free books
    5. Cityharvest cooking workshop - dates forthcoming
    6. Currently 150 students (full capacity) - recently found out that federal funding was reinstated, so they can now hire additional staff to open additional classrooms. Aiming for 10/21 start date for a kindergarten/grade 1 class because they have the longest waiting list. Additional classes will be opened based on need. We are looking for new staff members!
    7. Many of our parent workshops are no longer available - we are looking for new organizations and connections to host additional workshops for families.
  2. Review Bylaws
    1. Update meeting time to 4:30 each month
  3. Review CEP- Goal Setting
    1. We will add all new members to iPlan portal, to give all members access
    2. Next month we will share data on state exams, so we can finalize goals for the year
  4. Review Events
    1. See above
    2. If anyone has a connection for a pumpkin patch for grades K-1, I am looking for a donation of 175 small pumpkins
  5. Open Discussion
    1. Universal screeners are almost complete - we will send data home to families in the next two weeks. Acadience (K-2 only), i-Ready, and MAP growth will be sent home. - Daliposki
    2. Can we implement school uniforms? - Mr. Rosario
      1. We have tried the idea in the past, and I support the idea. - Ms. Morales
      2. My prior school was a uniform school and it took about 3 years to fully implement. I will also give students a shirt for the first year. We can start it this year and implement it next year. The Children’s Lab School implemented it from the creation of the school, which is easier than changing the school culture. An interest form is a good place to start. - Mr. Daliposki
      3. Can we take a survey of families to see what the response is from families? - Ms. Khan-Torres
      4. One way to start small is focus on Kindergarten for next year - Ms. Dentrone
      5. Another way to start small is focus on colors such as blue bottom and white top, not specifically a logo shirt or polo - Ms. Cohen
      6. For the survey, maybe we can focus on K-4 so we can vote for next year - Ms. Gonzalez
    3. Is there a way to schedule our field day at a park? - Mr. Rosario
      1. Yes - the permits have to be done early. Also, we have an indoor option in our gym. - Daliposki
  6. Q&A- Guests
    1. None
  7. Agenda Building
  8. Adjournment
    1. Vicki motions
    2. Loftus seconds