Board of Education Goals 2024-2025

“Inspiring A Standard of Excellence For All Students”

Finance

Collaborates with the Superintendent on a long and short term financial plan that sustainably supports the District's Strategic Plan pillars.

Outcomes

• Optimized student growth and achievement outcomes

• Focused resources to support robust academic achievement and personal growth

• Timely budget presentations

• Enrollment information and needs identified

• Staffing information and needs identified

• State Aid information received

• Facility needs for 2025-26 identified

• Board development attended

• Long term financial plan in place

Community Engagement

Build community connections.

Outcomes

• Review implementation of recommendations of communications audit

• Calendar of opportunities for the Board to engage with the community

• Updated policy on Board involvement on social media

• Board development attended

• QR code to contact the Board

• Regular newsletters

• An environment where community members feel that they are listened to and heard

Facilities

Develop and implement a plan of action that results in a facilities bond.

• Utilize a decision analysis process to determine

  • Needs

  • Priorities

  • Scope 

• Create and implement a communications action plan for the facilities bond vote

• Referendum vote

• Board development

Audit/Finance

Focus: To oversee and report to the Board on the annual independent audit of the District’s records. The committee shall recommend the selection of the independent and internal auditors and continue on through the review of significant internal and external audit findings.  

Board of Education Members: Will Treves (Chair), Jackie De Angelis, Sid Burke

Administrator/Staff Representatives: Jim Hricay, Assistant Superintendent for Business, Dr. Cheryl H. Champ, Superintendent of Schools

Community Members: TBD

Personal Growth & Achievement (Curriculum)

Focus: Explore, study and implement the action steps of this goal area in the District’s Strategic Plan. Specifically, the committee will be looking at ways to advance relevant and authentic experiences for all students, and exploring how the District’s use of time and space can better support these efforts.

Board of Education Members: Jackie De Angelis (Chair), Kathryn Cohen, Annemarie Garcia

Administrator/Staff Representatives: Claire Comerford, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning, Traci Holtz, Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services, Dr. Tom Callahan, Director of Math & Science, Suzanne Short, Director of Humanities, John Sebalos, Director of Technology

Community Members: TBD

Advocacy and Community Engagement

Focus: Evaluate and improve two-way communication with the community and advocate for the educational interests of our students and Public Education at both the state and local levels.

Board of Education Members: Natalie Marrero (Chair), Kathryn Cohen, Darra Gordon

Administrator/Staff Representatives: Dr. Cheryl H. Champ, Superintendent of Schools, Alex Wolff, Public Information Officer

Community Members: TBD

School Culture & Belonging

Focus: This committee will review  and provide feedback on the district’s progress on the strategic plan as they relate to a sense of belonging and implementation of the district's DEI policy. School culture Coaches will serve on this committee as liaisons to the schools.

Board of Education Members: Natalie Marrero, Darra Gordon

Administrator/Staff Representatives: Claire Comerford, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning (Chair), Dr. Cheryl H. Champ, Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Trisha Nugent Fitzgerald, Executive Director for Human Resources & Leadership

Community Members: TBD

Facilities & Sustainable Learning Environments

Focus: The Facilities Committee will oversee both short and long term facilities planning and maintenance and will assist in oversight of completion of the 2018 Capital Projects. This committee will make recommendations to the Board as needed.

Board of Education Members: Natalie Marrero (Chair), Sid Burke, Jackie DeAngelis

Administrator/Staff Representatives: Dr. Cheryl H. Champ, Superintendent of Schools, Jim Hricay, Assistant Superintendent for Business, John Condon, Director of Facilities 

Community Members: TBD

Policy and Governance Monitoring

Focus: Update, review and recommend required and identified optional policies and regulations on an on-going basis utilizing resources from the Erie 1  BOCES service and advice of counsel

Board of Education Members: Sid Burke (Chair), Annemarie Garcia, Jackie DeAngelis

Administrator/Staff Representatives: Dr. Cheryl H. Champ, Superintendent of Schools, Jim Hricay, Assistant Superintendent for Business, Dr. Trisha Nugent Fitzgerald, Executive Director for HR & Leadership, Traci Holtz, Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services, Claire Comerford, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning 

Safety

Focus: Assess and improve the security of our buildings and ensure that our students and staff are safe in and around the school facilities

Board of Education Members: Will Treves (Chair), Jackie De Angelis, Darra Gordon

Administrator/Staff Representatives: Dr. Cheryl H. Champ, Superintendent of Schools, Jim Hricay, Assistant Superintendent for Business, Traci Holtz, Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services, John Condon, Director of Facilities, Dr. Trisha Nugent Fitzgerald, Executive Director of Human Resources & Leadership

Community Members: TBD

Wellness

Focus: Works as an oversight committee to maintain and/ or implement new programs and strategies through a perspective of best practices for the social and emotional wellness of our students K-12. This committee will be looking at ways to advance the district’s efforts to support the whole child.

Board of Education Members: Annemarie Garcia (Chair), Natalie Marrero, Kathryn Cohen

Administrator/Staff Representatives: Traci Holtz, Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel Services (Chair), Jim Hricay, Assistant Superintendent for Business

Community Members: TBD

Board of Education School Liaisons

PMHS

Kathryn Cohen

Middle School

Jackie DeAngelis

Colonial

Natalie Marrero

Hutchinson

Annemarie Garcia

Prospect Hill

Side Burke

Siwanoy

Will Treves

SEPTA

Darra Gordon

Southern Westchester BOCES

Jackie De Angelis

Pelham Education Foundation

Natalie Marrero

Board Governance and Meetings

 

The Board will employ systems-based thinking to optimize student achievement and community engagement with a focus on strategic direction, policy making, stewardship, oversight, and community leadership. 

Board Governance

The Board will publish an annual document describing its governance, meeting and communication practices.

The Board will publish an annual document describing its goals for the District.

The Board will set clear goals for itself and the Superintendent, and the Board and Superintendent will set clear goals for the Pelham Public Schools.  

The Board will review its behavior by yearly self-evaluation and by addressing itself to any individual problems such as poor meeting attendance or breaches in confidentiality.  

The evaluation instrument to be used by the Board to evaluate the Superintendent shall be mutually agreed upon. 

Communication with Superintendent of Schools  

The Board President is the primary contact between the Board and the Superintendent of Schools. The Superintendent shall maintain regular communication with the Board President on matters of importance.   

The Superintendent will maintain regular communication with all members of the Board on matters related to the District. The Superintendent will provide the Board with a detailed update on items of importance via the Weekly Update. Board members will be responsible for reading the update and contacting the Superintendent with any questions.  

The Superintendent will use email as a tool to provide information to the full Board of Education.

The Superintendent will immediately inform the Board of major issues pertaining to student matters (medical emergencies, arrests, significant altercations, etc.). This may be done by email, text, or phone.  

Any Board Member may contact the Superintendent  regarding issues or questions.  Emails regarding Board business should be copied to the Board President. Replies from the Superintendent should also include a copy to the Board President.  

Communication among Board Members  

Communication should flow from the Board President to Members and vice versa.

All pertinent issues brought to individual Board members from community members should be raised with the Board President, including forwarding relevant emails.  

The Board President will be responsible for communicating and sharing information to the full Board.  

Board members will refrain from detailed group discussion about any Board business or decision making via email.  

Communication with Central Administration  

All Assistant Superintendents will provide a brief update on their work, especially as it relates to District Goals, that will be sent to the Board in the weekly packet prior to Board meetings with all corresponding supporting materials. All issues should be referenced and explained so that the issue could be put into its proper context relative to the District Goals. 

Central Office administrators will have a responsibility to include all supporting information from District Committee meetings to the full Board (e.g. agendas, minutes, presentations, etc.)

All items for Board action will be presented to the Board the week prior to the meeting whenever  practicable. 

Board members may call or email an Assistant Superintendent to ask clarifying questions.  Board members will use their judgment when contacting Central Office Administrators. The  Superintendent and Board President should be notified when such calls are placed or copied when inquiries are made via email.  

Questions regarding process or more substantial issues (i.e. beyond clarifying question) should be brought to the Superintendent with a copy to the Board President for follow-up.  

All communication with Principals and other Building Level Administrators will go through the  Superintendent. 

Board Meetings

Board members should make an effort to pose clarifying questions that they have to any of the Central Office Administrators in advance of the Board meeting: 

• When such questions are posed via email, Board members should copy the Superintendent and President. 

• When posed verbally, the Superintendent and President should be notified. 

Board Members should communicate questions to the Superintendent or President prior to agenda setting meetings to facilitate timely responses from Administration. Board members may also use the shared Google Doc to pose clarifying meeting questions prior to Agenda Setting meetings.

Board members may access the District Clerk as a resource to obtain information regarding Board meetings. 

The Superintendent and Board President will speak on a regular basis to plan Board meeting agendas and items for discussion with the full Board of Education. 

Agenda Setting meetings will be held with the Superintendent, President, Vice President, and an  additional Trustee on a rotating basis prior to all meetings for the purpose of clarifying questions and information as needed so that efficient discussion and decision-making can occur at the meeting. Board members may suggest agenda items via the President prior to agenda setting. 

The Board President will decide how consent agenda items will be taken at the meeting in advance.  

The Board President will manage Public Comment at meetings.