Open House Nursery School

Meeting of Board of Directors

March 20, 2012

 

MINUTES

 

 

Present:

 

Eileen Shannon, Executive Director

Amy Herrick, Assistant Director

Samara Daly, President

Jennifer Minetree, Vice-President

Jillian Berman, Secretary

Andrew Hayes

Nina Parmee

Teri Kinney

Nicole Callihan

Sheri Kirshenbaum

Khurshid Abdul-Mutakahbir

Amanda Field

Dionne Burnett

Andrea Hilton

 

     I.         Welcome

 

  • Minutes from February 7, 2012 Board Meeting were approved, as were revised minutes from December 13, 2011 meeting.

 

    II.         Committee Reports

 

  • Fundraising (Sheri Kirshenbaum and Nicole Callihan)

 

  • Planning for Spring Fling is under way.  Nyeasha and Kate sent out letters to local vendors; neighborhood has been divided into 6 areas and 6 volunteers will canvas those areas asking for donations; parent donations have begun.
  • Email will be sent inviting parents to a planning meeting; there is a sign-up sheet by the front desk for volunteers.
  • Eileen will order decorations and food for the Spring Fling; Jennifer will come up with arts & crafts activity for the kids; Nina will speak to Sharon, the local face painter, about painting faces at the Spring Fling.
  • Other ideas for the Spring Fling include: (1) sandbox with hidden treasures on the roof; (2) kiddie pool filled with bubbles; (3) sandbag toss.

 

 

  • Marketing (Amy Herrick)
    • Spring vacation camp and summer camp brochures are out.  Summer camp has been filling up quickly.  Thank you to Jennifer and Paul for their hard work on the brochures!

 

  • Parent Life (Nina Parmee)
    • Parent Night Out at the Jake Walk was a success.  We earned $2,168 in profit, which is a little more than last year.  (Ticket sales were more but we paid 3% to NY Charities for online purchases; $12 of each ticket went to Jake Walk to help defray cost).
    • Next year we should consider doing a Fall and Spring Parent Night Out, at two different venues. Strong Place (owned by Open House family) would be a good venue. 
    • Saturday Morning Movie in March: approximately 20 kids came, so it was smaller than the February one.  The event turned a profit of $144, after paying for pizza and teachers (Jule and Veronica, each of whom was paid $80).  It was very helpful to have teachers there.  Next year, we will consider doing more of these in the Fall/Winter (for example, Nov, Dec, Jan and Feb), as these seem to get higher enrollment.  Similar Saturday morning event ideas include: gift-making session; ornament-making party.  It has been a challenge, however, for Nina to secure parent volunteers.

 

  • Finance Committee (Amy Herrick)
    • Emmanuel (who could not attend meeting) prepared report comparing Ordinary Income/Expenses for this school year and last school year.  This year, tuition and fees are up but so are expenses.  Generally speaking, our financial situation should be fine this year, but not as good as last year.  Last year, the school made $203,349, and this year, we are projecting $99,722.
    • We have approximately $700,000 in savings, and our goal is to grow this to $1 million.
    • Financial aid: we had budgeted $80,000 and so far, only about ½ of this has been spent.

 

  1. III.         Executive Director Report (Eileen Shannon)

 

  • Enrollment/Admissions: enrollment is complete with the exception of the Pond PM.  Overall, about 50% of the applicants were accepted.  The UPK classes are not yet settled but this will not happen until public schools announce pre-kindergarten admissions in June.
  • UPK certification: the RFP (“Request For Proposal”) has been submitted.  Open House was asked to add another UPK class but we do not have the space. 
  • BBC: BBC news station came to Open House, which hosted the interview of the head of the UPK curriculum for the city. Eileen was interviewed.
  • Workshops at Open House: Eileen recently hosted a workshop at Open House with an NYU Professor, which was open to Open House families as well as members of the community.  We are receptive to other events such as this.
  • Mice: There have been numerous mice-sightings at the school recently.  An exterminator has been coming in and working to address the problem, including patching holes and using non-toxic, childproof methods to eliminate the mice.
  • Open House Website: new website is scheduled to launch the week of Spring Break (week of April 9th).  Releases have been distributed to parents relating to photographs of the children. 

 

  IV.         New Business (Samara Daly)

  • Next board meeting is May 15, 2012, at 6:30.  We will discuss, among other things, board membership for the 2012/2013 school year.