The Feb. 25 meeting of the Intercultural Charter School Board was brief. The meeting began without a quorum, but later achieved one when member Kathy Carlin arrived late due to severe inclement weather.
Board chair Cam-Thanh Tran said that on Wednesday, Feb. 27, principal Pamela Randal and board chair Cam-Thanh Tran will meet with officials with the principal and chief financial officer of Einstein Charter, which will take over Intercultural Charter next school year.
The meeting should be welcome news for Intercultural staff, who had many unanswered questions regarding the transition at last month’s board meeting.
Tran led a discussion about a board and staff gathering to commemorate the closure of the school. She said that she saw this event as a positive look back on the good work accomplished at the school.
“I still think we have a lot to celebrate,” she said. She agreed with board members’ objections that “celebration” was the wrong word to put on invitations.
Members discussed the issue, and decided to hold an event at 5 p.m. on a Friday.
Slager suggested having an open house meeting during which former and outgoing staff could show their families where they worked, and different parts of the campus. Tran then suggested that memorial artwork could be made in different classrooms, commemorating memories had there.
Members suggested forming a committee with staff members to plan the event. Member Tap Bui volunteered to participate.
The board also discussed what options they have to help outgoing staff members find placement in new schools.
Tran said that officials at Einstein Charter told her the staff was welcome to reapply to teach at the school next year, meaning that there are no guarantees for Intercultural’s current staff.
Slager said that 50 percent of Intercultural teachers are new this year, and have only been there six months. “I don’t know how many of these people already have positions,” he said.
“In terms of that,” said Tran, “RSD is not offering any kind of support.”
The meeting began at 6:10 p.m., and ended at 6:43 p.m.
Present were chair Cam-Thanh Tran, Treasurer Francis Cascio, as well as members Vong Nguyen, Tap Bui, and Kathy Carlin, as well as a Lens reporter. Absent were Al Alcazar, Ed Blouin, and Jerome Jordan.