Leadership Preparatory Bedford Stuyvesant Charter School

“The school utilizes uncommon schools, inc., an unrelated 501(c)(3) organization, to provide management and other administrative support services to the school. The school delegates hiring of certain employees, planning and executing budgets, and other financial operations to uncommon schools, inc. Michael blake, managing director; john powell, cfo; mary ann vilanueva, chief external officer; julie jackson, co-ceo; and paul bambrick-santoyo and juliana worrell, chief schools officers; are employees of uncommon schools, inc. The charter school pays uncommon schools inc. Management fees for the services provided including the services of these officers. The fees paid during the year ending june 30, 2024 were $21,353,130.”

“Included in the memorandum of understanding between the school and the management company, the management company is allowed to have one representative on the board of trustees.”

“The form 990 is reviewed by the senior director of finance, director of accounting, controller, and cfo of uncommon schools, inc. Then provided to the board, reviewed for accuracy and filed upon approval.”

“Board members are required to evaluate and disclose conflicts of interests on an annual basis.”

“Through the annual budget approval process, individual key employees and officer salaries are set by uncommon schools which employs comparable data from the other schools within the uncommon schools network as well as, to the extent possible, other local public school district salary data. The board approves the annual school budget within which these salaries are incorporated, but does not involve itself in any individual salary determinations.”

“Governing documents and conflicts of interest policy are available upon request.”

“Uncommon schools new york city prepares our students to enter, succeed in, and graduate from college. Our organization comprises 23 high-performing public schools located in brooklyn neighborhoods, including bedford stuyvesant, brownsville, crown heights, east flatbush, canarsie, and east new york. This year, we are providing a k-12 pathway for 7,000+ students aged 5-18 across nine elementary, ten middle and four high schools. We are also providing regular touchpoints, access to resources, and career guidance to 1,500+ alumni aged 18-24 who are pursuing college degrees and post-secondary success. Our students and families are primarily people from low-income backgrounds who live in historically underserved areas of brooklyn. More than eight in ten students are eligible for free- or reduced-price lunch, 91% are black, 16% identify as hispanic, and 13% have special needs. Uncommon nyc is managed by uncommon schools, inc. (usi) a charter management organization (cmo) that operates 52 high-performing public schools across new york, new jersey, and massachusetts. In order to achieve our mission, uncommon nyc is committed to our core educational model, with each school exhibiting: 1) a college-preparatory mission; 2) a longer school day and year; 3) high standards for academics and character; 4) an academically-focused learning environment; 5) a focus on accountability and data-driven instruction; and 6) a faculty of committed and talented leaders and teachers. Year after year, we have consistently proven that, by relentlessly innovating how our schools implement these attributes no matter what challenges might arise our students can continue to defy the odds and leap over achievement and college-readiness bars. The uncommon nyc class of '24 had a 96% on-time graduation rate, outpacing the 83.7% rate of the new york city district schools by 13 percentage points. Rates in communities where many of our students live were markedly lower: traditional public schools in doe's district 16, which includes bedford-stuyvesant, had a 73% rate, while district 23, with brownsville was at 64%. 96% of the uncommon nyc class of '24 took at least one ap exam in high school, compared to 35% for the national class of '23, the most recent data available. 45% of the uncommon nyc class passed at least one exam compared to only 22% nationally. 95% of the nyc class our largest to date received acceptance to college, and 91% expressed the intent to matriculate, with 85% of the nyc class planning to start 4-year colleges. We work hard to make sure admissions translate into enrollment and reach out to our newest graduates in the summer to help them navigate college life. Further, among new brooklyn graduates intending to start college this fall, 48% are heading to colleges that are the very, highly or the most selective. We've set four sy23-24 priorities for uncommon nyc: 1) dramatically accelerate student learning and continue enhancing instruction to provide inspiring, rigorous learning in every grade; 2) expand our college access and alumni impact initiatives to ensure our students are on the path to degree completion and career pathways of their choice; 3) develop systems to support our continued growth in nyc; and 4) attract and retain talent in one of the most difficult markets education has ever faced. We believe these efforts will help us provide the high-quality education our 7,000+ scholars need and deserve.”

“The board has not changed its process for selecting the independent auditor nor have they changed the oversight of the audit from prior years.”