Effective School Councils

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Effective School Councils
School Committees and School Councils Roles and
Responsibilities MASC STATE CONFERENCE November
21, 2009
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WHY DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN SCHOOL COUNCILS?

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TRAVELING BACK IN TIME

• 1993 Education Reform Act
• Changes relationships in school administration.
• Superintendent is C.E.O. while School Committee
  is Overseeing Board
• Attempts to limit role of politics and
  patronage.
• Empowers Parents (in theory)

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School Committee/School Council

• School Committee is
• Municipal/Regional Elected Legislature for
  Schools
• Hires Superintendent Certain Others
• Sets Policy
• Sets and Manages School Budget
• Conducts Collective Bargaining
• Establishes Policy for Electing School Councils

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School Council Key Facts

• Element of Site-Based Management under Education
  Reform
• Designed to Empower Parents
• Advisory Role (which can be powerful)
• School Committee May Delegate Additional
  Responsibilities to Them
• Some are very effective while others are
  ineffective.
• Once the parents get inside, they not only
  stay involved, they refuse to leave!

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Key Question Are parents empowered in your
schools?

• School Councils present one of the most
  potentially effective vehicles for parents and
  faculty to have a voice, to be collaborative, and
  to impact public education in their community.

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WHY SCHOOL COUNCILS ?

• Education Reform Act (1993) Created Them
• Strategy for Empowering Parents
• Strategy for Principals Accountability
• Draw Upon Stakeholders for Collective Wisdom and
  Good Judgment
• Build Community Partnerships
• Strengthen Community Support
• Focus on Student Improvement

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WHAT IS A SCHOOL COUNCIL (Legally)?

• A REPRESENTATIVE, SCHOOL-BASED BODY
• Principal (Co-Chair)
• Parents
• Parity with Professional Personnel
• Teachers
• Community Members
• Student (Required at Secondary Level)

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ROLE OF THE SCHOOL COUNCIL

• Identify the needs of students attending each
  school.
• Review the annual school budget.
• Review and provide input into School Improvement
  Plan
• Plan for Improving Student Performance

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ROLE OF THE PRINCIPAL vis-à-vis SCHOOL COUNCIL

• CO-CHAIR OF COUNCIL
• PROMOTES PARTICIPATORY DECISION MAKING AMONG
  PROFESSIONAL STAFF AND COUNCIL MEMBERS
• REACH OUT TO ESTABLISH
• SCHOOL/COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
• INFORMATION TO ADVANCE POLICY DEVELOPMENT
• STRATEGIES FOR STAFF DEVELOPMENT
• RESOURCES FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
• IDEAS TO PROMOTE INSTRUCTIONAL ENRICHMENT
• MATERIAL AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT

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WHAT COULD BE IN THE SCHOOL PLAN ?

• INVITING PARENT PERSPECTIVES ON ISSUES
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
• STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT STRATEGIES
• ROLE OF PARENTS AND PARENT INVOLVEMENT
• ASSESSMENT AND PLANS TO ADDRESS SCHOOL CLIMATE
• SCHOOL SAFETY
• ELEMENTS OF STRATEGIC PLAN
• DISCIPLINE
• DIVERSE NEEDS OF DIVERSE SCHOOL POPULATION
• Other ___________________________ .

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SPECIAL TASKS FOR THE SCHOOL COUNCIL

• SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN SHOULD INCLUDE
• CHANGES IN SCHOOL PRACTICES, STRUCTURE OR
  SCHEDULE WHICH ENABLE THE SCHOOL TO MEET ITS
  GOALS
• Plan for Improving Student Performance

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SO, WHAT ELSE MIGHT WE FIND A SCHOOL COUNCIL
DOING?

• Studying Curriculum Issues
• Involvement in Strategic Planning
• Search Committee for Teachers/Principal/Assistant
  Principal
• Consulting on Restructuring or Redistricting.
• Addressing areas of Community Concern.
• Resource to the Principal
• Principled Critics and Proponents of Schools.
• Community Advocates

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School Council and Public Policy and Politics

• May a School Council Member run for the School
  Committee?
• Yes this is a constitutional right
• May a School Council take a position on public
  policy questions?
• Yes youre a deliberative body.
• May School Council members endorse candidates?
• Yes in your capacity as an individual.
• May School Council members use their positions to
  speak or write to the media?
• Yes but you should be speaking for yourself and
  not your council.
• May a school council hold a political forum?
• Yes - If you are presenting balanced views and
  not using public resources to influence the
  outcome.

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WHAT DO YOU THINK A SCHOOL COUNCIL MIGHT DO?

• Your thoughts here
• ____Energy Policy_______
• __Social/Emotional Comptency_
• _Volunteer handbook and training_
• _New Parent Handbook____
• _Family Involvement Policies__

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SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN TIMETABLE

• SCHOOL COUNCIL REVIEWS THE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
  PLAN TO IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND PROVIDES
  INPUT
• SUBMITTED TO THE SUPERINTENDENT WHO APPROVES THE
  PLAN
• SUBMITTED TO SCHOOL COMMITTEE FOR REVIEW

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SCHOOL COMMITTEES ROLE FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
PLAN

• REVIEW THE PLAN FOR
• CONSISTENCY WITH DISTRICT PRIORITIES AND
  GOALS
• EFFECTIVENESS OF OVERALL PLAN
• INDICATORS OF SCHOOL LEADER EFFECTIVENESS IN
  EVALUATIONS
• GUIDE TO POLICY MAKING AND BUDGET
• FOCUS ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

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WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE SCHOOL COUNCIL

• Collegiality, Discretion and Open Discussion
• Focus on School Improvement
• Initiative
• Creativity and Energy
• Identifying Important Issues on which to Work
• Good Work Ethic Sharing of Responsibilities
• Follow Through
• Diverse Membership Base
• Public Relations

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THIS IS MASSACHUSETTS SO THERE ARE RULES (and
people who love to enforce them)

• COUNCILS FALL UNDER OPEN MEETING LAW (Key
  Revisions for 7/1/2010.
• MEMBERS MUST RESPECT CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND
  ETHICS STATUTES
• YOU MIGHT (or might not) WANT RULES OF ORDER

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AND, THIS BEING MASSACHUSETTS, WE CANNOT AVOID
THE WORD NO

• SCHOOL COUNCILS DO NOT HAVE AUTHORITY OVER
  MATTERS COVERED BY COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
• Compensation
• Hours
• Conditions of Employment
• Standards of Productivity

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Still

• School Councils might be drawn into the politics
  of contract negotiations.
• School Councils could be a mediating factor in
  trying to reach solutions to age old problems
• Alternative Schools/Readiness Schools
• Alternate compensation strategies

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Some Deep Philosophy About School Reform

• Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel
  (Samuel Johnson)
• Anyone quoting Johnson may not have explored the
  possibilities inherent in the word reform.
  (H.L. Mencken)
• Ah, Reform! A fine theory brutalized by a
  vicious gang of facts. (Henry James)
• Parents need to be involved They should do
  their job at home, caring for the kids, preparing
  them for school, and supporting the teachers.
• (Margaret Spelling, Former Commissioner, US
  DoE)
• Is it any surprise that School Councils remain an
  underutilized strategy across Massachusetts?

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SOME THOUGHTS FOR YOUR NEXT SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING

• THERES REFORM AND THERES REFORM.
• DO SCHOOL COUNCILS WORK FOR YOU AS AN EDUCATION
  REFORM?
• DOES YOUR SCHOOL COUNCIL WORK TO ITS POTENTIAL?
• IF NOT, WHY NOT?
• WHAT CAN WE DO TO REACH THAT POTENTIAL?

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LEADERSHIP


Role Models for Parents ?
Be in the News
Out to Get Someone
Colin Powell served on the Ft. Monmouth School
Board.
Michael Moore was elected to the Flint, Michigan
School Board as a high school senior.
PUBLIC SERVICE
Margaret Hamilton (Meserve) served as a member of
the Beverly Hills, CA School Board from 1948-51.
Visionary
Sen. Patty Murray served on the Shoreline, WA
School Board from 1985-89
Bob Keeshan was Captain Kangaroo and Clarabelle
as well as a member of the Islip, NY School Board.
Thomas P. Tip ONeill, US Speaker of the House
served on the Cambridge School Committee from
1946-47 and was a Founder of MASC
CARING ABOUT KIDS
Ben Bernanke learned how to take the heat as a
member of the Princeton, NJ School Board
SERVING FAMILIES
Calvin Coolidge Chaired the Northampton School
Committee as Mayor and, 8 years later, was Vice
President of the US, and President two years
after that.
Micromanager
Jane Addams served on the Chicago School Board
from 1905-08 and won the Nobel Prize in 1931
Watching the Money