CUES

The purposes for school The purposes for school community councils arecommunity councils are::

To build consistent and effective communication among parents, employees and administrators.

To allow parents an opportunity to be actively involved, with the school, in their children’s education.

To make good schools better.

Council MembershipCouncil Membership

Principal Chairperson and Vice-chairperson Parent/guardian members Faculty/Staff members PTA Officer Other members as needed (non-voting) Counselor (Secondary Schools)

Organizational Organizational IssuesIssues

The size of the council may be determined by each individual school principal as long as it meets the guidelines of the law.

The number of parent/guardian members must exceed the number of faculty/staff members including the principal.

A council member may be elected for up to three consecutive terms.

Size GuidelinesSize Guidelines

A high school will have at least 6 parent/guardian members and at least 5 faculty/staff members.

All other school will have at least 4 parent/guardian members and at least 3 faculty/staff members.

ElectionsElections

Elections may be held in the fall for the current year or in the spring for the following year at the discretion of the principal.

Elections are held at the school.

Parents/guardians of students who will have children at the school during the council year may vote in the election of parent/guardian members.

Chairperson and Chairperson and Vice-chairpersonVice-chairperson

The principal may not serve as the council chairperson

The council will elect a council chairperson from either the parent/guardian group or the faculty/staff group.

The council will elect a council vice-chairperson from the group not represented by the chairperson

Major Roles of the Major Roles of the CouncilCouncil

Participate in the development of an ongoing school improvement plan.

Participate in the development of a Trust Lands proposal and budget.

Participate in the development of a school level professional development plan.

Advise the school administration on local school issues.

Serve as the school curriculum review committee.

Serve as the building needs committee.

Provide an opportunity for issues of concern in the community to be presented to the school administration.

Review and act upon all applications for the formation of the student clubs

Review school U-PASS data

At Elementary At Elementary SchoolsSchools

Develop a child access routing plan.

Develop a reading achievement plan

AT SECONDARY AT SECONDARY SCHOOLSSCHOOLS

Review and approve local school rewards and consequences related to school attendance and serve as an attendance appeals committee.

Serve as the comprehensive guidance advisory committee.

Participate in the school accreditation process.

Review and approve admission charges for school events.

Review and forward to the district any proposals for new courses to be offered.

The Role of the PrincipalThe Role of the Principal Ensures that elections are held as

required by law.

Ensures that all reports and plans are submitted as required.

Provides access to school information and budget data that relate to the School Improvement, Staff

Development and Trust Lands plans. Makes U-PASS data available to the council.

Works with the chairperson in planning meetings and activities.

The Role of the The Role of the ChairpersonChairperson

Works with the principal in creating meeting agendas

Presides over all meetings

Ensures that meeting are held on schedule

Encourages the attendance and cooperative work of all members

Makes assignments and does follow-up

The Role of theThe Role of theVice-chairpersonVice-chairperson

Responsibilities of EachResponsibilities of EachMemberMember

Make a conscientious effort to attend all meetings

Act in good faith for the benefit of the students and the school

Participate in the development of all required plans

Be a positive, contributing member of the council

Participate in other duties as assigned

School ImprovementSchool ImprovementIssuesIssues

Improvement plans should be based on needs.

The school improvement plan includes the Trust Land Plan.

The Trust Lands Plan must focus on a specific academic need.

In high schools and junior highs, the improvement plan is part of the accreditation process.

And also:And also:

School improvement should be sustainable.

School improvement plans should support the District Strategic Plan.

The school professional development plan should support and complement the district professional development plan.

Councils should review all available data as part of the plan development process.

What about open What about open meetings laws?meetings laws?

Publish 24 hours before any meeting that decides anything.

Post 24 hours before at the anchor location.

Who is eligible to Who is eligible to serve?serve?

A parent/guardian who will have a student at the school any time during the parent/guardian’s initial term of office may become a candidate for election.

A parent/guardian who is also a school employee may not be a parent/guardian member but may be a faculty/staff member.

Any school employee may become a candidate for one of the faculty/staff positions.

What about unfilled What about unfilled positions?positions?

If a parent/guardian position is unfilled after elections, the parent/guardian committee members will select a parent/guardian to fill the position.

If a faculty/staff position is unfilled after elections, the faculty/staff committee members will select a faculty/staff person to fill the position.

What if a PTA officer or school What if a PTA officer or school counselor didn’t get elected?counselor didn’t get elected?

If a PTA officer is not elected to the council, one will be selected by the parent/guardian members of the council.

If a school counselor is not elected to a secondary school council, one will be selected by the faculty/staff members of the council.

Can the council appoint other Can the council appoint other people to work on sub-people to work on sub-

committees?committees?

Yes, non-elected persons may be appointed to sub-committees or task forces to accomplish specific assignments.

The work of those groups should be overseen by the elected council members.

The School Community Council replaces The School Community Council replaces all of the following:all of the following:

The Building Needs Committee

The Comprehensive Guidance Advisory Committee

Attendance Appeals Committee

Trustlands Committee

Site-based Planning Team

School Advisory Council

Curriculum Review Committee