Top 10 things a school council needs to know

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Top 10 things a school council needs to know
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• 1. Councils have a historyand a clear purpose

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Evolution of councils

• 1995 recommended by Royal Commission on
  Learning
• 1995/96 community consultation
• Sept 1996 schools required to have elected
  council
• 1997 review showed effectiveness of councils
• 2000 new regulations
• 2003 Peel board survey of councils, showed
  need for more support and training for councils

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Council expectations

• School councils are expected to
• advise the principal, and where appropriate, the
  board
• place student interests first
• support the board's school success planning
  goals
• encourage parent and community involvement
• promote positive attitudes towards public
  education

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• 2. No one ever seems to actually get elected to
  the elected position of school council member

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The election quiz

• How many of you
• had a hard-fought battle for council supremacy
  filled with political intrigue and active
  campaigning fuelled by a desperate desire to be
  out one more night a month?

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The election quiz

• How many of you
• were at the right place, wrong time
• had a weak moment
• said "yes" without knowing what you agreed to
• found that you couldn't back out
• a willing parent

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• The reality

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• 3. There is a way to make sure you don't always
  have same 7 people on your school council

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Encourage parents to run for election to council

• form Election Planning Committee
• mentor existing council members
• recruit parent leaders and active volunteers
• seek out parents who represent diverse
  communities
• ask teachers about parents who might be
  interested

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Encourage parents to run for election to council

• Nomination Week
• school newsletter
• send home nomination forms
• bulletin boards
• school website
• email message out to parents
• ask students to talk to their parents

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• 4. Some people are actually not welcome on the
  school council

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Not allowed as members

• trustee
• MPP
• cannot be parent member if employed at the
  school, can be staff rep

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Council membership

• parents majority
• 1 student (secondary mandatory, elementary
  optional)
• principal (VP may attend in principal's place)
• 1 teacher
• 1 non-teaching staff rep
• 1 or more community reps
• 1 rep from Home and School Association

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Council membership

• must have minimum of 9 members (or 11 if there
  is a student rep)
• if vacancies, must continue to try to fill
• may create by-law to allow more than minimum
  number of members
• if no by-law, must have an election if more
  nominations than the minimum

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Council membership

• parents must be majority
• principal or VP cannot vote
• chair or co-chairs must be parent(s)

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Who is a parent?

• has child currently enrolled in the school
• if school board employee, must disclose employer
  prior to election
• school board employees are not allowed to be
  chair or co-chair

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• 5. A council is not a private club

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Open door policy

• all council meetings are open to the public
• all meetings of council sub-committees are open
  to the public
• every meeting must have question period
• agendas and minutes of all meetings must be
  available to all parents

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• 6. There is no proven link between more meetings
  and effectiveness

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Meeting must-haves

• must have at least four meetings a year
• first meeting must be within 35 school days of
  the school year
• principal must notify parents of date, time,
  place of all school council and committee
  meetings
• councils may have committees each committee
  must have parent rep

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• 7. Sad but true, there's no law requiring your
  advice to be taken

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School council mandate

• act as an advisory body providing ideas and
  suggestions to assist the principal, trustee and
  superintendent in making decisions on educational
  issues
• school calendar
• code of behaviour/dress code
• program priorities and curriculum delivery
• budget priorities
• extracurricular activities
• fundraising
• school success planning
• Board policies and guidelines

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School council mandate

• facilitate two-way communication between the
  school and parents/community
• promote the best interests of the school

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• 8. The school council is not the place for
  private grudges, pet peeves or personal
  preferences

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Duties responsibilities

• legally required to operate with Education Act
  and Peel board policies
• adhere to the code of ethics
• maintain school-wide perspective
• act in best interest of the school and all
  students
• foster good relationships

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• 9. You have enormous power over the reputation of
  your school

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Hierarchy of effective communication
1. One-to-one, face-to-face 2. Small group
discussion/meeting 3. Speaking before a large
group 4. Phone conversation 5. Handwritten,
personal note 6. Typewritten, personal letter not
generated by computer 7. Computer generated or
word-processing-generated personal letter 8.
Mass-produced, non-personal letter 9. Brochure or
pamphlet sent out as a direct mail piece 10.
Article in organizational newsletter, magazine,
tabloid 11. News carried in popular press 12.
Advertising in newspapers, radio, TV, magazines,
posters 13. Other less effective forms of
communication (billboards, skywriters, etc.)
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• 10. You can make a real difference in supporting
  student success

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Parent Involvement Survey

• parents typically consider themselves to be
  involved
• most common involvement daily follow-up
• parents feel they're most engaged in parenting,
  assisting student learning and communication with
  the school
• although principals make communication a
  priority, some parents feel they do not receive
  enough info., especially newcomers

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Parent Involvement Survey

• although principals make communication a
  priority, some parents feel they do not receive
  enough info., especially newcomers
• parents feel well-connected in the early grades
• most common involvement daily follow-up
• overall, findings point to a fundamental
  difference between educational approach in
  Ontario and in most countries of origin
• inquiry based approach leads to frustration

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Parent Voice in Education Survey of parents
who are actively involved in their childs
school of parents who would be involved, if
they were asked
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Parent Voice in Education survey of parents
who are actively involved in their childs
school 11 of parents who would be involved,
if they were asked 50
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• What are the top barriers to parent involvement?

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Barriers to involvement

• busy life/working
• communication gaps/confusion about how to be
  involved
• language
• lack of curriculum information
• involvement discouraged by older children
• lack of subject knowledge/confidence
• transportation
• selective involvement and others

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Here's what they said

• "I think life just gets in the way."
• "As a new immigrant, it's hard to be
  involvedbecause we are so busy doing survival
  jobs to support our family."
• "My son is 16--he won't tell me anything. I have
  to work at finding out the information because
  he's 16."
• "Since there is a language barrier, I cannot
  effectively help my child academically."

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• Questions?

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