Okaloosa County School District Florida School Advisory Council: The Nuts and Bolts 2016-17 Welcome to the Okaloosa School District School Advisory Council Training. As you prepare to participate in this activity, please make sure you have your training packet handy for easy reference. 1

Your OCSD SAC Contacts: District Point of Contact: Denise McLaughlin 833-3385 denise.mclaughlin@mail.okaloosa.k12.fl.us SAC Process Manager: Linda Pinkert 833-4208 pinkertl@mail.okaloosa.k12.fl.us Thank you for serving on your school’s advisory council. The decisions you help make for your school will certainly benefit the students and positively affect their academic achievement. Denise McLaughlin is the district-level School Advisory Council contact. As the year progresses, should you have any SAC questions or concerns you or the other members of your council can not answer, feel free to contact her at 833-3385 or via email. Again, welcome to the School Advisory Council team. Let’s get started. 2

OCSD Vision and Mission Vision Statement: We inspire a lifelong passion for learning.   Mission: We prepare all students to achieve excellence by providing the highest quality education while empowering each individual to positively impact their families, communities, and the world. As a member of the School Advisory Council you should seek to embrace and support the vision and mission of the district

OCSD Core Values Accountability: We, working in conjunction with students’ families, accept responsibility to ensure student learning, to pursue excellence, and to hold high standards for all. Citizenship: We prepare all students to exercise the duties, rights, and privileges of being a citizen in a local community and global society. Excellence: We pursue the highest academic, extracurricular, and personal/professional standards through continuous reflection and improvement. Integrity: We embrace a culture in which individuals adhere to exemplary standards and act honorably. Personal Growth: We promote the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and experience to develop individuals with the aspiration, perseverance, and resilience to be lifelong learners. Respect: We show regard and consideration for all through a culture of dignity, diversity, and empathy. Leadership: We provide guidance and direction to accomplish tasks while being a moral compass to others. In addition, you should familiarize yourself with the district’s core values, promoting these values within yourselves and within the school community you support.

Training Objectives Identify what a School Advisory Council is Explore responsibilities of SAC members Increase knowledge of the purposes of SAC meetings Increase knowledge of SAC records Explore resources available to SAC In today’s activity, we will cover the following content with the expectation of helping you learn what a School Advisory Council is, what its functions are, and who serves on the council. 5

School Advisory Council (SAC) a diverse group of stakeholders of a school, with the goal of increasing student achievement in a safe learning environment. (established by Florida Statutes 1001.452) With membership including diverse stakeholders, a SAC attempts to mirror the ethnic/racial composition of the school community and therefore has the interest of ALL students at heart when making decisions that will improve student learning and learning environments. 6

SAC Members ss.1001.452 SAC members, “representing teachers, education support employees, students, and parents are elected from their PEER groups in a fair and equitable manner” “shall be comprised of the principal and an appropriately balanced number of teachers, education support employees, students, parents and other business and community citizens who are representative of the ethnic, racial, and economic community served by the school.” “Technical center and high school advisory councils shall include students, and middle and junior high school advisory councils may include students.” SAC must represent “the ethnic, racial and economic makeup of the community served by the school.” To achieve this, members may be appointed. Majority of the school’s council members “must be persons NOT employed by the district.” FAQ regarding membership: Can the Assistant Principal serve as a SAC member? The law is unclear here; an assistant principal may certainly attend meetings and give input, but, by role, does not fit a stakeholder category to be elected or appointed to the council. What if our membership does not meet the ethnic, racial, and economic makeup of our community? The FLDOE recommends a maximum variance of 10% between the school and community demographics; ultimately, the principal according to each school’s bylaws and district operational manual (p.7) has the ability to appoint members to bring the council into compliance. Can a district employee serve on a school’s SAC as a PARENT for the Non-District composition? NO, all district employees must be reported as DISTRICT in the membership composition. The following website will be helpful in determining the ethic/racial makeup of your school’s community: http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml# 7

Membership clarification “For the purposes of school advisory councils and district advisory councils, the term "teacher" shall include classroom teachers, certified student services personnel, and media specialists.” “For purposes of this paragraph, "education support employee" means any person employed by a school who is not defined as instructional or administrative personnel pursuant to s. 1012.01 and whose duties require 20 or more hours in each normal working week.” 8

SAC Responsibilities…ss.1001.452 [SAC] “council shall be the sole body responsible for final decision making at the school relating to implementation of provisions of ss.1001.42 (18) and 1008.345” (implement school improvement and accountability) “assists” in the preparation & evaluation of the School Improvement Plan (SIP) or School Performance Plan (SPP) “assists” the principal with the school budget decides how school improvement funds are spent decides jointly with school faculty how A+ recognition funds are spent – except after February 1 perform functions as prescribed by regulations of the school board. SAC members roles: attend meetings and trainings use state and district goals as guiding principles in the work of SAC analyze school achievement and survey data assist in the preparation, monitoring, and evaluation of the school’s SIP/SPP determine and prioritize the needs of the school assists in the preparation of the school’s budget 9

Governing Body of SAC Annually, each SAC must elect a Chairperson and Secretary. Additionally, each SAC may opt to elect the following officers: Treasurer Corresponding Secretary Parliamentarian Duties of each SAC officer and the principal may be found in the SAC Operations Manual, and should be reviewed annually at the first meeting. Roles of each governing member are located in the SAC Operations Manual, distribute a copy of the page containing these roles/responsibilities and discuss each, as applies.

School Improvement or Performance Plans A SIP is made up of goals & objectives established for the school determined by needs. Purpose: To increase student performance Funds: School Improvement Funds have been made available to each school, allocated to SAC for their use in implementing their SIP. Include: Strategies, safety, discipline, health & fitness, resources (human & material), and measured goals http://www.okaloosaschools.com/Parents/spp The SPP is the guiding document for each school’s improvement initiatives, is created by a community of stakeholders, and is approved by SAC. Roles of the School in the SPP process: Development of goals and actionable steps to improve student achievement in ELA, math, SS, science, and writing Allocation of school resources (money, staff, etc.) based on the action plans Monitoring the effectiveness of the plan during the year to revise, if necessary, based on results Roles of the District in the SPP process: Provide team training on the SPP template Provide research-based strategies for consideration of use in each content area Support schools during creation of SPP through curriculum directors, district specialist, and instructional coaches Meet with the school to review new plan and offer suggestions for revisions, if needed Monitor school’s SPP throughout the year during district review meetings with school’s leadership team Use the web link to preview your plan from last year to provide a brief overview of the contents. 11

School Improvement or Performance Plans Determine the needs of a school through: *Surveys & discussions *Assessing prior year’s SIP/SPP *Using reports/data to measure progress (i.e. NCLB AYP Report - No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress) *Using testing scores (i.e. FSA/FCAT/EOCs, DEA) *FL Education Improvement Plans https://www.floridacims.org/ 12

School Improvement Resources School Improvement Funds Recognition Funds School Budget Other Sources: grants, PTA, Business and Community Partnerships FL Dept. of Education does not recommend SAC sponsoring fund raisers (SI allocations must be separate and auditable). Check district policy for further guidance. 13

School Improvement Funds ss. 1001.452 (2) … “A portion of funds provided in the annual General Appropriations Act for use by school advisory councils must be used for implementing the school improvement plan.” ss. 24.121 Allocation of revenues and expenditure of funds for public education (State Lotteries) Council funds are not subject to override by the principal or school district staff (subject to audit) Not used for capital improvements or projects over one year – however SAC may determine to approve for subsequent year These moneys may be expended only on programs or projects selected by SAC Amount determined annually by the General Appropriations Act (www.myfloridahouse.gov) School Improvement Funds… May be expended only on programs and projects selected by SAC Are not subject to override by principal or district staff May not be used for capital improvements or projects lasting more than one year; however, SAC may approve again in subsequent years. Up to $5 per un-weighted FTE per student 14

School Recognition Funds (ss.24.121) How school recognition funds are spent is jointly decided by faculty & SAC and be used in several ways (or any combination) Funds are to be used for nonrecurring bonuses to the faculty and staff, nonrecurring expenditures for educational equipment or materials, or for temporary personnel to assist the school in maintaining or improving student performance (Section 1008.36(5), F.S.). If a decision is not reached by February 1 … the funds are dispersed as bonuses to only the classroom teachers currently teaching this school year (ss.24.121 - State Lotteries) Classroom teachers defined ss. 1012.01(2a) School Recognition Funds are commonly referred to as A+ dollars. Materials and equipment expenditures should be used to assist in maintaining or improving student performance (ss. 1008.36) A WORD OF CAUTION: Use of funds to provide student monetary gifts; purchase gift cards, food for student parties, t-shirts for students or faculty members, or to provide student award trips are frowned upon. Schools across the state have been cited for doing such and were required to refund the amounts spent from internal funds. Up to $100 per FTE (Actual amount depends annually upon General Appropriations Funding) More information can be found at www.fldoe.org/how-do-i/evaluation-reporting.stml 15

SAC Requirement ss.1001.452 (d) “Each school advisory council shall adopt bylaws establishing procedures for: at least 3-days' advance notice in writing to all SAC members of any matter that is scheduled be voted on requiring a quorum of at least 51% to be present before a vote may be taken by the school advisory council. Quorum must be present for each voting issue. scheduling meetings when parents, students, teachers, business persons, and members of the community can attend replacing any member who has two unexcused consecutive absences from a SAC meeting that is noticed as per bylaws Recording minutes of meetings Each SAC must have a set of bylaws in place that are reviewed annually, and revised if needed, prior to approval of the bylaws. A copy of the approved bylaws, signed by the principal and SAC Chairperson, are required to be submitted annually to the district SAC Point of Contact by September 30. Agenda and meeting minutes should reflect the review/revising, if necessary, and approval of the bylaws. 16

SAC Bylaws required…ss.1001.452 Name of council, purposes, basic policies & governance Duties & obligations Funds (SI& Recognition) School Improvement Plan (SIP) School Budget: procedure for “assisting” Subject to all “open government laws” Member composition Officers Meetings 17

SAC Bylaws… continued Include Election Process & Procedures Procedure for electing all council members, fair & equitable Procedure for appointing members Procedure for removal of SAC members for just cause (2 unexcused consecutive “noticed” meetings = removal) Procedure for replacing those members that were removed 18

SAC Minutes are necessary… Requirement: FL Sunshine Law + Statutes Verification of proper procedures Attendance: quorum records School improvement fund expenditure decisions Documentation of decisions & business required by law for the public (public records) (minutes are public documents be made available to the public) Accelerate business Succeeding officers, & members 19

The Minutes include: Kind of meeting, name of council, date, time & place Attendance, determination of quorum & any member replacement Call to order, name of presiding officer & recorder Approval/amending previous minutes Agenda  Motions & votes (include election info) Any correspondence (attach) Hour of adjournment & next meeting time, place “Submitted by”, sign & type name, position BE BRIEF BUT ACCURATE! 20

SAC “in the Sunshine” School Advisory Council (SAC) meetings are public meetings and subject to ss.286.011(1), Government in the Sunshine Law Reasonable notice All meetings must be open to the public (otherwise decisions not binding) Public locations Recorded minutes & public inspection Open/recorded voting (no secret ballots) Each school should have a designated public space where a copy of the SAC membership roster, meeting schedule, bylaws, and agenda from upcoming meeting are visibly displayed and maintained regularly. 21

In plain English… Public advertising of meeting Public meeting place & accessible to the public Welcome to the public & public participation Audible to the public Minutes taken, attendance & votes recorded Quorum for a meeting and present for each voting issue Minutes, bylaws & documents available to public (public records) Public may videotape or record meetings Even just 2 members discussing SAC must be “in the Sunshine” (can include agenda prep) 22

SAC & the 5 Star School Award Minimum of 8 meetings per year. Average 80% attendance of members Annual presentation of School Improvement Plan to school community after public notice to all stakeholders (school marquee, flyers, etc.). Evidence of ongoing training and/or development of the SAC School Improvement Plan reflects one new idea that involves the community in its implementation. School Advisory Council participated in the development and/or interpretation of the needs assessment data. Training provided for staff and SAC members on collaborative partnering and shared decision-making. www.fldoe.org/family/fivestar.asp 23

Resources SAC Resources - florida-family.net/SAC Florida State Law - leg.state.fl.us FL Board of Education - flboe.org  School Improvement (SIP) - https://www.floridacims.org FL Attorney General (Sunshine Laws)-www.myfloridalegal.com Individual District School Board Policies Individual School’s SAC Bylaws FL DOE “Red Book” - fldoe.org/fefp/redtoc.asp FL SAC Newsgroup - groups.yahoo.com/group/fl-sac

What can I clarify for you?

With further questions… Please contact: Denise McLaughlin, District SAC Point of Contact 833-3385 denise.mclaughlin@mail.okaloosa.k12.fl.us