Department of Education 2011 Campus Policy Memo Dr. MAK Mitchell Executive Director of School Governance DAPS 1

What’s NEW since the 2007 Campus Memo? A required Building Council audit system is combined with a dispute resolution process to track each campus’ status and resolve disputes. School leaders on campuses who fail to implement these policies risk collective disciplinary action, including the potential for adverse ratings impacting their PPR score.

Our Campus Theory of Action Well executed campus management creates the necessary conditions for increased student achievement, as well as principal, staff and community satisfaction. Note: Network Leaders are the trainers and facilitators for their campus principals.

Key Definitions A Building Council is a structure for administrative decision-making regarding issues impacting all schools in the building. Council principals are equal partners in shaping the educational environment: administration, communication, culture. There are no “host” schools and all schools have equal rights and responsibilities in campus decisions.

Who sits on a Building Council? All Campus School Leaders: Principals Charter leaders D 75 principals or designated AP’s Note: Relevant others (AP’s, safety team, custodian, unions) can be invited for specific agenda items but should not have a standing seat on the council

Campus Collaboration Benefits All “All of us together are stronger than any one of us; we create something together that was not possible alone”  Daily advantage from colleague support  Shared expertise and resources  Team wisdom through collective experience  Professional learning community  The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Council Audit Assumptions “Campus liaison” is a principal or designee appointed by the council: Maintains a file of required BC docs Verifies docs through annual survey Posts docs on-line for limited access “Campus community” access:  Campus principals  Network leaders  Superintendents  SSS Team

Distribution of Campus Assignments & Shared Campus Personnel All school leaders on a campus should accept their share of campus-wide “lead” assignments such as safety, athletics, building use permits, campus liaison Provisions should be made for all principals to contribute to and sign off on ratings of shared or split-funded personnel, such as the custodian or lead safety officer

Council Audit Procedures Annual Calendar: Established building council meetings for the school year, minimally monthly with filed with meeting agendas and subsequent meeting minutes. School Space Allocation: Includes space footprint, with designated room allocations by school, including the documentation of any room swaps. Shared Space Schedules: Includes daily scheduling of shared spaces (library, cafeteria, auditorium, gym, etc.) access and use of the building after hours, on weekends, and in the summer. Shared Staffing/Funding: Includes any shared staff and their shared funding and supervisory agreements, i.e., campus plan for deployment of safety/security staff as well as documentation of any other initiatives that are split-funded.

Council Dispute Resolution Assumptions  The best decisions are made closest to those implementing those decisions.  When campus principals hold the locus of control equitably, they are more motivated to reach consensus locally.  Failure to resolve conflicts or implement the provisions of the memo can result in adverse PPR ratings for principals individually or collectively.

Dispute Resolution Process Building Council: Principals attempt to reach consensus in BC meeting; request network support individually or collectively. Network Involvement: Network Leader facilitates 1-2 meetings; SSS Director may coach. If conflicts are not resolved, calls SSS Office for arbitration. DSS Dispute Resolution: will occur thru the SSS with the assistance of relevant DOE managers. Superintendents will write letter to file to support the adverse PPR rating. Note: Whenever a building council is stuck and decision- making is impaired, any member of the campus community can request next step of this process.

Interactive Do’s and Don’ts Don’t  Agree if you will not implement authentically  Judge or assume  Implement without consensus  Bully or pressure  Have hallway/ conversations  Communicate outcomes solo Do  Brainstorm until an agreement can be reached, use BATNA  Ask questions and clarify  Balance advocacy with inquiry  Respect each other  Memorialize agreements to build trust  Communicate jointly

Best Council Players  Trust each other  Engage in unfiltered conflict around ideas  Commit to decisions and plans of actions  Hold one another accountable for delivering against those plans  Focus on the achievement of collective results

Principal Resources DOE Principals contact your Network Leader for support. Charter Leaders contact your Charter operations liaison. D75 site administrators, contact your Supervising Principal. For policy questions, dispute resolution or training requests contact: Dr. MAK Mitchell Executive Director of School Governance