1. Best practices, new ideas
CEC 1 liaison position
Best practices, new ideas

2. CEC liaison history
In the early incarnation of the CECs ( or so) the DoE parent facing dept (Parent Support, OFEA, OFIA, DFACE) trained CECs to assign liaisons to the schools in their district.
Starting around 2011 the liaison position no longer appeared in training materials but continued as a best practice across CECs.
Several years ago, under the current DFACE leadership training documents began listing liaising with SLTs as a CEC power/duty.

3. D1 liaison best practices
Some best practices that emerged in D1 include:
 Each member liaises with 3 or 4 schools and establishes regular contact with that school’s leaders.
CEC members do not liaise with schools where they have a child to avoid any conflicts of interest, appearance of favoritism/bias and to maximize individual knowledge of community schools.
 One liaison represents all the schools located in a shared building to avoid possibly replicating the issues among schools and to foster the necessary unity and collaboration that successfully-shared buildings require.
At each business meeting liaisons report back on schools, updating the council on BCAS walk throughs, initiatives schools are working on, progress towards district campaigns, etc

4. Liaison supports
Each member has access to a file with the kind of information helpful for liaisons to meet with their schools:
Liaison Function Overview and School Information
Contact info – Principal/AP/PC/PTA President
SLT/PTA meeting dates
Class size/ Capacity info
Capital Plan
Capital Plan timeline
Sample s/letters for contacting school
BCAS docs for each school
Previous year requests for each school
Campaign info and scripts
As needed: /telephone scripts and templates to carry a campaign to each school

5. Define the Liaison purpose
Difference between: constituent services (address problems at each school) vs. building better relationships and establishing means of communication for district wide initiatives, emergency campaigns, supporting CEC mission/goals.

6. Fall sample meeting schedule
Start of school year: relationship building
Establish contact in Sept/Oct
Around/after 10/31 audit: collect class size info- noting over crowded or under enrolled classes, general enrollment trends
Nov-Dec: Start discussing Capital Plan process/time line/requests/possible facility walk throughs ( BCAS or otherwise)

7. Winter/Spring sample meeting schedule
By January:
liaisons usually have established some level of trust/good communication channels with their schools and can begin to bring campaign and issue-related info to their contacts in schools.
Throughout Spring semester:
report back to CEC and bring district wide issues to schools
May/June:
help arrange for paper and other gifted supplies

8. CHAIRING A MEETING
CEC One by laws allow each member multiple opportunities to set meeting agendas ( with Council approval) and chair meetings in a democratic process that builds capacity and leadership skills among all members.
Planning the agenda In the month prior, at the business meeting, the CEC discusses the upcoming months' Business and Calendar meeting agendas, working from a template of agreed upon topics for that month.
The monthly chair works with the AA to set the agenda based on previous discussion
The AA sends the draft to the whole council for discussion/ approval via
The AA invites any guests/speakers/prepares material needed such as handouts/agendas.

9. Once agenda is set…
The AA sends out notices via to all PC's, PTA presidents, principals and parents/teachers/community member's that subscribe to CEC1 list for posting/backpacking/school lists
Working on a time frame that allows for the mandatory 10 days notice to media/schools/parents/community/etc. after sufficient time for translation into Spanish/Chinese by DoE translation services.

10. At the meeting
During both the Business and Calendar meetings, the monthly chair facilitates the meeting- taking roll call, leading discussion of each agenda item, taking public comment, keeping order, track of time per item, etc. Each business meeting agenda should include an item to plan for the next month's meetings.

11. More meeting tips Roll of the Recording Secretary
The chair should verify ahead of time that the Recording Secretary will take minutes at the meetings.
Roll Call for Attendance
Begin the meeting by calling roll and recording members’ attendance in the white “Meetings” binder. This binder has past agendas and minutes and other general info, including the bylaws. If members are absent, consensus is needed to determine if an absence is excused/not.
Roll Call Votes
Filling vacancies and electing officers is done by roll call vote. Each member’s vote is stated publicly and recorded.

12. More meeting tips Role of the Parliamentarian Role of the Public
Calendar + Business meetings are all public. The Calendar meeting should be formally adjourned before the Public Comment Period begins. Speakers’ should sign up on the green sign-up sheet at the front table. From which the Chair calls their names to speak. Public comments is generally limited to 3 minutes During the Business Meeting, there is not a designated time for public comment.
Role of the Parliamentarian
The Parliamentarian should have familiarity with basic parliamentary procedures and Robert’s Rules of Order and be able to answer procedural questions during meetings.
A copy of Robert’s Rules of Order is at every meeting.