1. Everything you need to know about School Councils

2. 1. Councils have a history…and a clear purpose

3. Council expectations
advise the principal and, where appropriate, the board
place student interests first
support school success planning goals
encourage parent and community
involvement
promote positive attitudes towards
public education
much more than fundraising bodies
advisory in nature
provide a forum through which parents and community members can contribute to school life

4. 2. No one ever seems to come to School Council meetings

5. Types of parents
“I want to be more involved, but I just don’t have the time.”
“How was your day at school?”
“Tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it!”
“I’m an involved parent, and you can be too!”
The busy-bees
The stay-at-homes
4 types of parents/parent involvement
The helpers
The advocates

6. Where are all the parents?
when it comes time for an election, we often find ourselves asking…
“Where are all the parents?”
main form of involvement is with their children at home
if you think about your own life, that makes sense
most of our involvement with our own children is at home
we need to validate and value that

7. The chair sets the agenda in consultation with other council members and the principal. ​ Items should represent the needs of the entire student body. Should be timed.

8. 3. Some people are actually not welcome on the school council

9. Not allowed as members trustee MPP
cannot be parent member if employed at
the same school his/her child attends
can be staff rep.

10. Council membership parents – majority (elected by parents)
1 student – sec. mandatory, elem. optional
(elected by students)
principal (VP may attend in principal's place)
1 teacher (elected by teachers)
1 non-teaching staff rep (elected by support staff)
1 or more community reps (appointed by council)
1 rep from Home and School Association
(appointed, if applicable)
how many of you have a school council that looks like this?
determine # of parents that is sustainable – at least 5 – unless you have a by-law that allows you to have a different number
doesn't work to have all interested parents on the council
Train them to sit next year
Give them a role on a sub-committee
parent members must have students enrolled at the school
membership should reflect the diversity of the school community
term of office – normally two years; should be staggered so that approx. half of the members are elected each year
members may be re-elected or reappointed for more than one term

11. Council membership must have minimum of 9 members (or 11 if
there is a student rep)
if vacancies, must continue to try to fill them
throughout the year
may create bylaw to allow more than minimum
number of members
if no bylaw, must have an election if more
nominations than the minimum
Elementary schools - at least 9 members
5 parents
PLUS – prin, teacher, support staff, community member
Secondary schools – at least 11 members
6 parents
PLUS – prin, teacher, support staff, community member, student
IMPT – don’t need an election if there aren’t enough interested parents – you need more than 5 interested parents (unless by-law says otherwise) to hold an election, otherwise acclaimed

12. Council membership parents must be majority
principal or VP cannot vote
chair or co-chairs must be parent(s)
VOTE – I'm going to come back to this (consensus)

13. 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
if lunchroom supervisor, cannot be a SC parent rep, but could be a support staff rep.
if volunteer, can be a parent rep.
if OT who regularly teaches at the school – staff rep, not parent rep

14. 4. A council is not a private club

15. 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
important to post agenda ahead of time – increases attendance
section in guide re: agendas

16. 5. There is no proven link between more meetings and effectiveness

17. Meeting must-haves must have at least four meetings a year
first meeting must be within 35 school days of
the school year
must have quorum to have meeting – majority of parents and members must be present
principal must notify parents of date, time, place
of all school council and committee meetings
councils may have sub-committees – each committee must have parent rep
first meeting must be held within 5 working days of election deadline – first meeting by Oct. 25, 2010
post agendas well in advance
make minutes available asap after meeting

18. 6. There's no law requiring your advice to be taken
principal and the board must consider council's recommendations and advise council of any actions taken in response to those recommendations
principal may refer recommendations about broader educational issues to the board through superintendent and trustee

19. 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
What does advisory mean?
principal required to listen to advice and required to report back on status, but not required to implement suggestions
Here’s an example:
I sometimes hear helpful advice from my mother-in-law, but that doesn't mean that I always take it.
Regardless of how well-intentioned it is---sometimes we simply just can't act on the advice.

20. School council mandate
facilitate two-way communication
between the school and parents/community
promote the best
interests of the school
So…
if you're hearing from parents that students aren’t getting enough homework, it's not the councils role to determine how much homework students receive.
the principal’s role is to listen to that feedback, go back to key staff to discuss their feedback, bring your staff’s suggestions back and suggestions options, which may include offering a session for parents on the topic of homework

21. 7. The school council is not the place for private grudges, pet peeves or personal preferences
mandate is to be the voice of all parents at your school – to bring the collective issues forward for discussion

22. Duties & responsibilities
maintain school-wide perspective
legally required to operate with Education Act and
Peel board policies
adhere to the code of ethics
act in best interest of the school and all students
foster good relationships
must elect a chair and secretary – all other
positions are optional, including secretary and
treasurer
important to work towards consensus – as much as possible, avoid going to a vote

23. 8. School councils have enormous power over the school’s reputation

24. Norms of collaboration
pause before responding
paraphrase
pose questions
put ideas on the table
provide data to support group members
pay attention to self and others
presume positive intentions

26. Questions?