A Guide for Members - edu.gov.on.ca

1 School Councils Ministry of Education A Guide for Members 2001. Revised 2002. W. elcome to your school council ! A s a school council member, you can help your council discover new and exciting ways to contribute to the education of students in your school. Education is a partnership involving parents, students, teachers, principals, school boards, government, and the community. Your involvement in the council gives you the opportunity to strengthen that partnership, and to be part of a dedicated team working to ensure a high quality of education and an accountable education system for the children of Ontario. Your participation can make a difference! Contents 1 School Councils: Making a Difference .. Getting Involved .. Using This Guide .. 2 A Short History of School Councils in Ontario .. Recognizing the Need for School Councils .. First Steps in Establishing School Councils .. Strengthening the Role of School Councils .. Clarifying Roles and Responsibilities .. 3 The Regulations Governing School Councils.

2 What Do the Regulations Mean for School Councils? .. Consultation With Parents .. School council Membership .. Membership Requirements .. Parent Members ~ Board employees and trustees ~ Community representative(s) ~. Student representative(s) ~ School staff representatives Elections and Term of Office .. Remuneration .. Incorporation .. Fund-raising .. School Councils and the Ministry of Education .. Collection of data on school council Members What Do the Regulations Mean for Principals? .. Supporting and Promoting School Councils .. Amendments to the Duties of Principals .. Some Important Roles Played by the Principal .. Acting as an important source of information ~ Receiving and responding to school council recommendations ~ Attending school council meetings ~. Delegating authority ~ Ensuring that the school council is in place ~ Notifying the community and posting materials for parents ~ Providing information ~. Developing a school profile Cette publication est galement offerte en fran ais sous le titre suivant : Conseils d' cole : Un Guide l'intention des membres.

3 This publication is available on the Ministry of Education website at What Do the Regulations Mean for School Boards? .. Setting the Stage for Success .. Developing Important Partnerships .. Consultation ~ Reporting back ~ Improvement planning ~ Selecting a new principal or vice-principal 4 Consultation .. Consultation With School Councils by Boards and Principals .. Consultation With Parents by School Councils .. 5 Effective School Councils .. Characteristics of Effective School Councils .. Preparing and Training School council Members .. Orientation for New Members .. Ongoing Training .. Participation Through Committees .. Recruiting Community Representatives .. Team Building .. School council Code of Ethics .. Roles and Responsibilities of School council Members .. The Chair/Co-Chairs .. Parent Representatives .. School Principal .. Student Representative(s) .. School Staff Representatives .. Community Representative(s) .. Representative of the Ontario Federation of Home and School Associations, the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education, or Parents Partenaires en ducation.

4 Involving Parents and the Community .. Staying Focused on the Mandate .. Questions of Legal Liability and Insurance .. Assessing Your council 's Effectiveness .. 6 Setting Goals and Priorities .. 7 Establishing Bylaws .. Election Procedures .. Filling Vacancies .. Conflict of Interest .. Avoiding or Dealing With Conflict .. Resolving Conflict .. 8 Preparing for and Running Meetings .. Establishing Meeting Dates and Publicizing School council Meetings .. The Meeting Space .. Creating an Agenda .. Keeping Minutes of School council Meetings .. ii SCHOOL COUNCILS: A Guide FOR Members . Making Decisions .. Consensus .. Decisions by consensus that are null and void Voting .. Making a motion ~ Amending a motion ~ Withdrawing a motion ~ Tabling a motion ~ Motions that are null and void Effective Meeting Strategies .. Methods for Stimulating Discussion .. Methods for Generating Ideas .. Methods for Facilitating Decision Making and Priority Setting .. The Role of the Chair.

5 9 Communication .. Establishing Channels of Communication .. Communication Is the Key .. Chair/Co-Chairs and School council Members .. Chair/Co-Chairs and the Principal .. Your council and the School Community .. Your council and Other School Councils in Your Area .. Your council and the Board .. Developing a Communication Plan .. Communication Strategies for Community Outreach .. Communication Tips for Elementary Schools .. Communication Tips for Secondary Schools .. Sharing Information Across the Province .. The Ministry of Education .. The Ontario Parent council Website .. 10 Accountability .. Annual Reports .. Financial Statements .. 11 About Ontario's Education System .. The Minister of Education .. The Education Quality and Accountability Office .. The Ontario College of Teachers .. The Ontario Parent council .. School Boards .. Principals .. Teachers .. Students .. Parents .. School Councils .. SCHOOL COUNCILS: A Guide FOR Members iii 12 Appendices Appendix 1: The Regulations.

6 Ontario Regulation 612/00 .. Excerpts from Regulation 298 .. Appendix 2: Glossary .. Appendix 3: List of Related Websites .. iv SCHOOL COUNCILS: A Guide FOR Members . List of Samples Principal Profiles .. Code of Ethics .. Questionnaire: Assessing Your council 's Effectiveness .. Goal-Setting and Planning Exercises .. Schedule of Events in Planning for the School council Election of Parent Representatives .. School council Parent Self-Nomination Form .. School council Parent Candidate Nomination Form .. Nomination Form Receipt .. School council Election Ballot .. Election Procedure Bylaws .. Vacancy Bylaws .. Conflict of Interest Bylaws .. Conflict Resolution Bylaws .. Meeting Room Organizer Checklist .. School council Meeting Agenda .. School council Meeting Minutes .. Checklist for Assessing the Communication Skills and Strengths of the Chair/Co-chairs .. Annual Report Formats .. Financial Statements .. SCHOOL COUNCILS: A Guide FOR Members v School Councils: Making a Difference School councils play a vital role in the education Improvement Commission (EIC) describes the results School Councils: Making a Difference system in Ontario.

7 They provide a forum through of research on parental involvement this way: which parents1 and other Members of school com- Parental involvement is one of the most sig- munities can contribute to improving student nificant factors contributing to a child's suc- achievement and school performance. cess in school. When parents are involved in their children's education, the level of student In 2000-2001, the Ontario government took signifi- achievement increases. Students attend school cant steps to ensure that parents, through their more regularly, they complete more home- school councils, would have greater influence in their work in a consistent manner, and demonstrate children's education. New regulations were created more positive attitudes towards school. They that confirm the advisory role of school councils and are also more likely to complete high clearly state that their purpose is to improve student The partnership of school and community represen- achievement and enhance the accountability of the tatives on a school council helps to build mutual education system to parents.

8 Understanding and interaction between a school School councils are now able to make recommenda- and its community, resulting in benefits for both. tions to their principals and school boards2 on any By giving information to parents and community matter. Principals and school boards, in turn, must representatives, getting feedback from them, and consult with school councils on a variety of matters presenting their views to the school and the school that affect student learning. They must also consider board, a school council involves the community in recommendations made by school councils and the discussion of educational issues and helps the report back to the councils on how they plan to act school identify and respond to the educational on their advice. needs of the community. Membership on a school council also benefits the Getting Involved individuals involved. The personal advantages of Parental involvement in a child's education has becoming a school council member include: been shown to have a significant effect on his or her being an important partner in the education achievement.

9 In its publication School Improvement system, whose views are valued;. Planning: A Handbook for Principals, Teachers, and contributing to the shared goal of improving School Councils (November 2000), the Education student achievement;. having a vehicle through which to express opinions;. SCHOOL COUNCILS: A Guide FOR Members being able to keep informed about what is hap- School council Members should use this Guide as pening at the school and the board, and at the a resource. A detailed table of contents, along with provincial level of education. a list of sample forms, checklists, reports, and other Participating on the school council will be a reward- useful items, has been included to allow readers to ing experience for all those who value the opportu- readily locate the particular subject or piece of infor- nity to make a difference in their children's mation that they may need. In addition, cross- education. references to related sections are provided through- out the Guide to help readers access the information they need.

10 Using This Guide This comprehensive Guide has been developed to This Guide replaces the School council Handbook, help school council Members fulfil their mandate in 1996. School Councils: Making a Difference the most effective and efficient ways. It explains the Notes new regulations and outlines what they mean for 1. In this Guide , the term parents refers to parent(s) and school councils, principals, and school boards. It guardian(s). explains in detail the roles and responsibilities of 2. In this Guide , the terms school board and board refer to each partner, and outlines the areas in which school district school boards and school authorities. boards and principals are required to consult with 3. The EIC cites the following sources for this informa- school councils. tion: Joyce L. Epstein, L. Coates, Salinas, Sanders, and Simon, School, Family and Community Suggestions are provided to help school councils set Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Thousand Oaks, Calif.)