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Mission Statement
The mission of the William King Elementary School Advisory Council is
to work with our community of learners to engage all partners (parents, staff,
community, school board) in an ongoing process of collaborative problem solving
and shared decision making to ensure all students receive the best possible learning opportunities.
Duration of Agreement
The agreement begins once all parties concerned have signed it and will be
reviewed each September.
Responsibilities
The advisory council has the following responsibilities:
Provide all partners with a voice in decision making;
Work with the staff of William King to continue the activities initiated
for the school improvement plan;
Advise on the development of school policies that promote academic
excellence and a positive learning environment;
Establish a Discipline Committee as per the School Board and provincial
guidelines;
Advise the principal and staff of the school on curriculum and programs,
school practices, student discipline, communication and similar matters;
Advise the school board on curriculum and programs, student-support
services, policy development, funding, communication strategies and similar
matters;
Participate in the selection of the principal of the school by
representation on the school board’s selection committee in accordance
with provincial and school board guidelines;
Prepare an annual report , in close consultation with the Principal, that
describes school improvement activities undertaken during the year, specific
results achieved and factors that influenced results, for submission to the
School Board;
Maintain effective communications among the stakeholders by holding
regular, open public meetings and circulating information, when appropriate.
Election of Members
When a position on the council becomes vacant, the council shall invite
nominations or volunteers from the appropriate stakeholder group as follows:
Staff representatives will be selected by William King Elementary staff
(this includes support staff).
Parents who have children enrolled in the school will select parent
representatives. If more than one parent is nominated (or volunteers), a
vote by secret ballot will be held at the earliest convenience (as
determined by the council) at a public meeting.
The council may appoint community representatives for a specific term, or
they may be elected at a public meeting of parents.
Pending the selection of a replacement council member, the council may
appoint a representative from the stakeholder group in which the vacancy
occurred for a term not to exceed 6 months.
The term for any position will be no longer than three years.
The Chair is elected annually by the Council from among the advisory
council and is accountable to the advisory council membership.
Membership
The membership of the Advisory Council will include:
Principal (Non-voting permanent member)
3 parents of children attending William King
3 staff members representing both teaching and support staff
3 community members
Current Members, Representation (2008 - 2009)
* A parent, for the purpose of this document, is defined as a primary
caregiver or guardian for a child attending the school.
** Contact information for each member is attached.
Responsibilities
of Members
Every member of the advisory council will have an equal say and equal
opportunity to voice their opinion. No person will act on behalf of the
council without delegated authority.
Principal
It is the duty of the principal to:
encourage teachers and other staff of the school, parents and
community members to participate in school decision-making through
representation on school advisory councils and committees;
participate in the operation of a school council;
assist the school advisory council in continued development of school
improvement plans and, upon approval by the school board, co-ordinate
their implementation;
assist the advisory council in the preparation of its annual report;
represent the advisory council in dealing with the school board, in
conjunction with the Chair, when requested to do so by the council;
in the event the Principal is unable to attend a meeting, the
Vice-Principal will attend in their place.
Staff Representative
It is the duty of a staff representative to:
represent the staff of the school on the advisory council;
ensure school staff are aware of advisory council activities, and
solicit their input and suggestions;
represent the advisory council at other school-related meetings, when
requested to do so by the council.
Parent
It is the duty of a parent member to:
represent the parents of children attending the school on the
advisory council;
ensure parents are aware of advisory council activities, and solicit
their input and suggestions;
represent the advisory council at other school-related meetings, when
requested to do so by the council.
Community Representative:
It is the duty of a Community Representative to:
represent the interests of the community group they represent;
ensure requests to and from the advisory council are communicated, and
be responsible to co-ordinate activities.
Chairperson
It is the responsibility of the Chairperson to:
chair all meetings, or in their absence, appoint an alternate chair for
the meeting in advance;
set the agenda for each meeting, considering the input of council
members, and in conjunction with the Principal;
represent the advisory council at meetings outside of the school, as
deemed appropriate by the council members;
liaison with other committees or associations in the school;
receive materials from the school board or Dept. of
Education on behalf of the council and disseminate to members in a timely
fashion;
maintain a file, to reside at the school, of all correspondence,
minutes, etc.
Secretary
The Secretary will be chosen
at each meeting from amongst the committee to record the minutes of the
meeting in a standard format and to:
distribute the minutes within the required time-frame after a meeting;
maintain a file of all advisory council meetings, correspondence, etc
The Principal is responsible to maintain a public file of meeting minutes
at the school.
Standing Committees
Discipline Committee
The Discipline Committee will be composed of three members of the School
Advisory Council representing parents or community members.
Discipline Committee members will be appointed by the Advisory Council at
the first meeting of the year, and will serve for one year.
The responsibilities of the Discipline Committee will follow the Education
Act as outlined in Section 123(3), 124(3) and 125(1)(b) of the Education Act.
Ad-hoc committee’s may be formed at the discretion of the Advisory
Council.
Meeting Agendas
A draft agenda and call for agenda items will be distributed one week in
advance of the meeting.
In the event of changes to the draft, the final agenda will be distributed
two days before the meeting date.
The agenda will state the items to be discussed, the objective of the
discussion, the member responsible to report, and the duration of the
discussion.
An "open" roundtable discussion will be held at the conclusion of
each meeting.
Responsibility for development and distribution of the agenda will be with
the Chair, in consultation with the Principal & members.
Minutes of Meetings
Minutes of the meeting will be distributed no later than two weeks after
the meeting date and will be approved at the next scheduled meeting, as the
first agenda item.
The Secretary will be responsible to record the minutes in a standard
format, and arrange for distribution to the council members.
Draft minutes of each meeting will be distributed no later than two weeks
after the meeting.
Minutes will be included in the school’s official records, be posted on
the SAC Bulletin Board and distributed to the chair of the PTA, and will be
available to the public.
Meeting Dates / Times
The advisory council will meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month from
6:30 to 8:00. The dates for the year will be established at the September
meeting.
Decision Making
The advisory council members agree upon the following principles and
procedures when making decisions:
Principles
We will employ consensus building processes & strategies in our
decision making.
All advisory council members will have an opportunity to participate in
discussions and decision making.
Council members are responsible for participating in decision making
and are expected to do so in a constructive, positive manner.
All members will publicly support advisory council decisions that are
achieved through consensus.
Consultation will be carried out with parents, school staff, students,
and community members as appropriate.
We will work collectively in conjunction with other school-based
committees (PTA, etc).
Procedures
We will gather information and consult with stakeholders whenever
possible.
Topics and decisions will be discussed in a structured way prior to
decision making.
Information on important decisions will be distributed 1 week prior to
the meeting.
We will attempt to reach a consensus on all advisory council decisions.
If we cannot reach a consensus, the item will be tabled until the next
meeting.
Where consensus cannot be reached at the next scheduled meeting, an
open vote by show of hands will be used. Two-thirds will be required for a
majority. If there is not two-thirds majority, advice will not be given.
Conflicts that cannot be resolved at a local level will be referred to
the school board.
We will record decisions and methods used in making specific decisions.
We will keep stakeholders informed of our activities through regular
written communications.
Relationship with The Halifax Regional School Board
The Halifax Regional School Board supports the concept of improving student
learning through broader involvement of all the partners. The Board will
support individual School Advisory Councils through the mutually developed
Letter of Agreement within the parameters of the Board’s Mission Statement,
the Strategic Plan and as funds are available. The Halifax Regional School
Board will support the William King Advisory Council by:
providing an orientation session for advisory council members and
occasional workshops on special topics;
providing a facilitator to assist the advisory council as required;
providing constructive feedback to the advisory council on the annual
report;
providing consultation on school board policies and procedures;
meeting periodically with the advisory council, or its representatives.
Relationship with The Department of Education
The Nova Scotia Department of Education will support the William King
Advisory Council by providing:
ongoing professional development opportunities for council members;
development of resources to support councils;
PD opportunities for regional support teams;
mediation when there is an unresolved conflict between the councils and
the school board;
a copy of the Education Act and Regulations Under the Education Act and
curriculum materials. These are provided upon request of the Council.
Relationship with other William King Committees / Associations
The Advisory Council recognizes the equally important role other
committees and associations (PTA) play, and will endeavour to work
collectively with them wherever possible.
To promote consistency, the Advisory Council will have a PTA Liaison as
one of the community members. Their responsibility will be to attend PTA
meeting and ensure a flow of information is established.
Funding & Support
Advisory council members will serve without remuneration.
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