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Click here to go the the home page for the Ontario School Council Support Centre. School council members tend to be highly visible in terms of their involvement, but joining the school council is not the only way to be involved in the school in a meaningful way. Not every parent wishes to become part of the school council. Within most schools, there are a core group of between 5 and 15 people who want to take on the leadership roles that exist on a school council. Others prefer to be volunteers, and still others prefer simply to carry out their roles as parents. Those are also important roles, but attending school council meetings may not be a priority for them. This section is about helping school council members to become very good at what they do - what it takes to make a difference - providing guidance to stay focused - and engaging in professional development to become skilled in a unique volunteer role. Background PPM 122 and the subsequent Regulations 612 and 613 provide detailed structural information for school councils and directions regarding some of the discussions that may take place. However, many still wonder, "is that all there is to school councils?" In 1998, the Education Improvement Commission conducted an extensive review of school councils and provided a series recommendations to the Ministry of Education. Click here to download the full report. As part of the report, the E.I.C. recommended that "improving student learning" be clearly stated as the purpose of student learning. In Regulation 612, the purpose was stated as "to improve pupil achievement and to enhance the accountability of the education system to parents." The E.I.C. also provided three primary 'vehicles' to achieve the purpose of improving student learning. Helping school council members to understand these vehicles, and to do them well, will go a long way towards achieving the purpose of the council system. Three Summary Vehicles 1. Fostering parental and community involvement 2. Participating in the school improvement plan. 3. Providing balanced advice to the school principal, school board and Ministry of Education. 1. Fostering Parental and Community Involvement Helping school councils to come to terms with this responsibility takes effort, but it also creates a group of leaders within the school capable of working with the school to solve problems. It generates a method of teaming up to solve problems, rather than placing all of the responsibility on the school principal and staff. The Eight Types of Involvement framework describes the different kinds of parental and community involvement that make a difference. This framework provides a guide for organizing and fostering meaningful Parental and Community involvement. For the record, fundraising is just one of the eight types of involvement! Click here for more information about the Eight Types of Involvement framework. 2. Participating in the School Improvement Plan This provides a forum for focusing the energy of both the school staff and the school community on the same goals. As any book on management and leadership will tell you, when people are focused on common goals, they stand a better chance of achieving them. Participating in the school plan also provides a forum for generating a shared accountability for the education system, where educators, parents and the community work together for student success. A strong, functioning system of public education is not solely the responsibility of educators. Parents and the community also play a key role. The Eight Types of Involvement framework can be used here to generate meaningful parental and community involvement to address key issues contained within the school plan. Examples will be added shortly. 3. Providing Balanced Advice to the Principal, School Board and Ministry of Education This serves as a vehicle for public input on issues and for a method of accountability, but it also serves as a potential area for conflict. Generating balanced advice requires an awareness of issues that demands a level of information often unavailable to the average school council. Performing this well requires a commitment from the Principal to keep the council informed of current and key issues, to advise the council on methods for addressing the issues that will deliver results. Professional Development Most boards engage in some form of professional development to assist school council members in carrying out their tasks. Additional research is underway here at the Ontario School Council Support Centre. One of the Centre's recommendations is that individual councils take responsibility for their own professional development. What do you need to know more about to become better? Where can you get the information? What is the board offering over the next couple of years? What can you coordinate to help your school council become better? |
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Send mail to
gkerr@schoolcouncils.net with questions or comments about this web site.
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