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WHAT'S NEW - SEPTEMBER 2005

WORKING EFFECTIVELY WITH SCHOOL COUNCILS

Welcome to the web site for the Council on Alberta Teaching Standards (COATS). This area of the web site changes monthly. The theme for this month will be of interest to teachers, administrators, and parents who are exploring matters related to working effectively with school councils. The section below identifies several web links related to the topic. We hope that you find this web site to be a valuable resource. For quick reference bookmark http://www.teachingquality.ab.ca today!

WEB SITES RELATED TO ENCOURAGING MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE LITERACY IN ALL CLASSROOMS

Advisory Council for School Leadership. 2004
Treherne Collegiate Advisory Council (TCAC)
Treherne, MB
http://www.tci.prairiespirit.mb.ca/pages/tci_advisory_council.html

This web site from Treherne, Manitoba provides an example of "advisory councils for school leadership." In this case, the Advisory Council consists of nine representatives of students, teachers, school administrators, support staff, and community members. For nearly a decade, the Advisory Council has contributed positively to the atmosphere of this secondary school, which had a student population of approximately 140 in 2003-2004. The scope of the Advisory Council's activities includes areas such as "curriculum," "school discipline and attendance policies," and "fund raising events," for example. All of the Advisory Council's projects are undertaken by volunteers. Treherne, Manitoba is located midway between Brandon and Winnipeg.

A Survey of School Planning Councils in British Columbia. 2004
Society for the Advancement of Excellence in Education
Kelowna, BC
http://www.saee.ca/publications/A_025_BBG_EXECSUM.php

School councils represent a recent endeavor in British Columbia, coming into operation only in 2002/2003. This executive summary reports the results of an online survey of more than 40 School Planning Councils (SPCs) in British Columbia in the spring of 2004. Most respondents (74%) indicated that they were happy with the operation of their respective SPC. SPCs tend to make decisions by consensus. Typically they are chaired by a school principal. Respondents attribute some of the success of SPCs to the availability of training workshops. This document offers nine recommendations to enhance the performance of school councils. Many of the respondents to the survey suggested increased support in the form of statements of guidelines and the preparation of manuals to assist the SPCs in their work.

Building the Parent-School Partnership. 2005
Saskatchewan School Boards Association
Regina, SK
http://www.ssta.sk.ca/EducationServices/EduationalIssues/ ParentSchoolPartnership/SchoolCouncils.htm

This web page, updated in February 2005, assembles a wide variety of information regarding Saskatchewan's approach to school councils. In Saskatchewan, as elsewhere, it is accepted that school councils contribute to building a strong parent-school relationship. In the approach described here, clear attention is given to promoting parental involvement. Schools work best when they have strong ties to the community. One of the strategies espoused in Saskatchewan relies on the work of Dr. Joyce Epstein of Johns Hopkins University, who has studied varieties of parental involvement in schools. In addition, the web site collects numerous resources, research, and links related to school councils.

Final Report for OPC (Ontario Principals' Council). 2003
Voisin, S.
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
University of Toronto
Toronto, ON
http://www.principals.on.ca/cms/documents/ Secondary_Principals_and_School_Councils.pdf

The Final Report for OPC (2003) deals with the successes of school councils, some six years after school councils were first implemented in Ontario. The report, based on a qualitative research study, focuses particularly on the perceptions and experiences of secondary school principals with regard to school councils. Because of their involvement in school councils, many principals developed skills in group decision making, local politics, and community building. The Ontario Principals' Council (OPC) is a voluntary professional association that represents the interests of principals and vice-principals in Ontario. This document may be of particular interest to principals and other school-based administrators.

Grandin School Council
Copyright © 2004 École/Escuela Grandin School
Edmonton, AB
http://www.grandin.ecsd.net/council.htm

Parental involvement enhances student achievement. This web page from Grandin School Council in Edmonton opens with words of greeting to parents and assures them that they are welcome to attend Grandin School Council meetings. The Council is an advisory council offering advice on school-related matters and affording parents an opportunity for involvement. The web page provides access to a collection of minutes from seven meetings, beginning in September 2004. Fundraising is one of the council's main activities along with parental participation in various school-related projects. Grandin School is part of the Edmonton Catholic School District.

Hamilton-Wentworth: School Councils. 2005
Copyright © 1995 - 2003 The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
Hamilton, ON
http://www.hwdsb.on.ca/schools_curriculum/councils/index.aspx

Last updated in July 2005, this web site offers a glimpse into the operations of effective school councils in Ontario. The major assumption is that schools councils provide an opportunity for parents and guardians to become involved in their children's education. Research provides evidence that such participation has a beneficial effect on children's success. The contents of this web site are of three sorts. The first sort is related to the role of the local council itself, its elected members, and its scope of activities, which does include handling school-generated funds. A second set of contents deals with a voluntary group that offer support for school councils. Lastly, the third type of contents deals with province-wide support for school councils in Ontario.

School Advisory Council
Newcombville, NS
http://newcombville.ednet.ns.ca/

This colorful web site from Newcombville, Nova Scotia provides indications of the role and activities of school councils in Atlantic Canada. The Newcombville School Advisory Council is made up of parents, teachers, support staff, community members, and the school principal. The scope of the Council's activities extends to providing advice to the school administration in a variety of areas such as curriculum, school discipline, and fundraising, for example. The Council has directed much of its energy to a program of "recovery reading," an intervention designed to address the learning needs of many high-risk elementary-age students.

School councils were first established in Alberta legislation in 1995 and provide a forum for parental voice in education. As part of continuing efforts to improve the effectiveness of school councils, a study was conducted in Spring 2004 entitled: Alberta School Council Effectiveness Study: Summary of the Findings of a Provincial Consultation. This wide-ranging study highlights the characteristic experiences of successful school councils. Such experiences include, for example, the sponsorship of particular activities to enhance students' learning opportunities, involvement in major decisions affecting the school, and participating in energetic discussions about educational issues. The report also elaborates a set of recommendations for improving the effectiveness of school councils. The full report is available at http://www.education.gov.ab.ca/educationsystem/SchCouncilEff.pdf.

School Councils
Edmonton Public Schools
Edmonton, AB
http://partners.epsb.ca/parents_school.html

What is a school council? This web page states concisely the policy of Edmonton Public Schools with regard to school councils. School councils constitute an essential means of encouraging parental involvement in the education of their children. Section 22 of the province's School Act establishes the necessity of school councils. Formally, school councils provide parental advice to the school principal and teachers. In practical terms, school councils serve as an important channel of communication between parents and the local school. This web page provides a link to an online kit with information for interested parents as well as contact information for those interested particularly in school councils.

This web site introduces the School Council Support Centre, an organization dedicated to fostering the activities of school councils as a vital part of Ontario's public education system. School councils provide a vehicle for dialogue in every school. They connect parents and volunteers and other members of the community. The Support Center conducts research on best practices with regard to school councils, all with a view to enhancing the operation of Ontario's school councils. The Support Centre also offers a variety of publications and articles based on its research. The School Council Support Centre operates as a research and support organization on a volunteer basis.

This web page originating from Vernon, British Columbia illustrates the goals of some 20 school planning councils. These school planning councils are advisory in nature and exist in accordance with provincial policy. The councils are made up of three sorts of individuals, namely, parents, teachers, and the school principal. Although the goals of school planning councils in this district do vary by school, the goals of a given school planning council typically aim at some form of school improvement in academic performance (e.g., mathematics, language arts, or French), in student behavior, or in school environment. In addition, the web site provides a link to a set of school planning council guidelines.

Yukon Government Increases School Council Support. 2003
White Horse, YK
http://www.gov.yk.ca/news/2003/oct/03-233.pdf

This October 2003 news release points to the recognized importance of school councils in the Yukon Territory. According to John Edzerza, the Yukon's Minister of Education, school councils have a recognized role in educational decision making. In the Yukon, moreover, there is official government support for the continuing operation of an association of school councils. At present, 16 of 25 school councils and the YFSB (Yukon Francophone School Board) are members of the Association of Yukon School Councils, Boards and Committees (AYSCBC). The Minister also indicates that some financial support is available for the continuing operation of the Association. Further information about school councils in the Yukon can be found at http://www.education.gov.yk.ca/ess/schoolcouncils.html.