Parent Involvement Program

hndbk_final_ver1sm.pdf

cover-1-r61.pdf

hndbkoct10_1-31small.pdf

appendix online
There are no movies embedded in the handbook at this time

role_school_council.pdf document to review

The role of the School Chair involves many things. The Chair is responsible for assisting the Principal with making decisions with regard to the school, picking meeting dates, planning the agenda and sending it out to the members, chair the meeting and read and report on all correspondence that is received. Some Chairs are also responsible for preparing the Minutes and forwarding them to members. In elementary school, the Chair will be responsible for organizing fundraising and community building activities, parental involvement projects, faith activities, etc. The Chair also represents the school at different Board activities such as Faith Formation, Chairs Meeting, Parenting Conferences, Spring Conference, etc.

Being a successful School Council Chair involves familiarizing yourself with not only the happenings of your own school but also what is happening at the Board and Ministry level and how this will affect your school. Advocating for your school is an important role of the Council Chair as well as promoting activities that are happening at your school to your school community as well as other school communities.

It is vital that the School Council Chair has a good relationship with the school Principal. This is achieved by showing respect for the Principal and keeping an open line of communication and being able to negotiate with each other when making decisions. This same type of relationship should be strived for with the School Council members as it is very important for all members to get along and for there to be mutual respect between the Chair and the members. The Chair should also be open to ideas of the Council and to create a warm atmosphere at Council meetings so that all members feel comfortable to contribute. If any heated discussions erupt during a meeting or if inappropriate topics are brought up, the Chair’s role will be to suggest another time for the discussion to take place (ie. the parent meets with the principal, or the parent meets with the Chair and the Principal in order to try to resolve the matter).

The Chair should be informing all members of not only items that affect the school locally but also at the Board and Ministry level. When it comes to asking for volunteers from Council or other parents Ithe Chair should personally ask them and when they do volunteer thank them for their time and if they are not available make sure that they ask them at another time so parents do not feel that if they say no once to volunteer that they will not get contacted again. When new volunteers come out to explain to them what is required of them, introduce them to other members and show appreciation for their help.

At Council meetings the Chair should make new members comfortable and and if the Chair feels that new members are a little bit shy to contribute their thoughts at a meeting, the Chair should call them or talk to them in private to get their opinion. Also inviting members to be on sub-committees is a good way to help get them involved.

Keeping an open door policy with parents if anyone has concerns to address is vital by either trying to address the issue or by referring the matter to the Principal to contact the parent in order to resolve the concern. The Chair is a reflection of the school and should conduct themselves in a proper manner and be a positive, friendly and welcoming individual.

a friendly attitude toward everyone who comes to council meetings whether they have an official role or not.
is extremely welcoming and non-judgemental, makes everyone feel like they would like to stay on for the year, that their opinions are valid and worthwhile.
appreciates and respects that everyone comes to the table with something to offer as everyone has had different past life experiences.
is NOT snobby, is not arrogant, is not there to rule with authority…..that is the principal’s role if necessary.
is not afraid to speak up and address conflict issues within the group if there are some, instead of avoiding issues or ignoring the problems.
is not one to participate in cliques nor be the ring leader of one.
is NOT a power tripper, the way I feel many women in this role can be.

The School Council Chair is to:
-follow the guidelines as set out in the handbook;
-work with the principal to set up an agenda for the meeting;
-do up the agenda and send to members prior to the meeting asking if there are any other items they would like to see on the agenda;
-for the first meeting of the year, the chair should give members an outline of the role of the school council for not only new members but those returning to refresh their memory;
-be readily available for issues that may occur at the school;
-represent the council at school functions e.g. orientation night, parent/teacher conferences, school masses, graduation;
-send notice to members of the upcoming meeting or important items to be addressed on the agenda;
-inform members of upcoming events at the school to ensure participation;
-make sure that meetings are run properly and smoothly so it stays within the agenda;
-make sure that all meetings begin in prayer;
-the chair is to remain neutral at the meeting not expressing personal opinions or attempt to sway votes if voting is taking place;
-make sure that meetings include all in attendance and obtain reports from all representatives e.g. parish report;
-should a member resort to a personal agenda, the chair should quickly intervene;
-should a disagreement come about, the chair should attempt to resolve the conflict insuring Christian values;
-check the minutes after the meeting before they are sent out to members and ensure they are sent out in a timely manner;
-follow up on any issues arising from the meeting;
-obtain correspondence from the school addressed to council and bring it to the meeting to be addressed and respond on behalf of the entire council;
-keep up to date with current issues that may affect the school or education and inform members by email if time sensitive or at meeting e.g. catholic education in the upcoming election;
-promote the council where and whenever possible;
-work with regional council.

A chair should never run a meeting based on their own agenda

negative personal remarks about past chairs should never be mentioned to past or current council members.

a chair has no business repeating gossip with members…they might have the wrong information and be sharing untruths

a chairs role is to primarily run a business meeting in a respectful manner…to keep a meeting running

a chairs role is not to create a “them and us” feeling amoungst the staff and members

the position should never be used as a place of power

a chair should never run parking lot meetings

a chair should never talk behind other members backs…we are all volunteers

Council should not be a place that parents dread to come

council should support the Principal

success-storiessm.pdf

I’d like to see increased ownership of the practical tips section of the handbook and would like to suggest that – if possible – members identify those tips which you may have used and have been successful. I have already assigned several names to the tips but would ask for more members to choose a tip or suggest somethings that is missing or something need to be changed. Please see attached file for the tips to choose from. If at all possible if you could submit your ideas by Tuesday it would be appreciated. practical-tips