Transcript Document 7299088

COLLABORATING WITH
YOUR SCHOOL BOARD AND
SITE BASED DECISION
MAKING COUNCIL
Jackie R. Walters, MBA, RD
COLLABORATING WITH YOUR SCHOOL BOARD
AND SITE BASED DECISION MAKING COUNCIL
I. The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA)
A. Summary
B. Provision for the Kentucky Board of
Education
a. Membership and Structure
b. Responsibilities
c. Associated Organizations
C. Provision for School-Based Decision
Making Councils
a. Membership and Structure
b. Responsibilities
c. Associated Organizations
II. Potential for Collaboration
Kentucky’s Constitution states,
“The General Assembly shall, by appropriate
legislation, provide for an efficient system of
common schools.”
In 1989, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled in the case of
Rose vs. Council for a Better Education that Kentucky’s
schools fell short of this requirement so drastically that the
entire system was unconstitutional.
What is a constitutional school system?
A constitutional system must provide each and every child
with at least the seven following capacities:
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Sufficient oral and written communication skills to enable students to function in a
complex and rapidly changing civilization
Sufficient knowledge of economic, social, and political systems to enable the student to
make informed choices.
Sufficient understanding of government processes to enable the student to understand
the issues that affect his or her community, state and nation
Sufficient self-knowledge and knowledge of his or her mental and physical wellness
Sufficient grounding in the arts to enable each student to appreciate his or her cultural
and historical heritage
Sufficient training or preparation for advanced training in either academic or vocational
fields so as to enable each child to choose and pursue life work intelligently
Sufficient levels of academic or vocational skills to enable public school students to
compete favorably with their counterparts in surrounding states, in academics or in the
job market.
KERA IS BORN!
In 1990, the Kentucky General Assembly
answered the challenge of the Supreme Court by
passing the Kentucky Education Reform Act,
establishing a statewide system of assessment and
accountability that would be implemented by the
Kentucky Board of Education, local school
boards and local councils.
KERA defines the goals for schools to achieve
as follows:
• Schools shall expect a high level of achievement of all
students
• Schools shall develop their students’ ability to:,
– Use basic communication and mathematics skills for
purposes and situations they will encounter throughout
their lives
– Apply core concepts and principles from mathematics,
the sciences, the humanities, social studies, and
practical living studies to situations they will encounter
throughout their lives
-Become a self-sufficient individual
-Become responsible members of a family, work
group, or community, including demonstrating
effectiveness in community service
-Think and solve problems in school situations and in
a variety of situations they will encounter in life
-Connect and integrate experiences and new
knowledge from all subject matter fields with what
they have previously learned and build on past
learning experiences to acquire new information
through various media sources.
Schools shall increase their students’ rate of attendance.
Schools shall reduce their students’ dropout rates
Schools shall reduce physical and mental health barriers to
learning
Schools shall be measured on the proportion of students who
make a successful transition to work, post-secondary
education, and the military.
The Kentucky Board of
Education
• In 1990, the KERA created a new state
board for elementary and secondary
education in public schools. By authority of
executive order from the governor, the
board’s name was changed to Kentucky
Board of Education, effective February 1,
1995.
Who serves on KBE?
The board has 12 members.
The governor appoints 11 voting members:
– 7 represent the Supreme Court districts
– 4 represent the state at large
One member is the President of the Council on Post-secondary
Education and does not vote.
Members’ names, addresses and phone numbers may be accessed by
visiting www.kde.state.ky.us/commiss/kbe/kbe_members.asp
Members serve 4-year terms and may be re-appointed. The board chair
and vice chair are elected by the membership at the beginning of each
fiscal year.
Members must be private citizens, not employed as
educators during their terms. They represent a wide range of
professional and business experience.
The appointed commissioner of education is the board’s
executive secretary.
KBE has four standing
committees:
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Management Support
Learning Support/ Learning Results
Internal Audit
KSB/KSD Oversight
Special task forces and workgroups are appointed as needed. Board
meetings are held six times per year and are open to the public.
Agendas are set in advance.
What does the KBE do?
The Kentucky Board of Education
develops and adopts the regulations
that govern Kentucky’s 176 public
school districts and the actions of the
Kentucky Department of Education.
KBE Mission Statement:
To focus the efforts of the Kentucky Department of
Education, local schools, districts and partners in public
education, to assist all schools to meet proficiency by 2014
and to assure that each child is given the maximum
opportunity to achieve at high levels.
Kentucky Board of Education’s
strategic plan is based on the
General Assembly’s goals for the
Commonwealth’s schools and the
7 capacities of an efficient system
of common schools identified by
the Kentucky Education Reform
Act.
KBE Goals:
• High student performance
• High quality teaching and administration
• A strong, supportive environment for each
school and every child
The Kentucky School Boards
Association
A private, non-profit service
organization composed of almost 900
members of local boards of
education.
KSBA provides advocacy,
consultation, information,
professional development and
district support services for local
school board members as well as
district and school staff. It is the
largest organization of elected
officials in Kentucky.
KSBA’s direction is provided by a statewide board of
directors composed of 27 local school board
members:
President
President-elect
Immediate past president
12 directors-at-large
12 regional chairpersons
Members may be contacted by visiting the web site
http://www.ksba.org
Who may be a school board member?
State law requires a candidate to be:
• at least 24 years old
• a citizen of KY for at least 3 years and registered to vote in
the district he/she represents
• a graduate of 12th grade or have earned a GED
• related to no person employed by the school district he/she
represents
• involved in no contractual arrangement with the school
district he/she represents
• not an officer of city or county government
Fayette County Board of Education
-Consists of 5 members, elected to 4-year terms
-Holds televised meetings twice per month
-Invites the public to attend meetings
-Allows citizens to be placed on the agenda by calling
the superintendent’s office
-Posts the agenda on the board web site by the Friday
preceding the Monday meeting
-Posts official minutes and board meeting schedule on
the web site
KRS 160.345
Provision for Site Based Councils
Each local board of education shall adopt a policy
for implementing school-based decision making in
the district which shall include, but not be limited
to, a description of how the district’s
policies…have been amended to allow the
professional staff members of a school to be
involved in the decision making process as they
work to meet educational goals...
Council Membership
• Two parents
• Three teachers
• The principal or administrator
The membership of the council may be
increased, but may only be increased
proportionately.
SBDM COUNCIL MEMBERS
The teacher representatives shall be elected by a majority of
the teachers for a term of one year.
The parent members shall be elected by the parents of
students pre-registered to attend the school during the term of
office in an election conducted by the parent and teacher
organization of the school.
A school council, once elected, may adopt a policy setting
different terms of office for parent and teacher members
subsequently elected.
The principal or head teacher shall be the chair of the school
council.
MINORITY SBDM MEMBERS
Schools having 8% or more minority students
enrolled shall have at least one minority council
member. If a minority member is not elected in a
timely manner, the principal is responsible for
organizing a special election to elect an additional
parent member. Teachers may then be allowed to
select one minority teacher. If there are no
minority teachers on the faculty an additional
teacher may be elected by a majority of all
teachers. Term limitations shall not apply for a
minority teacher member who is the only minority
on faculty.
What SBDM Councils Do
• Analyze student scores and develop the Comprehensive
Plan
• Develop and adopt the School Safety Plan
• Develop and adopt policies on curriculum, assigning staff
time, assigning students to classes and programs, school
schedule, use of school space, instructional practices,
discipline and classroom management, extracurricular
programs, consultation procedures, committees and
processes.
• Decide how many people to employ in each job
classification
What SBDM Councils Do
• Select a new principal
• Consult with principal before other jobs are filled
• Approve budget expenditures, including textbooks and
instructional materials, student support services and
professional development.
KY Association of School
Councils
KASC is a non-profit membership organization.
Membership benefits include:
-Savings on KASC tools, workshops and the annual
conference, the state’s largest SBDM gathering
-Lobbying services
-Journal subscription
-Legal question and answer line on council roles
How can I collaborate with the
school board or SBDM council?
OPPORTUNITIES
ARE UNLIMITED!
Improved student health
contributes directly to KERA
goals:
Increase student attendance rates
Decrease physical and mental
barriers to learning
Improved student health
contributes directly to KBE goals
High student performance
Strong, supportive environment for
every child
(meetings are open to the public, and
agendas are set in advance)
How can I collaborate with the
local school board?
GET INVOLVED!
How can I collaborate with the
SBDM Council?
GET INVOLVED!
Get involved with SBDM:
• Meetings are usually open
• Agendas are set in advance
• Minutes and agendas are generally posted
on school web page
Help the SBDM Council decide:
• On the Comprehensive Plan
• About policies affecting curriculum, staff time, school
schedule, use of school space, instructional practices,
disciplinary and classroom management practices,
extracurricular programs
• How many people to employ in each job classification
• On a new principal
• On the recommendation of other staff
• On new textbooks, instructional materials, professional
development
How can I collaborate with
KASC?
Exhibit at their annual conference and
reach school councils all over the
state.
Contact them about being included in
their publication
GET INVOLVED!