St Augustine
SCC Constitution
St. Augustine School Community Council
Policy
The Council may be affiliated with the Saskatchewan Association of School Councils.
The Council will operate as a non-profit organization with no personal financial benefits.
The business of the Council shall be unbiased toward race, religion, gender or politics.
Purpose
The purpose of the St. Augustine School Community Council is:
- To represent parents' views and concerns in a constructive way to the school Principal.
- To communicate with parents and community and to promote cooperation between the home, community and school in providing for the education of children.
- To provide parents/community with a forum through which information and school practices can be discussed.
- To organize Council activities and events.
- To contribute to the effectiveness of the school by promoting the partnership of students, staff, parents, community members and community groups.
- Membership
1.1 Representative Membership
The School Community Council will have the following Representative Members:
- 5 - 9 parent and community members.
Permanent Members
The School Community Council will have the following Permanent Members:
- The School Principal
- A teacher
- Additional members as recommended by the SCC and approved by the Holy Family School Board of Education,
In the first year half of the representative members will serve a one year term and the remainder will serve a two year term.
- Officers
2.1 The following School Council Officers will be elected annually from among the Representative Members (Parent and Community):
- Chairperson
- Vice-Chairperson
- Secretary/Treasurer
The roles and responsibilities of officers can be found in Appendix A of this constitution.
- School Community Council Meetings
3.1 Annual General Meeting
The Annual General meeting will be held in conjunction with the School Board's Annual meeting. During this meeting School Community Council members will be selected and officers will be chosen.
3.2 The School Community Council will have a minimum of five meetings per year, plus one annual meeting
3.3 Model of Governance
The Town Hall Model
In this model members are elected to the School Community Council but regular meetings are open to the entire school community. Meetings are open to the public but only members of the School Community Council may decide upon matters brought before the School Community Council.
3.4 Quorum
A quorum of the School Community Council shall be a majority of the Representative Members.
- Public Consultation and Communication
The School Community Council will consult and communicate with the school community though the following strategies:
- Open meetings
- Newsletters
- Minutes of SCC meetings (available upon request)
- School Community Council Code of Conduct
The School Community Council will adopt the Code of Conduct of the Saskatchewan Association of School Councils which can be found in Appendix B of this constitution.
- Conflict of Interest
A School Community Council member may occasionally find him/herself in a conflict of interest position in terms of some issue under consideration by the S.C.C. When this happens, the Member should declare that s/he is in a conflict of interest situation and leave the room for the portion of the meeting, thus refraining from participating in the discussion. The Member should not vote on any decision made on the issue.
- Decision-Making Processes
Processes
The School Community Council's preferred decision making model will be the Consensus Building Model. Although some decisions like adopting a constitution will require a motion and a formal vote, not all Council business will require this process.
Consensus does not necessarily mean that all parties agree, but that all can live with a decision for the sake of the group's ability to move forward. It requires that all Members listen to each other's opinions and try to find solutions to problems and differences.
- 8. Handling Complaints or Concerns
Complaints or concerns about an Individual Student or Staff Member Any matter concerning an individual student or staff member must be directed to the staff member or Principal. It is not the responsibility of the School Community Council to deal with concerns or complaints about individuals other than to direct the concern to the appropriate individual.
8.1 Complaints or Concerns about School Community Council Initiatives or Activities
8.1.1 Informal Complaints or Concerns
Provided School Community Council Members are comfortable in their knowledge and feel at ease expressing themselves, concerns or questions about S.C.C. initiatives or activities expressed informally to members of the School Community Council may be addressed immediately by the Member. If a Member is unsure of the appropriate response, s/he should say so but indicate that s/he will check and get back to the individual. If such a commitment is made the Member must follow through. After responding to the complaint or concern the Member should always ask if their response has been satisfactory. If the individual is not satisfied with the response, the Member should explain how the concern or complaint could be brought to the attention of the School Community Council in a more formal manner.
8.1.2 Formal Complaints or Concerns
Concerns or complaints can be brought to the attention of the School Community Council by addressing the concern in writing to the Chairperson or by requesting that the Chairperson provide the individual with an opportunity to meet with the School Community Council at an upcoming meeting. The School Community Council will provide a written response regarding how they have or will address the concern or complaint.
- Conflict Resolution Process
The Conflict Resolution Process will be used by the School Community Council to address both internal conflict, which may occur among individuals within the School Community Council and external conflict that may occur between the School Community Council and individuals, groups or organizations outside of the S.C.C. The conflict resolution process is outlined in A Handbook for School Community Councils and Principals (p 99).
If reasonable attempts to resolve the conflict have been unsuccessful, the principal or the chairperson will contact the Director of Education.
- Committees
The School Community Council will act in a coordination role for committees operating in support of the S.C.C. and the school program.
11.Amend the Constitution
The School Community Council may amend its constitution by sending suggestions for change in writing to the Board of Education.
Appendix A
Roles and Responsibilities of School Community Council Officers
The Chairperson will:
- conduct meetings of the School Community Council;
- ensure that all members have input to discussion and decisions;
- prepare meeting agendas in consultation with the Principal and other School Community Council Members;
- oversee operations of the School Community Council;
- establish networks that support the School Community Council; and, act as a spokesperson for the School Community Council.
The Vice-Chairperson will;
- support the Chairperson in his/her duties, taking over when the Chairperson is unable to attend; and,
- perform responsibilities assigned by the Chairperson.
The Secretary/Treasurer will;
- take minutes at School Community Council meetings;
- receive and send correspondence on behalf of the School Community Council;
- take charge of any official records of the School Community Council; ensure that appropriate notice is given for all meetings of the School Community Council; and,
- manage the finances of the School Community Council using procedures outlined in the School Community Council Funds: Operation and Procedures Manual.
Appendix B
School Community Council Code of Conduct
- The School Community Council of St. Augustine School is not a forum for the discussion of individual school personnel, students, parents, or other individual members of the school community,
- A member of the School Community Council who is approached by a parent with a concern relating to an individual is in a privileged position and must treat such discussion with discretion, protecting the confidentiality of the people involved,
- A person who accepts a position as a member of a School Community Council:
- Upholds the constitution and bylaws, policies and procedures of the School Community Council.
- Performs his/her duties with honesty and integrity.
- Works to ensure that the well-being of students is the primary focus of all decisions
- Respects the rights of all individuals.
- Takes direction from the members, ensuring that the representation processes are in place.
- Encourages and supports parents and students with individual concerns to act on their own behalf and provides information on the process for taking forward concerns.
- Works to ensure that issues are resolved through due process.
- Strives to be informed and only passes on information that is reliable and correct.
- Abides by the decisions made by the Council.
- Respects all confidential information.
- Supports public education.
Source: Saskatchewan Association of School Councils