This sounds similar to our School Board. The Board is made up of volunteers (since I dont think they get paid); with a School Ssuperintendant (paid position) in charge. These are also elected officials, like City Council members.

Is it the same or different??
Thanks,
Lisa @ Tx

Wait, wait, I think I found a real answer for you, and this is specific to Arizona. I used Google and put in [+"Site Council" +Arizona] without brackets and got a ton of hits. This one is an actual article from greatschools.net

Gotta go - inlaws coming for dinner...

***************

What Is a School Site Council?

Behind the creation of the school site council is the belief that those involved with schools and students on a day-to-day basis--that is, the teachers, parents and other school employees--can make some of the best decisions.

The school site council is an elected group of teachers, parents, classified employees, and students (at the high school level) who work with the principal to develop, review, evaluate and allocate funds for school improvement programs.

The councils are formed to make decisions about how state-allocated school improvement funds will be spent. Some councils, for instance, might use funds to develop a new math program, while others may want to hire a reading specialist. The idea behind the creation of the councils in the 1970s was that those most closely involved with the schools and students on a day-to-day basis could often make the best decisions about how schools needed to improve. How the councils actually operate varies greatly from school to school, but in general the school site councils deal more with school policy and budgets than the school PTA or PTO does.

At some schools, the site councils generally defer to the principal's judgments, while at others principals will ask their councils to help develop new programs or oversee major school change. Successful school councils, regardless of their specific agendas, are more than a "rubber stamp" committee, and will always ask thoughtful and challenging questions.

School site council members, whether teachers or parents, should not just represent their own interests. They have an obligation to make decisions that will best serve the whole school community.

To find out more about the activities of your school site council, attend a meeting or talk to the school principal. If you're interested in participating on the council, call the school secretary to find out how the selection process operates at your school.

This is probably a bad time to mention that's about the total sum of my knowledge, huh? But then again, when did not having the information ever stop me from responding?

I had a date conflict last year so didn't participate, so let's see what I can dredge up from my memory of 00-01. (It's a bit hazy.)

I believe each of our schools must convene a Campus Advisory Committee that includes a certain number of representatives from the faculty, the PTO, parents, business, and community. I remember this mix was important as they had to make sure everyone signed in and that they had all the proper areas represented. The group works together to develop the next years' "Campus Improvement Plan". They gave us a lot of stuff - reports about the school, testing, parent survey results, the previous year's plan, etc. We went through this, then broke into workgroups and each took a part of the plan. So, probably 80-90% of the plan is going to be exactly the same, but you still have to go through it. The plan/packet was about 20 pages thick. It has a mission and vision and everything is in a particular format. Each workgroup took a section of "objectives" to review, discuss, and see what need to be revised. Then we joined back together as a large group to discuss the suggested revisions. I think there were 15-20 people.

It's coming back to me now... Each item has objective, campus activity, staff responsible, time frame, cost, and possible methods of measurement. This wasn't trivial-there are pages and pages of them.

I think we had two meetings (maybe 2-3 hrs each??), but the school staff put a lot of work in behind the scenes so our time could be very productive. They had big packets all ready for us in file folders. They verbally presented summary information. It helped a lot. We didn't have to spend time collating copies or figuring out what was what, so we pretty much dove right in. They had us in an isolated room so there were no interruptions. It's not the kind of thing you could do in the teacher's lounge.

The meeting was during the day (at school), and the principal and vice principal both attended. So it must be considered pretty important. As in demand as they each are, for both of them to block this much time is almost impossible.

My district doesn't have anything on the website, but I think this ties back to a state law, so some other schools will. Use a search engine and put in [+"Campus Improvement Plan" +Texas} without the brackets. I think you'll get some hits that might help you.

On the district side, I've been asked to serve on an Academic Advisory group. It doesn't start meeting until August, so I really would be making stuff up if I spoke about that.

[ 06-15-2002: Message edited by: JHB ]</p>

That sounds exactly like what it is! Please continue! Please!
:eek: :eek:
And yes, we finally have a subject that I know less than nothing about! Our site council has been very passive in its role in the last few years, which is probably why I've been invited to lead it for the up-coming school year. We all know I am anything but passive!
[img]tongue.gif[/img]

We have campus advisory groups which are a mixed goup of teachers, staff, parents, community, and local business reps. This group meets once or twice a year to assist with strategic planning for the school. Each school has its own.

And, of course, there are various committees at the District level that often have designated parent members. Next year, I'll be on the curriculum committee.

Somehow I don't think either of these is what you are looking for, so I guess we don't have anything comparable.

Does your school have a Site Council? I'm not sure exactly what it is. As I understand it, it is sort of like a PTO that doesn't raise the funds, but makes recommendations regarding the school's needs. I'm just kind of curious about what other school's Site Councils do. :confused: