Newfoundland & Labrador Federation of School Councils

Committees are the base upon which a strong school-based decision making system is built. Committees help to involve everyone in the exciting effort of school improvement and provide the most sensible, time efficient way for the school council process to operate. Committees are vital to effective decision making.

The purpose of committees is to make recommendations to the council by performing the following duties as appropriate:

Discussion of issues should take place in committees and very little discussion should be needed at the council meeting. The council may ask for clarification or explanation, or may guide and direct the committee with feedback, but the real work of exploring possibilities and formulating policy recommendations should be left to the committee.

The council serves as the final checkpoint for the educational value and appropriate structure of the committee recommendations. The council asks itself: Will this recommendation help our school achieve its goals? Is it consistent with our mission statement and our school improvement plan? Will it help our students improve? If the answer to these rhetorical questions is no, then the council will need to refer this back to the committee for further work.

Although the formation of committees is not required by legislation, it is recommended that a policy on committees be developed if committees are to be used. The draft policy below is designed to give a school an orderly structure for creating effective committees. Which committees are actually included in the policy at your school, and what their duties will be, depends on your mission statement and goals. The committees and duties listed in the draft policy are examples only! Many may exist under different names at different schools, for example the Communications Committee at one school may be the Public Relations Committee at another.

Committees are a way of spreading the workload and a way of providing opportunity for input to a larger number of staff and parents, many of whom may not be able to make the commitment to sit on council but would like the opportunity to contribute.

MODEL POLICY ON FORMATION AND OPERATION OF COMMITTEES FIRST DRAFT
Purpose of This Policy
Purpose	Committees will be formed to help involve all interested parties in the decision making process at this school. The school council will direct the committees as to their responsibilities and will act upon recommendations made by the committees.
Jurisdiction of Committees
General Responsibilities	Committees shall carry out their roles as directed by the council including, but not limited to the responsibilities listed in this section. All activities are to be done at least annually. Each committee will prepare a timeline of goals and activities to be submitted to the council for approval within a month after the first committee meeting.
Assessment Committee	The Assessment Committee shall: analyze any available assessment data related to school performance or student achievement and prepare a report for the council, staff, and parents. review and revise if necessary, communication of student progress to parents and students. assist in the development of a School Report Card to be distributed to parents and the general community.
Communication Committee	The Communications Committee shall: review and revise if necessary the methods of communication of school information to students, parents, staff and the general public. prepare a school council newsletter
Curriculum and Instructional Practices Committee	The Curriculum and Instructional Practices Committee shall: explore adjustment of instructional practices to help improve student performance in areas of need identified by the Assessment Committee. recommend policies and policy amendments to carry out its recommendations.
Finance Committee	The Finance Committee shall: advise the principal on matters relating to school budget expenditures coordinate fundraising activities at the school
School Improvement Committee	The School Improvement Committee shall: develop and implement a process for gathering information from staff, parents and students identify areas of focus for improvement based on information gathered from constituents and information from other committees such as the Assessment Committee. develop a School Improvement Plan for implementation by the Council through its Committees.
Technology Committee	The Technology Committee shall: review the school's technology plan and recommend revisions monitor implementation of the technology plan coordinate technology efforts with the Finance and Curriculum Committees
Ad Hoc Committees	Ad Hoc Committees may be formed to address specific tasks identified by the council and will be dissolved once the task is complete.
Committee Membership and Officers
Service requirement	Each council member is required to serve on at least one standing committee.
Chairperson Responsibilities	The chairperson shall: set and distribute the agenda run the meeting submit a written report of progress to the council and/or present recommendations monthly communicate council requests back to the committee monitor completion of committee actions
Recording Secretary Responsibilities	The recording secretary shall: take attendance record the minutes of the meeting and distribute them as directed in this policy file a copy of the minutes in the committee notebook
Composition	Each standing committee shall consist of a minimum of three members. Constituent representation will be determined by the council based on the nature of the committee. Most committees will consist of representation from staff and parents/community. Wherever possible, a member of council will sit on each committee.
Invitation to Join Committee	The council intends to create committees that obtain broad-based input into its decisions. To ensure that sort of participation, the following steps shall be taken during the month of March: The council chairperson shall notify all parents and staff in writing of the opportunity to sign up for committees for the next school year. The current chairpersons of all committees shall attend a meeting of the parent-teacher organization to describe the committees' work and recent accomplishments. The current chairpersons of all committees shall describe the committees' work and recent accomplishments at a staff meeting. It is recommended that this effort occur during a regular staff meeting.
Sign Up Opportunities	It will be possible to sign up for committees throughout the month of April. Sign up sheets for parents and community members shall be located in the school office, and sign up sheets for teachers shall be located in the staff lounge. Parents and community members may also indicate an interest in serving on committees in writing or by telephone, in which case their names shall be added to the sign up sheet.
Determination of Membership	The council shall meet during the first two weeks of May to finalize committee membership. To the extent possible, volunteers will be assigned the committees of their choice, but changes may be necessary to ensure adequate committee membership and balance on each committee. The council shall also designate one committee member to convene the committee for its first meeting. The chairperson of the council, or the person he or she designates, shall notify all committee members of their assignments within three working days of the council meeting.
Membership Terms	Committee membership will last one year, but consecutive service is recommended for continuity.
Ad Hoc Committees	When the council determines that an ad hoc committee is needed, it shall also determine the number of members the committee needs, the groups that need to be represented, and the method for picking members. Whenever possible, the council will ask staff, parents and community members to sign up to serve on ad hoc committees and select members from that sign up list at a later council meeting. If an ad hoc committee needs to complete its work quickly, however, the council may appoint members to the committee immediately or designate a person to do so.
First Committee Meeting	The person designated to convene each committee shall call a meeting within 15 days after the committee membership is decided by the council. At the first meeting the committee shall: elect a recording secretary elect a chairperson designate a regular meeting date, time, and place read committee roles and responsibilities and any extra council directives and outline a timeline of goals/activities for the coming school year. After the meeting the secretary shall report the above information to the school council chairperson.
Meeting Times	Standing committees will meet on a regular monthly schedule to be determined by the members of each committee. Additional, specially called meetings may be held in order to fulfil committee responsibilities, but should be avoided if possible. Ad hoc committees will meet as needed to complete their tasks.
Agenda	Each committee shall set an agenda for each meeting. The chairperson of the committee shall prepare a tentative agenda for each meeting, distribute it to each committee member and post it on the school council bulletin board at least 24 hours before the meeting. At the start of the meeting the council shall review the tentative agenda, adding or subtracting items if necessary. (At specially called meetings not on the regular meeting schedule, items cannot be added to the agenda, but they may be subtracted.)
Committee Participation	Any staff member, parent, or community members may participate in the discussion of agenda topics, except for topics that the committee discusses in a legally called closed session.
Minutes	Committees shall take minutes of each meeting and distribute those minutes to each school council member and each committee members. Minutes shall also be posted on the school council bulletin board and kept in a committee notebook that will be available upon request.
Decision Making	Two-thirds of the members of the committee or their designee must be present for the committee to form a recommendation for the council. All committees shall use consensus decision making as the primary method of making decisions. In the event that consensus can not be reached, two committee members may call for a majority vote. Everyone in attendance may contribute to the discussion, but only the committee members or their designee may be a part of the consensus or vote.

Many of the duties of committees in the model policy are general. Your school may wish to define more specific committees and roles. For example:

If your school does not have a Home and School or Parent-Teacher Association, or has opted to incorporate the Home and School or PTA into the school council, some committees may perform functions previously covered by that group. For example: