| Just elected to your school council? Thinking about serving? This page is designed to answer some of your questions about Kentucky's school councils and how they work.
School councils do important work — and in constant need of people who know their role and are committed to helping all children reach their full potential. |
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> SCHOOL COUNCILS: MAKING SCHOOLS WORK FOR KIDS
BACKGROUND As part of a law that completely overhauled Kentucky's public education system in 1990, the General Assembly created school councils as a new unit of accountability to move individual schools toward the state's goals for producing proficient students. While alternative models can be approved, councils are generally made up of a school's principal, three teachers, and two parents.
RESPONSIBILITIES In addition to approving basic policies for schools, councils are responsible for overseeing the overall direction for schools. Councils select school principals based on candidates forwarded by the superintendent. Councils make decisions about improvement planning, including setting targets for closing achievement gaps. Councils also deal with professional development and spending on staff and instructional materials.
ROLES As a school's instructional leader, principals play an overarching role in leading the school council and carrying out its decisions. Teacher representatives reflect the voice and wishes of classroom professionals working with students to reach proficiency goals. Parent representatives bring an outside perspective and a focus on ensuring that decisions meet students' needs. At the heart of everyone's work is attention to Kentucky's definition of proficient student work and school improvement targets. Councils are charged with using the tools at schools' disposal to find a way to reach proficiency goals for children. Councils
DECISIONMAKING As a small leadership team, KASC advises that school councils make decisions based on consensus of all members and focused on meeting students' needs and assuring that schools are providing a proficient education — or working diligently toward that goal.
> Read our handout on basics for new council members, also available in Spanish.
> See our outline of "what councils do," focused on legal responsibilities.
> See our glossary of education terms.
Speaking of education terms, the phrase school council and SBDM are essentially synonymous. School-based decision making describes the function that councils serve, and many educators use the term SBDM when talking about councils or council work.
KASC The Kentucky Association of School Councils was created to help councils across the state get top-notch training, share information, stay on top of policy developments, work on legislative issues, answer legal questions, and more. Our Web site explains the services and products KASC has developed and how membership works. Our About Us page explains more about who we are. We're here to help councils do the best possible work for Kentucky students. If you have questions, suggestions, or wonder where to find more information, don't hestitate to contact us. We're glad to spread the news about the good work that councils and schools across Kentucky are doing and help you work through questions or challenges.
> Scan our Resources page
> See our full list of Products
> Learn more about our Training & On-Site Support
KASC | 217 S. FOURTH ST. | DANVILLE, KY 40422 | (859) 238-2188 phone | (859) 238-0806 fax