Collaborating with School Councils
This article describes a method for changing
a parent or school council from a group that is consulted after decisions
are made to collaborative partners in making those decisions. This doesn't
require a massive overhaul of the school system, but school councils will
need to have meaningful involvement in discussions about school issues
and not just be informed of decisions made by others. This doesn't require
more time or more meetings. It does require sharing information with school
councils before decisions are made. The talk about collaboration will focus
on what needs to happen, why should it happen, when should it happen, what
is happening now and the "Phillips Plan".
School Councils
and Decisions
A school council can only offer informed advice
about the school if the council knows what is occurring in the school.
There are principals that don't want to involve councils in discussions
about school programs and organization, because the school council members
don't understand the issues, aren't aware of the constraints imposed on
the school and don't have a professional knowledge of the curriculum or
teaching. However, governments expect councils be meaningfully involved
in the school decision making process. For example the Alberta government
thought parents, through school councils, should: determine the nature
of school programs, approve the expenditure of money, set educational standards,
and participate in the management of the school. After much public outcry
by parents, teachers, administrators, and school boards, the province made
it clear that the parents' role was consultative. (School Act, Sec 17(5),
Province of Alberta, June 1995) Parents and community members are going
to be involved in school program and organizational decisions. Principals
can chose whether that participation will be informed or not. I suggest
that the process will be more worthwhile, collaborative, and enjoyable
if parents are informed. This implies that parents need to know about the
programs offered in the school, the curriculum, the way the school is organized,
the expectations for the student body, the challenges being faced by the
school, the constraints facing the school, and the community the school
serves. (Index)
Why have
an Informed Council?
Now, why would a principal chose to inform the
school council about controversies, pedagogical issues, concerns with student
achievement, and other items, when most of the council members won't understand
or care about what is being said. While it is tempting to let sleeping
dogs lie, there are advantages to having an informed and involved council.
It is generally accepted that an involved council will be supportive of
the school. When the council is involved in reaching decisions, they become
"us". What does this mean in real life. A few years ago, several Alberta
school districts were blindsided by calls, from some religious groups,
to ban the Impressions, whole language series. Language programs were disrupted
and staff, teachers, trustees and parents spent a lot of time and energy
putting the genie back in the bottle. If the school had discussed the whole
language program with parents and pointed out the issues surrounding whole
language and the Impressions series, parents in the school would have implicitly
validated the program. People opposing the program would be questioning
the judgement of the parents, not just the teachers and administrators.
Granted, strong opposition to the program might develop, but the principal
chooses the time and place for the discussion. Also, the principal has
credibility because the issue was brought forward and not avoided. Most
important, the principal can have a plan in place to resolve concerns that
may arise.
In addition to conflict management, involving
school councils can lead to better decisions. Obviously, council members
have different perspectives and experience than school staff. The council
members particular strength will be knowledge of students and the community.
More importantly, preparing to present an issue to the council imposes
a discipline on the decision making process. The principal must clearly
define the issue, identify alternatives, and be prepared to comment on
the strengths and weaknesses of the alternatives. The council will provide
feedback that the principal can use in arriving at a decision. The feedback
should include a preferred choice, member concerns, and possibly other
alternatives. (Index)
Problems
with Current Practice
If school councils are going to take the time
and trouble to participate, the discussion needs to take place before a
decision is made. This doesn't have to mean more meetings. A lot can be
done within the existing council meeting structure. Unfortunately, school
councils and principals seldom find the time to discuss program, organization
or standards. Parents are told what the school is doing and asked to comment,
but not many schools have a plan in place to involve parents or the community
in developing these.
For example, the budget/education planning
process at my son's school is relatively inclusive. In December, parents
were informed of the district priorities and the budget timelines. Parents
also were able to identify issues to be addressed during the process. Teachers
developed an education plan at a staff meeting which was discussed with
a budget committee that included a small number of parents. The principal
took the ideas and opinions generated by the meetings with staff, parents,
and students and drafted a budget. The draft was circulated to the budget
committee for comment and revised by the principal. The principal submitted
the budget in February. I am sure there are countless variations of this
process offering differing degrees of parent participation. However, I
suspect they have some common shortcomings.
The most obvious problem is the short timeline.
There isn't time to identify issues, to gather information about alternative
approaches, to present the information to parents, and to make a collaborative
decision.
Another issue is the lack of a forum for
discussing student problems. While the budget was being prepared, the school
became aware that a number of the grade 9 students were failing because
of incomplete work and poor study skills. The administration and teachers
decided to have these students give up an option to create time to participate
in a study hall. The decision to offer the study hall was discussed with
the parents affected, but not the school council. The problem appeared
to be emergent, but for the parents, the students, and teachers the problem
was cumulative. The solution assumed the problem was student behaviour.
However a broader discussion may have identified organization and program
contributions to the students' achievement.
Finally, the program plan, the technology
plan, and the budget document didn't involve the whole school community.
In our case, the teachers developed the program plan without parent involvement.
Also, a plan for using technology in the school was put together by one
teacher and presented to the school council. There is a qualitative difference
between being involved in the formation of a plan and being asked to comment
on a completed plan. Parents were informed, but not involved. Part of the
reason was the time available. More problematic was a failure to recognize
the value of involving a broader group of people or recognizing the right
parents and others have to be involved. For instance, the student council
developed the school discipline plan. The plan turned out to be quite strict
and more prescriptive than many teachers or parents would have made it.
Parents were invited to comment, but there was a reluctance to change it
because it was created by the students. There were problems with the plan
that would have been avoided with a collaborative approach, because the
concerns would have been addressed while the plan was being developed.
What can be done about it? What can a school,
that wants to take a collaborative approach to making school program and
organizational decisions, do? How does the school find the time to both
involve and educate parents and others who have an interest? The answer
is to strictly adhere to "The Phillips Plan for Collaborating with School
Councils". This plan is simply a framework for setting aside the time to
discuss and develop solutions to school problems. Strict adherence is only
required of the unimaginative. (Index)
The Phillips Plan
for Collaborating with School Councils
September
September is the time to bring parents together
and talk about the school. It is the time to talk about the school vision
and how the school and the students are doing. September is also the time
to bring up the areas of school operation that the school council identified
for review the previous year. The group should decide which reviews they
want to participate in and how that participation will be managed. Get
a list of participants before the adjourning the meeting.
October
By October, achievement test results and other
performance measures for school should be available. The implications of
these results should be explained. More importantly, parents need to know
the effects of the prior years program changes. The group should decide
whether additional areas of school operation need to be reviewed and if
immediate action should be taken.
November and December
During November and December the school council
should be receiving reports and presentations about the areas of school
operation being reviewed. These presentations can take any form that is
effective and should involve as many members of the school community as
possible.
January
January is the time to develop the school's
education plan and budget for the following year. The school council needs
to decide how to implement the recommendations made in the reports on school
operations. Once the education plan for the school is laid out the budget
is largely determined.
February
The education plan should be shared with a wide
community. Use the February meeting to consider the feedback and adjust
the plan.
April
By April, the school should have a good idea
how students are doing. The school council should analyse this information
and decide whether immediate action needs to be taken or information is
required. The school council should identify what information it needs
and who is going to provide it.
May
May is the time to look ahead to next year.
Some of the concerns brought forward in April will need immediate action,
but others can be identified as areas of operation to be reviewed the following
year. The council can identify and start the process of gathering the information
needed for the reviews.
June
Celebrate! In June, recognize the accomplishments
of the school community. Everyone should climb out of the trenches and
see how far they've come. (Index)
Field Experience
The plan provides a framework for involving
the school council in the school operations. That is all that it does.
I'm sure there are other approaches. However, if you don't have a plan
for involving school councils, it won't happen.
Some of you may wonder if there is acceptance
for the "Phillips" plan in the real world. Well, I was on three school
councils and none have adopted the plan. At the school used as an example
in this article, we scheduled discussion topics for the rest of our meetings.
In December, the principal discussed the school organization and the plans
for next year. He gave both staff and students an opportunity to review
the plans and to comment. In January, the council discussed core programs.
At the second school, there is a tradition of department reports. However,
the principal looked at me funny when I suggest he bring forward information
about budget issues. At the third school, the principal discussed organization
and program issues as part of the budget process. At the district level,
I was a member of a School Partners Advisory Council. The members are all
school council chairmen. Ten out of 12 weren't sure parents should advise
school principals and didn't see a need to be informed about program and
organization. There is a long way to go.
However, principals should encourage parents
and community members to learn about the school and be participate in making
decisions. Right now, principals have the initiative and there is an opportunity
to develop procedures and sort out roles, before governments require school
council involvement. More importantly, school council members are a source
of knowledge and wisdom that can benefit the school and the students.
(Index)
This article is based on the following:
Phillips, L. J.,Collaborating with School Councils, The Canadian School
Executive, October 1996
Collaborating with School Councils, 2nd National Congress on Rural Education,
Saskatoon, Sask. February 1997. (included in proceedings)