• improve student achievement
• define school goals
• shape school policy and procedures
• solve problems

People who are responsible for carrying out decisions at the building level can now be more involved in making those decisions.

Site councils exist to create partnerships that help their school be successful.

Site councils have existed in the Saint Paul Public Schools for approximately ten years. At the start of the 1999-2000 school year, about half of the district's seventy schools had an active site council. By June 30, 2000, all schools had established site councils.

Site councils may:

• help shape and support the school's mission
• participate in the development of the school improvement plan
• drive school change and develop conditions for success
• have input into the selection of school staff
• help plan and prioritize the school's budget

How Much Authority Do Site Councils Have?

Site councils at the Saint Paul Public Schools can influence many aspects of education policy, within limits set by the Board of Education. Think of standards and assessments as the bookends within which site councils work. They can influence areas such as: school improvement plan, school reform models, staffing, mission, budget, and instructional strategies.

What Skills and Time Commitments are Required of Site Council Members?

Each site council should consist of the building principal and family, staff, and community members representing the diversity of the school community.

The primary requirement of site council members is a desire to help their school succeed and a willingness to attend monthly meetings.

If you want to serve on your site council, you should also:

• want to make a difference in the education of all children
• be willing to learn by doing
• desire to increase family and community involvement
• have an interest in learning about how schools function
• be able to work together with other groups of people

How Do Principals and Site Councils Work Together?

In successful Site Based Improvement, site councils and their principals work collaboratively, in partnership. They listen to each other and learn from each other. By working together, they solve problems creatively and reach higher quality results than either could do alone.

But eventually, all schools ask the question, "What decision making authority do our site councils and principals have?"

Authority is Connected to Responsibility and Accountability

School districts are responsible for the quality of education delivered. Districts hold principals both responsible and accountable for this quality at the school level through:

• Licensure of Minnesota principals
• A formal hiring process
• The principal's contract
• The principal's job description
• The principal's evaluation process

Principals are, therefore, accountable to the superintendent and the school board. Given the principal's responsibility and accountability for the school's quality, principals need corresponding authority.

The accountability of site councils to the board is limited. The members:

• Change often
• Do not have individual contracts with the district that address in detail their job performance
• Do not have a formal evaluation process
• Do not have tenure on their site councils

Therefore, site councils are not the ultimate decision-making body at their schools, principals are. However, site councils do not need ultimate authority in order to influence their schools' quality and development in meaningful ways.

What Can Site Councils Do?

• The Site Based Improvement Agreement defines major site council authority in several areas:
• Recommend the approval of the School Continuous Improvement Plans (SCIPs)
• Recommend the approval of the school budgets which support the SCIPs
• Monitor the implementation of the SCIPs
• Provide input into the hiring of a building's principal and some building staff

The Site Based Improvement Agreement, which each school has with the district, gives site councils the authority to sign-off on their own SCIPs and their schools' budgets. Principals and site council chairs both sign those documents.

Beyond the responsibilities outlined in the Site Based Improvement Agreement, a new list of "What site councils can and can't do" describes in detail the authority that the district has given to sites (available from the Office of Site Based Improvement at 651-767-8347).

Site Council Roles and Responsibilities

Schools also have flexibility to develop the roles and responsibilities of their individual site councils, based on the following guidelines:

• The main purpose of site councils is to improve student achievement at their schools.
• Councils serve all students at their schools, adn their school communities as a whole.
• Site councils should respect the roles and responsibilities of others at their schools, including the staff, school committees, administrators, and parent organizations.
• When a decision-making role is proposed for a council, the council and principal must both support the council having that decision-making authority.
• When a council desires a district-level change, the council should dialogue respectfully with central office administration.
• Site councils are expected to work collaboratively and become high performance teams.

The Office of Site Based Improvement can assist schools when they need help moving forward.

[This information has been adapted from the What Are Site Councils? brochure and Roles of Principals and Site Councils brochure, both published by the Office of Site Based Improvement, Saint Paul Public Schools]