REVISED DRAFT 3/15/06 PESD Montessori Program School Council Bylaws

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REVISED DRAFT 3/15/06 PESD Montessori Program School Council Bylaws

Phoenix Elementary School District #1

Montessori Program School Council Bylaws

(as of January 2006 representing Montessori classes at

Faith North & Shaw)

ARTICLE I: Mission Statement

The mission of the Montessori Program in Phoenix Elementary School District #1 (PESD) is to provide a solid academic foundation employing the philosophy of Maria Montessori within a loving, respectful and supportive community.

ARTICLE II: Purpose and Responsibility

The purpose of the Montessori Program School Council shall be

A.  To fulfill the duties prescribed in Article XI of the Arizona Constitution, Title 15 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, the Rules of the State Board of Education, and Phoenix Elementary School District policies.

B.  To fulfill the mission of the PESD Montessori Program as stated in Article I of these Bylaws. This shall be accomplished through cooperative efforts of school personnel, parents, students, and community members.

C.  To ensure that the quality and integrity of the Montessori Program and that the principles of the Montessori Program as adopted by the PESD Governing Board are followed.

D.  To implement decentralization and school-based management and to confirm the belief in the efficacy of shared decision making at the school site. Decisions should be made in the best interest of the students by persons who both work in and are served by the school. As much as possible decisions shall be made by group consensus so all involved are mutually accountable and responsible.

E.  To serve as an ombudsman group for the school community. The School Council will seek to address any concerns, questions, and complaints brought forward from any member of any constituent group. Each Council member will communicate effectively with and represent the constituency from which the Council member was elected.

ARTICLE III: Membership of the Montessori Program School Council

A.  Membership

1.  Pursuant to Arizona State Statutes (A.R.S. 15-351), “Teachers and parents or guardians of pupils enrolled at the school shall constitute a majority of the school council members” and “The number of teachers and parents or guardians of pupils enrolled at the school shall be equal.” Parents or guardians selected for the council may serve as a member if “the parent or guardian is not employed at the same school where the parent or guardian’s child is enrolled.” State statute also requires that the school council “shall take into account the ethnic composition of the local community.” The selection of representatives by each of the constituency groups must comply with these guidelines.

2.  The School Council membership shall be comprised of the following and selected by the following constituent groups:

a.  Parent Representatives—Four (4) total to reflect the following:

-Two (2) parents or guardians whose child/ren are attending a primary class

-One (1) parent or guardian whose child/ren are attending a lower elementary class

-One (1) parent or guardian whose child/ren are attending an upper elementary or middle school class

Parent representatives shall be selected in the first 2 months of the new school year. A parent representative shall be responsible for conducting election of parent representatives, and following a poll of eligible voters, shall submit the election results to the School Council prior to the first week of each term of service. Parents or guardians who are employees of the school district are eligible to serve if they are not employed at the school where their child is enrolled. Parents or guardians elected to serve as representatives of a particular grade level (e.g., primary) may serve out the remainder of their term after their child is promoted to a different grade level, as long as the child is still enrolled in the Montessori Program.

b.  Certified Teacher Representatives - Four (4) total to reflect the following:

-Two (2) from primary classes

-One (1) from lower elementary classes

-One (1) from upper elementary or middle school classes
The Montessori certified teaching staff shall select four representatives. A faculty/staff representative shall be responsible for conducting election of teacher representatives, and following a poll of eligible voters, shall submit the election results to the School Council prior to the first week of each term of service.

c.  Classified Representatives—One (1) total
A faculty/staff representative shall be responsible for conducting any such election, and following a poll of eligible voters, shall submit the election results to the School Council prior to the first week of each term of service.

d.  Community Representatives—One (1) total
Any individual working or residing within the bounds of the Phoenix Elementary School District, who is not an employee of the district or a parent of a child currently attending the Montessori Program, shall be eligible to serve as a community representative. Nominees for community representative will be taken at the first School Council meeting and selected by a majority vote of Council members.

e.  Other Montessori Representative—One (1) total
A staff member serving in the capacity of Montessori specialist, who is both a certified Montessori teacher and has administrator training, shall be an automatic member of the School Council with voting status.

f.  Administrator—One (1) total

The principal shall be an automatic member of the School Council and will have ex-officio (non-voting) status on the Council.

3.  All voting members, as duly selected representatives of their respective constituent groups, shall have the same rights and responsibilities on the Council.

4.  No person may be selected from more than one of the aforementioned constituent groups for purposes of membership on the Council.

B.  Period of Service and Officers

1.  Except for the first year of the School Council, terms of service for all members of the Council shall be two years with no term limits. The Council shall determine the date in which the term of service begins.

a.  Staggered terms will be used. In the first year two parent representatives (one primary and one upper elementary), two teacher representatives (one primary and one upper elementary/middle school) and the community representative will serve for one year. Thereafter, two parent representatives (one primary and one upper elementary/middle school), two teacher representatives (one primary and one upper elementary/middle school) and the community representative will be selected in odd numbered years and two parent representatives (one primary and one lower elementary), two teacher representatives (one primary and one lower elementary) and the classified staff representative will be selected in even numbered years.

b.  The members of the Council shall assume office immediately upon election.

2.  The officers of the School Council shall consist of a Chairperson and Secretary, and other officers as the Council may deem advisable. All officers will serve for a term of 1 year.

a.  The Chairperson shall be elected from the parent representatives of the Council by a majority of the entire Council at the first meeting of each school year.

b.  The Secretary and other officers shall be elected from the voting members of the Council by a majority of the entire Council at the first meeting of each school year.

C.  Manner of Acting
Except as otherwise provided by these Bylaws, at all meetings of the School Council, each member, present in person, shall have one vote.

D.  Vacancies
Any vacancy in the School Council shall be filled from the categories designated in Article III.A. – Membership and shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

E.  Resignation

1. Parent representatives whose children no longer attend the Montessori Program must resign.

2. Any School Council member may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Chairperson. Unless otherwise specified in such written notice, the resignation shall take effect upon receipt of the notice by the Chairperson. The acceptance of the resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.

F.  Committees
The School Council, by resolution adopted by the majority of the entire Council, may from time to time designate from among its members various standing committees, and may also designate from among its members and non-members, which shall include students, parents, staff and faculty, such other committees as the School Council may deem desirable, such powers and authority as may be provided in a resolution. Each committee shall serve at the pleasure of the School Council. Standing committees shall include, but not be limited to, Budget, Curriculum and Assessment, Survey, Personnel, and Discipline and Peace Education. All committees shall be chaired by a member of the School Council but members of committees need not be Council members.

ARTICLE IV: Duties and Powers

A.  Scope

1.  The School Council shall be responsible for the control and management of the affairs, property and interests of the school, and may exercise all powers that may be granted to any such association of staff, faculty, students, community representatives, and parents, except those powers which are expressly limited by appropriate laws, rules, policies, or by these Bylaws. In its actions the School Council should work to foster cooperation between the different interest groups and stakeholders of the Montessori Program community.

2.  Shared decision-making duties will include but are not limited to the following areas:

Assessment

Attendance

Curriculum and Instruction

Discipline and Peace Education

Enrollment

Finances and Resources

Montessori Program Expansion

Public Relations and Marketing

Resources and Supplies

Scheduling

Staffing and personnel

This scope will expand as PESD policies allow for expansion. Future areas should automatically be included in the decision-making policies of the School Council.

B. Annual Survey of Parent and Staff Satisfaction

Each year in May, a survey, to be developed by the Council, will be conducted to inform School Council decisions in the following year.

C. Annual Assessment of Principal Performance

A yearly review of principal performance will be conducted by the Council and results will be forwarded to the Superintendent.

D.  School Administration
The principal for the Montessori Program shall ensure that the policies, resolutions, and decisions of the School Council are implemented. The Montessori Program principal shall provide requisite information, including but not limited to school budgetary and personnel issues (as allowed by law); school curriculum and assessment plans; and Montessori Program expansion, enrollment, and marketing plans, so the School Council may fulfill its purpose as stated in Article II of these Bylaws. In order to create an environment that honors an open process of communication, and to establish a record of decision-making that shapes the development of the PESD Montessori Program, if the principal fails to inform the Council of plans for changes in the program and/or fails to ensure the implementation of the policies, resolutions, and/or decisions of the School Council, a written explanation must be provided to the School Council as to why this failure occurred.

ARTICLE V: Meetings

A.  Authority to Act

1.  Legislative Power
The legislative authority of the Montessori Program shall be vested in the School Council. The School Council shall make policy for the Montessori Program but shall defer to the faculty, staff, and administration on the day-to-day operations of the school. However, the School Council shall retain such supervisory powers to ensure that its policies, resolutions, and decisions are implemented.

2.  Referendum
For any action, the School Council may refer final decision making authority to any and/or all constituent groups. The School Council shall determine the procedures for the referendum vote.

B.  Conduct
Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the Arizona Open Meeting Law and all other applicable state laws, as well as R7-2-101 of the State Board Rules. Any question of the procedure not otherwise covered by statute, State Board Rule, or Phoenix Elementary School District policies shall be governed by the current procedure of the School Council and may not be suspended except by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire Council.

C.  Language translation services

The principal shall ensure that Spanish language translation services are available at every School Council meeting and that all notices of meetings are sent home to all parents in both Spanish and English.

D.  Chairperson
At all meetings of the School Council, the Chairperson shall preside. In the Chairperson’s absence, the Secretary shall preside.

E.  Quorum
A majority of all members of the School Council must be present in person to constitute a quorum for official business. A member of the Council may request a quorum count at any time during a meeting. If the number of members present in person at the time of the quorum count is less than a majority, then the meeting shall be adjourned.

F.  Voting
Except as otherwise provided by statute or this Constitution/Bylaws, any School Council action, other than the removal or selection or election of Committee members and voting on amendments to this Constitution/Bylaws, taken to a vote of the members, shall be authorized by a majority of the eligible votes cast at each meeting. To pass a resolution, a simple majority of the voting members of the School Council, present in person at a meeting, shall be required. The Chairperson may vote on all resolutions placed before the School Council.

G.  Agenda
The development of the agenda for regular or special meetings shall conform to the following:

1.  Development of the agenda for the School Council is the responsibility of the Chairperson.

2.  All items submitted for the agenda shall be in writing and may be provided by any member of the School Council. Other members of the administration, faculty, staff, parents, and students shall submit their items for the agenda to any School Council member for inclusion on the agenda.

3.  Agendas will be available as early as possible prior to a meeting, but at least 3 business days before a meeting. At that time, agendas will be publicly posted in the offices at all Montessori sites in English and Spanish.

H.  Description of School Council Action
The following terms shall be used for purposes indicated to the exclusion of other terms of similar meaning.

1.  Adopt: To accept; To consent to and put into effective operation.
*Purpose: To indicate passage of amendments, bylaws, policies, recommendations, etc., thus making the term so approved an official pronouncement of the School Council.

2.  Prescribe: To lay down authority as a guide, direction, or rule; to dictate.
*Purpose: To indicate imposition of an official policy or guideline of the School Council.