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2265 School-Based Plan and Shared Decision-Making

  • 2000: Board Governance Operations
2265 School-Based Plan and Shared Decision-Making

In compliance with the Compact for Learning and to provide guidance and direction for School Improvement Teams in the Shared Decision-Making process, the following plan is recommended to the Board of Education for adoption. This proposal has been developed through the cooperative efforts of the District’s Excellence in Education Committee comprised of parents, teachers and administrators.

Approved by the Board of Education: 0l/24/96
Reviewed and re-approved by Board of Education: 01/15/98
Reviewed and re-approved by Board of Education: 12/16/99
Reviewed and re-approved by Board of Education: 01/16/02
Reviewed and re-approved by Board of Education: 02/26/04
Reviewed and re-approved by Board of Education: 03/16/06
Reviewed and re-approved by Board of Education: 03/26/08
Revision Approved by the Board of Education: 04/19/17

 

SECTION I

MISSION STATEMENT

The Mission of the Brentwood Public Schools is to provide an educational environment characterized by high expectations and staffed by individuals who are compassionate, supportive, creative and effective. We will actively involve our students, parents, staff and community in striving for educational excellence. Recognizing the uniqueness of all students, we will assist each to achieve his/her potential.

Our actions will reflect our commitment to the belief that it is essential that all students achieve a positive self-image and acquire the basic and higher-order thinking skills that they will need in order to adapt to a continually changing, multicultural world.

The purpose of school-based planning and shared decision making is to improve the educational performance of all students in the school, regardless of such factors as socioeconomic status, race, sex, language background or disability.

BELIEF STATEMENTS

The purpose of our schools is to acknowledge the uniqueness of individual students and to serve their social, physical and intellectual needs.

Essential to a student's education is the building of positive self-image.

Schools need supportive, creative, and effective staff who are committed to providing the nurturing environment and quality education necessary to assist students in achieving their potential.

The curriculum should always reflect the changes our students will face as they become productive citizens in our diverse society.

The goals we set for ourselves and our students are high and should challenge the abilities of all to the fullest.

All students must be given an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.

It is essential to provide our students with the life-long learning skills they will need in order to adapt to our continually changing world.

All students have the ability to learn and to grow intellectually.

A compassionate, well-trained staff is vital to insure student success.

Students should be highly valued and our expectations for them built into the school culture.

Students are entitled to learn within a healthy, safe, and structured environment that provides support and direction.

The educational program is enhanced when the decisions affecting the process are shared by those affected.

Education is an on-going process that requires the cooperative efforts of students, parents, staff and the community.

It is the responsibility of the community, parent, student, and educational leaders to instill within our school culture high expectations, which reflect a sense of optimism that all students can achieve.

The school environment should provide the opportunity for both educators and students to explore and achieve their unique potential.

A school district best accomplishes its goals by recognizing and accepting the contributions resulting from the cooperative involvement of staff, parents, students and the community in the total educational process.

SECTION II

PURPOSE OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAM

The implementation of a site based management concept is philosophically supported by the Board of Education. This concept is designed to have administrators, teachers, other staff members, parents and students working together in support of our educational goals. Ultimately, the singular purpose of this, or any other philosophy, is to improve student success.

School Improvement Teams are the essential vehicle by which a Site Based Management Plan is implemented. The School Improvement Team does not govern. It is a team that shares the responsibility for developing and implementing plans to improve student results. Consensus is the driving force by which School Improvement Teams will establish and implement common goals.

Individual school mission statements that are in concert with the District Mission Statement should initially be developed. Subsequently, strategies to improve student achievement will be delineated. These strategies must be consistent with curriculum, District and State Education Department goals.

In order to ascertain specific goals and objectives, an analysis of the particular school's needs should be performed. This can be accomplished through a comprehensive needs assessment survey, along with other pertinent school data. Continuous and ongoing analysis should be done to determine whether stated objectives are being met. Annually schools must develop a School Improvement Team plan which must be submitted to the Superintendent no later than November of every year.

Once the building plan is developed, the School Improvement Team is responsible and accountable for evaluating the goals and objectives of the plan. Therefore, an evaluation design to measure outcomes must be in place. This plan must be a direct result of a consensus of all representative groups of the School Improvement Team. The implementation of the plan clearly falls within the purview of the School Improvement Team. A specific timeline for implementing and evaluating the plan must be incorporated within the plan.

The measurement of student outcomes is an integral part of the evaluation of the progress of a school plan. Teams will be accountable for the plan and must evaluate progress continually. The evaluation tools should include assessment data in the District. They may also include alternative assessments as determined by the School Improvement Team.

Prior to implementing any plan, the Team must insure that appropriate involvement of all relevant constituencies takes place. Following this, the Team must reach consensus on the plan itself.

POSSIBLE AREAS OF INVOLVEMENT FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAMS

There are a myriad of activities that a School Improvement Team may become involved in. The following categories represent an inclusive list of those appropriate areas for involvement within the limits established by law, contract, District policy and budgetary constraints. Each category is deliberately broad in scope to allow the School Improvement Team the flexibility to design its plan for its individual needs. All teams should be aware that a primary focus of their plan is to address student achievement. This should be done in a manner that addresses measured results.

School Improvement Teams Can Address:

  1. School Outcome/Goals/Results
  2. School Climate and Culture (i.e.: Student absences/lateness, student discipline, health concerns, etc.)
  3. Scheduling
  4. SIT Team Allocations
  5. Curriculum and Instruction
  6. Testing and Assessment
  7. Partnerships with community groups and businesses to improve educational programs and activities
  8. Plans for the involvement of the entire school community
  9. Efforts to improve relations between the home and the school (i.e.: parent education workshops, during and after school activities)
  10. Hiring of new teachers
  11. Staff development
  12. Extracurricular activities.

SECTION III

ACCOUNTABILITY

In venturing into a Shared Decision-Making Process, the question of accountability is naturally raised. If a School Improvement Team is now responsible for developing a school plan and evaluating its success, how will a measure of accountability be maintained for the plan?

First, the plan will be submitted to a District Improvement Team, which is comprised of representatives from Central Administration, parents, BTA, and BPSO. As the plan is continually evaluated, any changes (if necessary) will also be submitted to the District Committee.

The Board of Education, through the District Committee and the Superintendent, will monitor progress of a building plan. In the event a determination is made that a school plan is not achieving the desired level of success, the District Committee will meet with the School Improvement Team to discuss the plan and possible modifications. Ultimately, if the plan proves to be unsuccessful, the School Improvement Team may be directed to revise its plan.

SECTION IV

GUIDELINES FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT TEAMS

  1. The agreed upon direction of the Brentwood School District, in concert with our District's Mission Statement, is to establish School Improvement Teams in each of our school buildings. THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATIONAL CLIMATE AND SUCCESS OF OUR STUDENTS, REGARDLESS OF FACTORS AS SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, RACE, SEX, LANGUAGE BACKGROUND OR DISABILITY.
     
  2. A School Improvement Team is an autonomous building committee whose purpose is to identify and improve specific areas of need in the building. IT IS IMPORTANT TO COMMUNICATE CONTINUALLY WITH ALL STAKEHOLDERS THROUGH MINUTES, MEMOS, MEETINGS, ETC.
     
  3. A School Improvement Team must be comprised of teachers, administrators, and parents. Schools should make every effort to have a minimum of two parent representatives on the School Improvement Team. Students at the secondary level should also be included on the team. Other staff may be included on a permanent basis or as needed. That determination is left to discretion of the Team.
     
  4. It is suggested that Teams be representative of a wide range of teaching staff in the building. However, it should be clearly understood that the teachers in the building have the complete authority in determining the teacher representation on the Team. Parental representation is to be determined solely by the PTA. Administrative representation is determined by the administrators in the school.
     
  5. Training in group decision-making will be provided to Team members annually. These training sessions will be designed to facilitate consensus building skills necessary for success. Ongoing training may be provided where necessary.
     
  6. It will also be necessary to provide conference time/workshops, in and or out of the District, for teachers, administrators and parents to become more familiar with school-based management and the school improvement process. These sessions will assist in establishing the goal(s) and direction of the individual teams.
     
  7. The School Improvement Team will be responsible for establishing its own building mission statement. The statement should be aligned with the District's Mission Statement.
     
  8. In determining what area of involvement, each Team will:
    1. Consider areas of involvement from a variety of sources, and
    2. Conduct a building needs assessment survey to identify specific areas of concern.

      It is important to realize that a great deal of flexibility must be maintained in order to allow each school to determine its own needs. Activities with which a School Improvement Team may be involved may be found within Section II of this Policy.
  9. Once having designed its plan, there is a need to insure that it is not in conflict with District policy or practice, law, or contract. Therefore, the Team should submit its plan to the District Committee for review.
  10. As with the entire School-Based Management Philosophy, the decision-making component must be a consensus building process. THAT IS, ALL COMMITTEE MEMBERS CAN ABIDE BY THE DECISION AND DIRECTION OF THE TEAM. NO ONE ON THE COMMITTEE IS OPPOSED TO THE DECISION OR WILL WORK AGAINST IT. A veto within the Team or an outside decision maker would be inappropriate. Refusal to discuss a topic will be considered a veto, unless it can be clearly demonstrated that such topic would violate policy, law, or contract. In the event consensus is not reached, and upon request, assistance will be provided to the Team. Other building's School Improvement Team members may be used to facilitate the process where it is faltering. In no instance will anyone mandate a direction to any Team. At all times, schools will be encouraged and assistance provided in maintaining fundamentally sound working teams.

    In order to facilitate the ongoing operation of all building teams, any member of the District’s Committee may be contacted by a building School Improvement Team in order to provide information or respond to a question. A list of all Excellence in Education Committee Members can be found in Section V, District Steering Committee.

 

SECTION V

DISTRICT STEERING COMMITTEE

The District Steering Committee will continue to function as a facilitator for School Improvement Teams. The composition of the committee will include the Superintendent, his/her representatives, and representation of parents, teachers and administrators. Said representation will be maintained through appointments by each appropriate organization.

The committee will meet on a quarterly basis. It will be chaired by the Superintendent or his/her designee.

A sub-committee of the District Steering Committee will continue to review individual school plans. The purpose of this review is to insure that no violation of contract, school board policy, law or regulation occurs. In addition the committee or sub-committee may be of assistance to an individual School Improvement Team in implementing their plan.

The District Steering Committee will provide the necessary monitoring of this Board of Education policy. Any recommendation for altering this policy will be a function of the Steering Committee.
 

SECTION VI

BOARD OF EDUCATION

The Board of Education will, in accordance with Commissioner’s regulation, Section 100.11, review their “School-Based Plan and Shared Decision-Making Policy” biennially. This review will include a statement regarding the plan’s evaluation as well as any proposed amendments. A report shall be filed with the State Education Department normally in February in each year of the biennial review, commencing February, 1996.

 

SECTION VII

COORDINATING THE FEDERAL AND STATE REQUIREMENTS FOR PARENT INVOLVEMENT WITH THE DISTRICT PLAN

The District’s plan for school-based planning and shared decision-making includes parental involvement on building and District teams and on some District-wide committees. The local unit of the New York State Parent Teacher Association has been designated as the organization that will provide parents as representatives at any of these levels.

In addition, New York State and federal mandates require parent participation. This participation is sought from parents whose children receive the services of specific programs, and it does not require appointment by the PTA or other agency. Involvement includes parents in review of objectives, activities and evaluation for the program. Involvement also may include suggestions and recommendations for program improvement.

 

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