SECTION E: COMMUNICATION SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMUNICATION GUIDELINES INDIVIDUAL TRUSTEE SCHOOL STAFF MEMBER PARENT SCHOOL COUNCIL TEACHER PRINCIPAL AREA SUPERINTENDENT CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT BOARD OF TRUSTEES COMMUNICATION E.1
SECTION E: COMMUNICATION District Website All communication data regarding school councils is available on the district website at http://www.cssd.ab.ca/default.asp?v_item_id=192. Parents, teachers, administrators and other interested persons are encouraged to access this website for pertinent information on previous and upcoming meetings, forums, feedback and input from parents, other related news items, as well as the School Council Handbook. Communication Protocol The Calgary Catholic School District Communication Guidelines chart on page E.1 is designed to illustrate the typical, expected flow of requests, concerns, suggestions and appeals within the district. This particular chart is not intended to capture the flow of legislative and administrative authority associated with an organizational chart. This Communication Guidelines chart is based on the premise that those closest to the source of the concern should have the first chance to respond to the concern. Requests for Information School councils may receive requests for information. Such requests may be subject to the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). For this reason, school councils need to be aware that there may be requests for information that fall under the guidelines of PIPA and not the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP). Additional information for PIPA and FOIP is available in the Alberta School Council Resource Manual, Appendix P. This resource is available at your school and can be found on the Alberta Education website at http://education.alberta.ca/parents/role/schoolcouncils.aspx. In the event that a school council should receive a request for information, the school council chair should work with the school principal who will access the support of the Area Superintendent to ensure that the proper process is followed. Individual Parent Concerns If a parent has a classroom concern, the place to begin discussion is with the teacher. If the concern is not resolved, then a clear line of progressive administrative involvement is available starting with the principal; if not satisfactory, then the Area Superintendent should be contacted. Parents may also appeal an administrative decision to the Board of Trustees. If a parent has a more general, school or district-wide concern, the principal is the first person the parent should address. From there, all queries are handled similarly, moving through the Area Superintendent, the Chief Superintendent and finally to the Board of Trustees. COMMUNICATION E.2
Individual School Council Executive Members It is not acceptable for individual school council executive and other school council members to pursue personal issues or personal matters in the forum of a school council meeting. These types of concerns should be discussed confidentially with the principal. Individual Staff Member Concerns Individual staff member concerns are brought to the attention of the school principal. Staff member concerns are not discussed at school council meetings. School Council Matters School councils exist because they enhance the relationship between parents and administration, and enhance student learning and school climate. They achieve this by providing guidance for effective problem solving. The role of school councils is to focus on school-wide issues, rather than on individual or personal concerns. If an issue affects the school community as whole, then the school council chairperson or an executive member meets with the principal to determine whether the issue is something that would best be addressed at a school council meeting. A key function of the school council is educating the community about the most effective channels of communication on any matter. The Communication Guidelines chart on page E.1 has been found to be efficient and fair in dealing with matters of concern to parents and school council members. In every case, matters should first be discussed with the person closest to the situation. As required by the School Act, Section 22 (8), the Board of Trustees has established Conflict Management Procedures under which the principal or the school council may apply for dispute resolution. (Refer to Section F: Conflict Management Procedures in this handbook). Communication within the Local School and with other School Councils School council members are asked to follow the protocol below with respect to communicating with parents at their local school and with other school council members in the city: School councils communicate with their school community through the school newsletter, school website, or e-mail, in consultation with the school principal. School councils do not have a separate newsletter or e-mail dissemination process for parents. All communication sent by a school council to parents in the school community must be approved and co-signed by the principal. School councils may use school letterhead with the principal s approval. School councils do not have their own letterhead. COMMUNICATION E.3
School councils must have the approval of the principal to use the district s PONY (internal mail system), the school s fax machine and other school resources. School council communication with parents and with other district-wide school councils requires the knowledge and approval of the school principal, as well as district administration (through the Area Superintendent). Communication with the Board of Trustees The Board of Trustees is comprised of seven people whom Catholic ratepayers have elected to set policy and oversee the operations of the school district. They are elected every three years in conjunction with the municipal election. Besides setting all the policies, trustees maintain relations with all levels of government, and other educational institutions. They approve the district's budget and direct how money will be spent. They are responsible for the overall welfare of each school and the district as a whole. Every fall, trustees elect the chairperson and that trustee then takes the position of Chair of the Board. School councils are an important communication link to the Board of Trustees, as they represent school communities throughout the district. Trustees rely on school councils to bring them critical perspectives about education, a school's needs, and school community parent concerns. Open, direct communication with trustees is welcomed and encouraged. Trustees and school council chairpersons should make an effort to establish open communication in an attempt to improve their relationship at a grass roots level. Councils are encouraged to invite trustees to their meetings from time to time. When trustees indicate they will be attending a council meeting, they should be provided with an agenda for the upcoming meeting. There are two ways to arrange for trustees attendance at school council meetings. In consultation with the principal, the school council chair may directly invite the trustee to a school council meeting or the principal may invite the trustee on behalf of the chair. In both situations, the agenda date and time of the meeting should be provided and a list of any particular items that the school council would like the trustee to address. Open, direct communication by school councils with trustees is welcome, keeping in mind that school council chairpersons alone do not represent the interests of the entire council. Protocol for Trustees at Special Events Principals and school councils are encouraged to invite trustees to special school functions and events. These events offer a great opportunity for trustees to meet students, teachers and parents and celebrate the many accomplishments in district schools. COMMUNICATION E.4
At times, trustees themselves may choose to attend an event that is of special interest to them. As elected officials, trustees are welcomed as special guests. Depending on the occasion, trustees are asked if they wish to address the group. When trustees attend a school event, they are invited to sit in a pre-arranged location and are introduced to the assembly. Presentations to the Board of Trustees From time to time, school councils may wish to use a more formal route to inform the Board of their points of interest on a specific school matter. School councils are advised to use the communications flow chart (page E.1) to determine whether or not an issue can be resolved before making a formal Board presentation. The Board has a policy regarding hearing presentations (See Appendix A - Board Policy Statement on the Governance Process, GP-20: Request for Presentations). Should the school council decide to request a presentation, the procedure is as follows: A written request must be sent to the Board asking if the presentation can be made at a public meeting, a closed meeting, or an in-camera meeting as determined by the Board. The Board will officially receive the written request at a Board meeting, where it will be decided if the Board will hear the presentation. A brief or letter describing the situation and school council's points of interest and recommendations must be written and made available to the Board. The Board will determine if the subject of the requested presentation is relevant to a Board policy, or whether it would be more appropriately addressed by administration. If the Board decides to hear a presentation, the trustees' secretary will contact the school council chairperson with a date for the presentation, and a date by which the brief or letter regarding the situation and the presentation must be delivered for advance distribution to trustees; five business days in advance of the scheduled presentation. A presentation made to the Board is usually limited to twenty minutes. Presentations are limited to two representatives. The Board will hear the presentation and ask questions. The Board will provide a timely response to presentations but shall not commit to responding at the same meeting in which the presentation is made. COMMUNICATION E.5
District-Wide Meetings with the Board of Trustees The Calgary Catholic Board of Trustees is committed to open communication and opportunities to meet with school council chairs. The Board firmly believes that each school council brings a distinct voice and broad representation to the dialogue concerning children's education. To this end, the Board provides opportunities through general meetings and forums for school council members to learn about, contribute, and provide feedback regarding educational issues. Feedback on various issues is collected and summarized in reports provided to school councils and posted on the district website. A district-wide general meeting, School Council Chairs and Board of Trustees General Meeting, is scheduled in the fall to provide information and support for all school council chairpersons, as well as provide opportunities for trustees to meet and talk with school council chairs directly. This session provides school council chairs, principals, and senior administration the opportunity to examine the role of school councils, engage in meaningful dialogue with representatives from other schools, provide input, ask questions regarding their roles and operations and current initiatives, and discuss pertinent education topics in a World Café format (see Section L: Glossary, page L.3). Parent and Trustee Forums are held during the year and all school council chairs may submit agenda items and topics for discussion at the forum meetings. School council chairs and members of the council executive, from a particular geographical area of the city that belong to the same forum, meet several times per year with the Board of Trustees, principals, and senior administration. It is important that school council chairs attend all meetings and when possible, one or more members of the executive are encouraged to attend with the school council chair. If a school council chair cannot attend, a member of the school council should attend to have first-hand information to bring back to school council meetings. These meetings provide an opportunity to discuss concerns at a local level and also provide an opportunity for school council chairs to network and build relationships with trustees and other school council chairs from the same geographical area. These meetings provide an opportunity for mutual influence and knowledge-building. (Refer E.9.) Each year, three forums are scheduled. The dates and locations of these forums are posted on the district website www.cssd.ab.ca, under the tab Parent Centre School Councils, and are also e-mailed to school council chairs through the principal. All feedback and input is communicated and e-mailed to school council chairs through the principal and also posted on the district website. The Board of Trustees reviews all feedback and administrative action is taken, when required. Feedback and action taken from the meetings and discussions of the forums are summarized in Section H: Parent and Trustee Forums. COMMUNICATION E.6
Communication Process for Encouraging School Community Involvement School council has the challenge of involving the entire community in the education process and it is most important to reach parents who are not able to regularly attend school council meetings. Finding creative ways to reach out to parents is the work school councils usually find the most difficult and the most rewarding. While the school newsletter, council meetings, and telephone are among the most common ways to contact parents, these may not be the most effective and other avenues of communication may need to be established. A booth at social events and at parentteacher interviews, volunteer work, multicultural celebrations, work projects, student performances, workshops for parents, parish bulletins, and feeder school activities are just a few ways to draw more parents into becoming part of the active school community. Consider who the parents are and what their chief concerns regarding education might be and make decisions about what will best meet the needs of the entire school community. Communication with Parishes Another vital responsibility of school council is to help create a Christian community of faith. While the local clergy are already involved in the school to some degree, their time is very often limited due to other pastoral responsibilities. Close school council relations with the parish council can help to cover some of the areas which the clergy sometimes do not have time to address. Some examples of how school councils can support the clergy and parish staff are by helping with classroom and school-wide programs, and working with teachers to build parent participation in liturgies and sacramental preparation. Parish representation on school council helps greatly to strengthen the school-home-parish partnership for the benefit of students and their families. When the school and parish work together, the outcome can result in a vibrant, welcoming Catholic community. Communication with the Wider Community As the education system benefits all Albertans, people without children in school also pay the education property tax, so in essence they have no choice in whether or not a portion of the property taxes goes towards education. Over 70 per cent of Calgary's ratepayers do not have children in school and have only a small stake in the way a neighbourhood school operates. The Calgary Catholic School District has not forgotten this important group and is making constant efforts to improve communication with all stakeholders. School councils should play a large role in this endeavour by consciously building relationships with local neighbours. This demonstrates an awareness of their contribution to education, and the benefits of education for the broader community. COMMUNICATION E.7
As well, invitations to participate more actively in the school community are often welcomed by seniors, local businesses, and homeowners. Newsletters, invitations to special events, visiting programs, work experience and volunteer programs are excellent ways to reach the community. Such neighbours would also appreciate being informed of any school activities that may affect them, such as extra noise caused by school construction or a sports activity day. These supporters of Catholic education who are not parents can be positively influenced by such efforts. Personal contacts that involve staff, students and parents will go far to help neighbours consider themselves valued partners in the school community. The local news media can be another valuable communications tool for informing the wider school community. Newspapers, radio and television may carry public service announcements that advertise a school's special events, such as a student performance or a special fund-raising effort. Community newspapers in particular are quite likely to feature "good news" stories from schools. In addition, ethnic papers should be considered, since non-english speaking parents rely on them for their news. Working with local community associations to get school information published in their newsletters can be a very successful means to reach school neighbours. Open communication is encouraged between schools and interested groups (i.e., community, parish, local businesses, agencies, partnerships, etc.). Meetings with various groups should focus on benefits for students as contributors to society as a whole. When these groups are invited to attend school council meetings, the objectives and/or the agenda must be clearly established in consultation with the principal prior to the meeting (as with all visitors). It is important to note that school council chairpersons alone do not represent the interests of the entire council. If any outside organization, business or individuals communicate with a school council chair or executive in relation to school business, the principal must be consulted. Communication Protocol Involving School Councils, the Board of Trustees, MLAs and External Publics School council members who are contacted by external groups or political organizations or agencies, such as Alberta Education, MLAs, company representatives, community organizations, and so on, are asked to consult with the principal prior to communicating with the external group or individual. Principals must be notified when an MLA or trustee is invited to a school council meeting. Principals will ensure a trustee attends a school council meeting when an MLA attends. It is recommended that the objectives and/or agenda of an MLA are clearly established in consultation with the principal prior to the meeting (as with all other visitors). Open, direct communication with an MLA is welcome when she or he meets with a school council, school administration, and trustee(s). School council chairpersons alone do not represent the interests of COMMUNICATION E.8
the entire council. If an MLA wishes to meet with school council chairs and/or school council members, the principal and trustee(s) must be informed. Opportunities for Input and Feedback All Calgary Catholic School District stakeholders, either individually or through their elected or appointed representatives, are provided opportunities to have input and feedback in the following ways: School Council Chair and Trustee General Meeting: refer E.6, paragraph 3. Parent and Trustee Forums: School council chairs, members of the school council executive (optional), trustees, principals and one superintendent meet in small geographical groups to share information, provide education opportunities, and discuss issues of importance to their area schools (refer page E.6). School councils may submit agenda items for these forums through their school council chairs and/or principals. Chairpersons receive all information in advance of forums, consult with their school councils on topics that will be discussed, and come to forum meetings prepared to share the school community perspective on these topics of discussion. After the forum meeting, all input and feedback is posted on the district website (www.cssd.ab.ca-parent Centre-School Councils) and chairpersons and principals communicate the information discussed with parents and staff and engage parents and staff in further dialogue looking for implications that may meet the needs of their school community. The District Employee Associations and Union meet throughout the year with administration in advisory meetings or in labour management meetings. Staff and school council budget discussions: Principals consult with staff and school council on district budget and forward this input and feedback to Central Office. District budget meeting with district principals, supervisors, and budget managers Regularly scheduled school council meetings: At each local school, trustees are invited to attend school council meetings. District-wide school council meetings with trustees, senior district administration and school-based administrators (School Council Chairs and Trustees General Meeting, Parent and Trustee Forums, and others, if need arises). Annual Parent Satisfaction Surveys at district and school levels. (See Appendix 5 Annual Student Satisfaction Survey: Students in grades 4, 7 and 10 complete the provincial Accountability Pillar Survey. In addition, teachers complete on line surveys and parents receive mailed versions. The district receives both COMMUNICATION E.9
jurisdiction data and individual school data that are analyzed at the District and school level in order to identify successes and needs upon which to base improvement and planning. Appendix 6 for Student Satisfaction Survey Feedback from parents to principals is invited formally in a section of monthly school newsletters and informally in daily school operations. Development of a Code of Conduct: Parents and staff are involved in developing a Code of Conduct for students at their local schools. Administration Profiles: The district has invited parents and staff at every school to create a profile of characteristics they would like to see in their school administration. This information is forwarded to school council chairs in February of every year and the school council chair takes a lead with the annual review and updating of this administration profile and submits the revisions to Human Resources. The principal and staff are not present during this meeting. District administration takes the profile into consideration during the school administration placement process. Implementation of Catholic Community of Caring: All District schools have established Catholic Community of Caring programs based on the values of faith, caring, respect, responsibility, trust, and family. The Catholic Community of Caring program focuses on building respectful and caring school environments, rooted in Catholic values. Safe and Caring Schools: Alberta Education has developed a number of resources related to safe and caring schools. These can be accessed on the Alberta Education website at http://education.alberta.ca/teachers/safeschools/resources.aspx Annual Education Results Report (AERR): This report is due annually to the provincial government in November of each year, and is based on a prescribed set of goals, results and criteria on which Alberta Education requires school boards to report. The Achievement Test Results and Analysis and Parent Satisfaction Survey results are reported in the AERR. The district goals and priorities are established and evaluated with input from stakeholders (i.e. meetings with staff and school council to establish school educational priorities. School Reports (Annual Three-Year Plans): Parents, through the school council, are encouraged to have input into the development and content of these plans at their local school. School Calendar: Principals are asked to receive feedback from school councils on the proposed annual district calendar. The calendar is developed under the constraints imposed by the School Act, Alberta Education, and district policies. Area Superintendents work with principals to ensure that communication expectations, as outlined in the School Administrator s Handbook, are fulfilled. The Handbook states that principals must communicate their program and achievement expectations, behavioural expectations and homework expectations for students to all members of their school community. COMMUNICATION E.10
The District Newsletter, Connections, highlights and shares district news with all employees and parents. Each issue of Connections gets e-mailed to all schools for inclusion in their school newsletter, which is then distributed to parents. Note: District documents, reports, news releases, curriculum information and more, are posted on the district s Internet website: www.cssd.ab.ca. COMMUNICATION E.11