5. important to work towards consensus – as much as possible, avoid going to a vote

8. VOTE – I'm going to come back to this (consensus)

9. how many of you have a school council that looks like this?
determine # of parents that is sustainable – at least 5 – unless you have a by-law that allows you to have a different number
doesn't work to have all interested parents on the council
Train them to sit next year
Give them a role on a sub-committee
parent members must have students enrolled at the school
membership should reflect the diversity of the school community
term of office – normally two years; should be staggered so that approx. half of the members are elected each year
members may be re-elected or reappointed for more than one term

10. Elementary schools - at least 9 members
5 parents
PLUS – prin, teacher, support staff, community member
Secondary schools – at least 11 members
6 parents
PLUS – prin, teacher, support staff, community member, student
IMPT – don’t need an election if there aren’t enough interested parents – you need more than 5 interested parents (unless by-law says otherwise) to hold an election, otherwise acclaimed

12. if lunchroom supervisor, cannot be a SC parent rep, but could be a support staff rep.
if volunteer, can be a parent rep.
if OT who regularly teaches at the school – staff rep, not parent rep

13. mandate is to be the voice of all parents at your school – to bring the collective issues forward for discussion

14. So…
if you're hearing from parents that students aren’t getting enough homework, it's not the councils role to determine how much homework students receive.
the principal’s role is to listen to that feedback, go back to key staff to discuss their feedback, bring your staff’s suggestions back and suggestions options, which may include offering a session for parents on the topic of homework

15. principal and the board must consider council's recommendations and advise council of any actions taken in response to those recommendations
principal may refer recommendations about broader educational issues to the board through superintendent and trustee

18. What does advisory mean?
principal required to listen to advice and required to report back on status, but not required to implement suggestions
Here’s an example:
I sometimes hear helpful advice from my mother-in-law, but that doesn't mean that I always take it.
Regardless of how well-intentioned it is---sometimes we simply just can't act on the advice.

21. when it comes time for an election, we often find ourselves asking…
“Where are all the parents?”
main form of involvement is with their children at home
if you think about your own life, that makes sense
most of our involvement with our own children is at home
we need to validate and value that

24. first meeting must be held within 5 working days of election deadline – first meeting by Oct. 25, 2010
post agendas well in advance
make minutes available asap after meeting

26. important to post agenda ahead of time – increases attendance
section in guide re: agendas