School Site Council
2013-2014 Site Council Members
Parents
Jennifer Thatcher, Chairperson
Karla Becerra, Vice-Chairperson
Marisa Ortega, Secretary
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Staff
Lynn Harms, Parliamentarian
Sheri Martin
Arielle Curry
Negin Parvin
Celeste Darga
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The Role of the School Site Council
The school site council plays an important role in decision-making at many schools, ours included.
Who is best qualified to make decisions about a school? Policymakers in states across the country agree that those who are involved with schools and students on a day-to-day basis — teachers, parents, and other school employees — can make some of the best decisions. This belief led to the creation of the school site council.
The school site council is a group of teachers, parents and classified employees that works with the principal to develop, review and evaluate school improvement programs and school budgets. The members of the site council are generally elected by their peers. For example, parents elect the parent representatives and teachers elect teachers.
The exact duties of school site councils vary from state to state and even between districts in the same state, but site councils generally either make decisions or advise the principal on the school budget and the academic or school improvement plan.
Over the course of this year, our council will consider the goals of the school or district and then work with Ms. Darga to evaluate the school's progress toward those goals. In this evaluation, the council might consider school test scores, attendance and discipline records, parent surveys and input from students.
After looking at the big picture of Monroe's progress, the council and Ms. Darga create a plan for improvement. Because school budgets are limited and many funds can only be spent in certain ways, there are always tough decisions to make.
School site council members don't just represent their own interests. They have an obligation to make decisions that will best serve the whole school community. In fact, one of the main goals for our site council is to specifically find ways to close gaps in achievement between groups of students.