Approved 05/01/06
BY-LAWS FOR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAM (SLT) PS 150
PS 150 is committed to creating a nurturing environment and curriculum derived from the interests and needs of the children which promotes inclusiveness, encourages excellence, fosters achievement by all, supports independence and exploration and requires that each of us values and respects one another.
The parents at PS 150 are essential to our community school. The strong partnership we have formed with parents helped create our ideal picture of a school – a community of individual, active learners.
Our School Leadership Team will develop a school wide focus, supportive of our mission statement. The SLT will participate in the development of the Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) for PS 150 using our budget and needs assessment to align resources with our educational goals, all towards raising student performance. The goal of the SLT is to act as stewards for the school in fulfilling this mission.
The school by-laws became effective on May 1, 2006. The by-laws will be formally reviewed annually, at the first meeting of the SLT, but may be amended at any time. The process for amending the by-laws is as follows: any member of the SLT may submit changes to be discussed at a meeting. These changes will be discussed at the following meeting and a decision will be made by consensus. All team members must be present.
3a. Number of Team Members: There will be no less than 10 members on our School Leadership Team.
3b. Membership: The school’s Principal must be a team member, as does the President of the PTA or a designee. Any member of the school community may be a member: parents of students enrolled in our school, who are not employees of the school; teachers and other staff working at the school. The team will be composed of an equal number of parents and staff members.
3c. Selection of Members: The school principal and the PTA President are members based on their positions. Other team members must be selected by their constituencies, including UFT chapter leader or designee. Parent members should be nominated and then selected at a General PTA meeting which has been widely advertised in advance. Parent members for the following year will be nominated at the May PTA meeting and then elected at the June meeting
3d. Term of Office: the school principal and PTA President will serve as long as they hold their positions. Other team members’ terms are one year. Team members may be elected to consecutive terms.
3e. Expectations for Team Members: Team members are expected to act in the best interests of the students and the school. There should be regular attendance at meetings. Participation in the overall development of the school is expected. Team members should seek suggestions and guidance from their separate constituencies.
3f. Attendance and Removal of Team Members: Attendance will be taken at all meetings and be included in the minutes. Unexcused absences from three team meetings will result in automatic removal from the SLT. Representatives accused of misconduct or neglect of duty may be removed only after a decision to appoint an investigating committee, prefer charges, and conduct a hearing. The investigating committee shall report its findings to the SLT. The team shall decide by consensus to remove or absolve.
3g. Filling Vacancies: Parent vacancies will be posted in a timely manner, and nominations will be accepted by the PTA. Nominees will be presented and voted on at the PTA meeting following the vacancy. Staff vacancies will be announced at the staff meeting following the vacancy. Nominations will be accepted and voted upon at the following staff meeting.
4a. Consensus Decision Making: School Leadership Team decisions will be made by consensus. Consensus is the agreement reached once a full discussion has occurred after all team members’ points of view have been heard and acknowledged by the rest of the team. Consensus decision making also allows for better communication and trust among team members. Consensus is reaching a decision agreeable to all, which may include compromise. Every effort will be made to reach complete agreement by all members. In the event that a decision must be quickly reached, the team may decide to vote with majority rule.
4b. Team Meetings: The School Leadership Team must meet at least once a month outside of school hours.
4c. Team Officers: There will be two co-chairs on the team, 1 parent and 1 teacher chosen by the consensus of their respective constituencies. There will be a recorder and facilitator at each meeting. The positions of recorder and facilitator will rotate at each meeting. The co chairs set the agenda for the next meeting and request revisions and additions for the next meeting. The recorder will take the attendance and minutes. The co-chairs will be selected by the team members at the first meeting of the school year. These co-chairs will ensure that all team decisions are carried out. All team records will be kept in the SLT binder in the general office.
4d. Quorum: The quorum necessary for team action will be 2/3 of the team membership. Consensus decisions can only be made with a quorum, which must include the school’s director, PTA president or designee, and UFT chapter leader or designee.
4e. Subcommittees: As need arises, subcommittees will be formed which can include non-members and must include at least one team member. The need for subcommittees will be announced at PTA meetings and staff meetings as well as being posted. The SLT must approve all subcommittee decisions.
5a. Core Responsibilities: The core responsibilities of the School Leadership Team are the development and implementation of the school’s Comprehensive Educational Plan. These are drawn up towards the goals of improving student achievement and enabling all of our students to meet and exceed the city and state learning standards.
5b. Other Responsibilities: When funds are allocated by the District or Central to support the leadership team, decisions about the use of these funds will be made by consensus.
5c. Evaluation: As part of the Comprehensive Educational Planning process, the team will review pupil achievement data in doing the needs assessment and in evaluating the implementation of the plan. The SLT will also address educational issues as they pertain to standards of learning. Through access on a continual basis to classrooms, teachers and professional development, the team members will be able to assess the effect of their current program and look for ways to improve student achievement. The team will also rely on surveys of parents and teachers for its evaluations. It will utilize aspects of the Performance Assessment in the Schools System (PASS) review as appropriate.
5d. Limitations: The SLT may not discuss the evaluation and/or rating of staff members or deal with problems involving individual staff, students or parents. The team may not make decisions in an area over which it has no authority or which would:
6a. Within the school community: SLT activities will be published in the school newsletter. Minutes will be posted on the lobby bulletin board and will be made available upon request. Regular updates will be given at both the PTA and staff meetings.
6b. Attendance and participation of Non-Team members: Team meetings will be open to all parents and staff who wish to attend. Non-members will be encouraged to attend and participate, but will not be allowed to vote.
6c. District and School Board: The SLT will provide to the Community Superintendent or a designee in a timely fashion the following: its by-laws, CEP, budge, staffing plan, advance notice of time/place and agenda for all team meetings; minutes of all team meetings including attendance and a record of all consensus agreements reached by the team; and any other support needed by the District to support school teams.
Conflicts will be resolved in a manner which encourages consensus through discussion. If time allotted is not sufficient for a resolution to be achieved, the following options may be utilized as appropriate: