School Improvement Council's

Michael Lucas has a good post on School Improvement Councils. Click here to visit the site. The post is below:

Monday, October 1, 2012

School Improvement Council Training…

Last Thursday evening I spent some time providing an orientation for representatives from the school improvement councils across the district.  It was a great meeting, and we talked specifically about how SIC members are an important part of the school team.  The key role they play is to improve the local school, and I highlighted roles they play with regard to instruction programs, facilities/operations, teacher quality, and school advocacy.

The Center for Public Education has some great questions on its Data F1rst Site that SIC members should investigate as they work to enhance local school performance.  Here are some of the questions with links to national data:

Do our students feel safe at school?

Are our teachers knowledgeable in the subject they teach?

Are there data on the number of teachers highly qualified?

Do our students have access to rigorous high school courses and curricula?

Do our students have access to technology?

How are high school graduates performing in college and the workplace?

What percent of our children are enrolled in prekindergarten?

Are our students enrolling in college?

Are our students ready for college?

How do students in your state compare nationally?

How many of our students ultimately receive a high school credential?

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of our school(s)?

What is the poverty level of our school(s)?

What is our average class size?

What courses do our students need to complete in order to graduate from high school?

What are our school district’s expenditures?

Is student discipline an issue?

Is student attendance an issue?

Is our school funding equitable?

How much money does our school district receive from federal, state, and local sources?

How many students with disabilities are in our school(s)?

How many students attend our school(s)?

How many English language learners are in our school(s)?

How large are our schools?

How does your school compare to other schools within the state?

Are our students graduating from high school?

Are our schools meeting state performance standards?

Are our school classrooms and facilities adequate and up-to-date?

I extend my best wishes to the SICs, and I hope they’ll contact my office with any questions.