2016 snapshot of school council … advisory...2016 snapshot of school council operations in the...

2016 SNAPSHOT OF SCHOOL COUNCIL OPERATIONS IN THE TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL

BOARD

Research & Information Services Toronto District School Board

January 2017 Report No. 16/17-10

TITLE: 2016 Snapshot of School Council Operations in the Toronto District School Board

AUTHOR: Sally Erling Copyright © Toronto District School Board (January 2017)

Cite as: Erling, S. (2017). 2016 snapshot of school council operations in the Toronto District School Board. (Research Report No. 16/17-10). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Toronto District School Board

Reproduction of this document for use in the schools of the Toronto District School Board is encouraged.

For any other purpose, permission must be requested and obtained in writing from: Research & Information Services Toronto District School Board 1 Civic Centre Court, Lower Level Etobicoke, ON M9C 2B3 Fax: 416-394-4946 Every reasonable precaution has been taken to trace the owners of copyrighted material and to make due acknowledgement. Any omission will gladly be rectified in future printings.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: HIGHLIGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................... 3 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................. 10 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................ 10 SURVEY DISTRIBUTION ................................................................................................. 11 SCHOOL COUNCIL RESPONDENTS .................................................................................. 11 SCHOOL COUNCIL ROLES AND FUNCTIONS .................................................................... 13 SCHOOL COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP AND OPERATIONS....................................................... 17

A. Membership ...................................................................................................17 B. Operations .....................................................................................................18 C. Meetings ........................................................................................................19 D. Funding ..........................................................................................................20

COMMUNICATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS ..................................................................... 23 BUILDING CAPACITY AND NEXT STEPS ........................................................................... 25 FINAL COMMENTS ........................................................................................................ 28

TABLES Table 1: Enrolment Range ..........................................................................................12 Table 2: Top Areas of Focus/ Accomplishments for School Council, 2016 ................16 Table 3: School Council Operations and Procedures .................................................18 Table 4: School Council Meetings ..............................................................................20 Table 5: Communication Methods ............................................................................23 Table 6: Statements about Communications, Relationships, and Information Sharing .....................................................................................24 Table 7: Additional Comments ..................................................................................28

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FIGURES Figure 1: School Council Respondents by Panel ........................................................12 Figure 2: Comparison of School Council Activities by Importance & Frequency ......14 Figure 3: School Council Reflects the School Demographics .....................................17 Figure 4: Sources of School Funding ..........................................................................21 Figure 5a: School Council has Access to Resources and Information Needed to Carry out their Roles .................................................................................25 Figure 5b: School Council has a Meaningful Influence on School Planning and Decision-making ........................................................................................25 Figure 6: Preferred Types of Support.........................................................................26 Figure 7: Specific Topics for More Information .........................................................27

2016 SNAPSHOT OF SCHOOL COUNCIL OPERATIONS IN THE TDSB 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) would like to extend a special thank you to the School Council Survey Working Group composed of parents, School Council Chairs, Co-chairs, School Council members, and TDSB staff. We would also like to extend our appreciation to the Toronto School Administrators’ Association (TSAA).

“Belief in the importance of parent role in the success of our children in collaboration with school and board partners.”

Survey Respondent, 2016

2 2016 SNAPSHOT OF SCHOOL COUNCIL OPERATIONS IN THE TDSB


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: HIGHLIGHTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS This Executive Summary highlights some of the key findings and subsequent recommendations

emerging from the School Council surveys completed by 162 School Council chairs/co-chairs or

designates in the Spring of 2016. It represents a return rate of 27.6% based on 588 Toronto District

School Board (TDSB) schools. Survey topics included School Council Roles and Functions, Membership

and Operations, Communications and Relationships, Building Capacity and Next Steps. More detailed

results can be found in the full report immediately following this summary.

Roles and Functions Rankings based on Frequency (% often) and Importance (% high) Responses

Comparisons of Awareness, Frequency, and Importance responses and rankings of expected School Council tasks and functions revealed some positive relationships as well as some discrepancies in terms of actual practice. Sharing information about School Council issues and activities with parents was the most frequently

reported role of School Councils (74% often) and also rated the highest in terms of importance (88% high).

Other consultative or advisory functions which were rated high in importance (75-83% high) and also occurred fairly regularly (56-65% often), included obtaining parent input about issues under consideration; advising or making recommendations to the Principal; and completing a School Statement of Needs (SSON) for administrator vacancies.

Although also considered relatively important (70% high), actual participation in the School Improvement Planning process was less consistent across School Councils (30% often).

Organizing school-wide fundraising or social events tends to be one of the most common activities for many School Councils, although it was also the only role where frequency ratings (72%) were slightly higher than the perceived importance ratings (65%).

School Councils were least likely to provide advice about school policies and practices; advise or make recommendations to the School Board; or participate in the development of either the School Budget or the non-Board financial plan. These latter two tasks were also ranked the lowest in terms of level of importance, and approximately half of them weren’t aware these were functions of School Councils.

The top areas of focus or accomplishments reported for School Councils in the past year were fairly consistent with the frequency rankings. Fundraising either in general or for specific events or programs was the most frequently cited accomplishment (97 comments). That was followed by supporting school initiatives with additional funds or resources (52 comments); facilitating communications and information sharing with parents (45 comments); and encouraging increased parent engagement and involvement (43 comments).


Recommendations for Roles and Functions

It is recommended that:

Learning Networks identify appropriate learning pathways for supporting principals and vice-principals in engaging the School Council and families into the school improvement planning process

Teaching and Learning work with the Parent and Community Engagement Office (PCEO) to develop and distribute resources on engaging the School Council and families in the School Improvement Process

Annual School Council training delivered by PCEO and Finance Administrators should be delivered in consultation and collaboration with Learning Centres

Training emphasizes the importance of council supporting families to support learning rather than providing for the needs of the school and fundraising

Each School Council consider all potential roles and responsibilities, determine where to channel their energies based on what is most important for their school community, and then plan actions, events and activities that align with those goals and priorities

Membership and Operations

• All School Councils included a Principal (or Vice-Principal delegate), and almost all had “elected” parent members (97%), however beyond that the composition of School Councils varied from school to school and may or may not have included teaching staff (82%), community representatives (37%), non-teaching staff (38%), or students (16%).

• While 63% of survey respondents felt their School Council memberships reflected the demographic make-up and diversity of the whole school population either to a moderate or great extent, one-quarter said this was the case only to a limited extent (26%), and another 11% said not at all. Other comments throughout the survey confirmed that engaging a wider cross-section of parents was quite challenging in some schools.

• Nine out of 10 School Councils reported they hold annual elections and establish some decision-making processes; and eight out of 10 said they develop goals, priorities, and an action plan for the upcoming year.

• While two-thirds of respondents said they had a good understanding of Ontario Reg. 612 (65%), the remaining third either admitted they did not or weren’t sure.

• Just over half the respondents (54%) indicated that the School Council developed their own set of by-laws or completed an annual report. While many said they did not (32%), there were a fair number of “not sure” responses as well (13%).

• Optional comments documented many positive, collaborative and effective operational practices, but others described challenges such as setting up a new or transitional council; the difficulty in recruiting new members; the lack of handover documentation; etc.


Recommendations for Membership and Operations


The regulations and expectations for School Council membership, by-laws, and annual reporting be clearly documented and communicated to staff and School Council, particularly new and transitioning School Councils

The Parent Involvement Advisory Committee collaborates with Elementary Teachers of Toronto and Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation to develop strategies for enhancing teacher participation on School Council

Meetings

• Nine out of 10 School Councils always or usually scheduled and communicated about meetings well in advance, planned agendas in coordination with the Principal, and had the Chair/ Co-Chair lead the meeting; and then recorded and publicly shared those minutes (85%).

• 70% also said their meetings were always or usually attended by non-council parents or community members. To encourage parent attendance, 71% of School Councils mentioned that child care services were always or usually available; however, interpretation or translation services were much less likely to be provided as needed (45% said this happened rarely or never and another 22% weren’t sure).

Recommendations for Meetings

Meetings are generally well run and organized, although it is recommended that translation and/or interpretation services be investigated in schools with a diverse school population to encourage the participation of a wider cross-section of families

Funding

Slightly less than three-quarters (74%) of survey respondents reported that their School Council had access to sufficient funds to meet their operational needs and requirements, with the most common funding strategies being their own school fundraising efforts (74%); followed by applications for Parent Reaching Out Grants (64%).

• On the other hand, 25% felt their financial resources fell short of meeting the School Council’s needs. Interestingly, only about half of the respondents (49%) reported accessing either the $500.00 allocated to every School Council by the Ministry or the TDSB funds of $1.25 per pupil (up to a maximum of $1,000.00) and which may indicate that their knowledge about or access to all available funding options was somewhat limited.

• Only a small percentage of School Councils accessed any other external grant money (14%) or additional funds through Model Schools (13%).

• Some of the challenges mentioned in additional comments included discrepancies in fundraising abilities across different schools (e.g., disadvantages in smaller schools, sites with transient or diverse populations, “have” versus “have not” schools); and a lack of awareness and information about available sources of funding or how to access them or how they’ve been used.


Recommendations for Funding


Comprehensive information about all available internal and external sources of funds and grants for School Councils, along with clear directions on how to access them, be communicated to all School Councils. This is particularly important for small or disadvantaged schools with limited opportunity or ability to raise funds on their own

Learning Centre Executives work with Business Services to ensure that all Principals/ Vice-Principals are informed of funds available for School Councils and appropriate reporting and tracking of funds by council

On-line information be provided for School Councils on how to lead family engagement without fundraising, using creative planning and Ministry and Board funds

The TDSB collaborate with PIAC to explore appropriate model(s) for council sharing of financial and human resources, where feasible

The TDSB, in collaboration with PIAC, explore closing the disparity in the amount of money raised by School Councils by sharing the money with School Councils in need of additional financial supports for School Council activities or by capping the amount of money schools can raise to under $7,000.00

Communications and Relationships

• In order of frequency, the top five methods of communication used “often” were School Council meetings (90%), email messages and/or alerts (66%), individual flyers or notices sent home (55%), signs or posters displayed publicly at the school (51%), and reports within a school newsletter (49%). They were much less likely to use more technological methods like a website page, social media platforms, or phone/ automated message systems.

• While parent outreach strategies also helped connect School Councils with culturally diverse families either always/ usually (54%) or sometimes (20%); one-quarter of respondents said that rarely or never occurred.

• Nevertheless, survey respondents did feel very positive (always/ usually) about having good working relationships with others (94%); encouraging parents to attend meetings (91%); and the Principal’s role in providing the information and resources they need (89%), and in taking their advice and recommendations into consideration (81%).

• Beyond their own school, three-quarters of School Councils said a parent delegate attended Ward Council/ Forum meetings either always/ usually (54%) or sometimes (22%). Seven out of 10 (69%) School Council respondents were also well aware of the work of the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC); although they were less likely to always/ usually receive helpful information and resources from them (45%) or attend the PIAC-hosted appreciation event (41%) or November conference (30%).

• On a similar note, only about one-third of respondents indicated that they always or usually attended other workshops or training sessions provided by the TDSB, another third said this happened sometimes, while the final third attended workshops either rarely or never or weren’t sure.


Recommendations for Communications and Relationships


School Councils consider: (1) expanding their electronic communication strategies to include the use of social media or a dedicated webpage; (2) enhancing their parent outreach efforts to connect with and encourage the involvement of culturally diverse families; (3) enriching their connections beyond their own school by having representatives regularly attend Ward meetings, PIAC events, and TDSB sponsored training sessions and workshops

Schools be encouraged to partner with School Councils in reaching out to their parent community in ways that are meaningful and relevant to the families. This should include translation/ interpretation services where relevant

The TDSB Communications department work with the Parent and Community Engagement Office to develop training and resources for School Councils on use of social media, communication, and outreach strategies

Learning Centres work with the Parent and Community Engagement Office, Finance Administration and Business Development and Community Services to explore resources and opportunities for co-ordinated School Council training

PIAC enhance communication on the services and supports it provides to council (e.g., annual conferences, School Council appreciation events, etc.)

Superintendents work with Principals/ Vice-Principals to ensure that the TDSB School Council e-mail account is activated annually

The TDSB develop or acquire a digital platform for active two-way parent communication

Building Capacity

• One-third of respondents felt that their School Council had access to the resources and information needed to carry out their roles and had a meaningful influence on school planning and decision-making to a great extent (35% each); and a slightly higher percentage said to a moderate extent (45% and 39% respectively). However, with a least one-fifth of them conceding that their influence and access to necessary resources were limited, there is room to improve.

• In terms of professional learning, the previous section revealed that many School Council members did not regularly participate in any conferences, workshops or training sessions that have been made available.

• Survey respondents were asked about the kinds of additional assistance that would be valuable in building their capacity and increasing their effectiveness. In terms of their preferred methods or types of support, about two-thirds (67%) indicated that written reference documents (e.g., handbooks, best practices, guidelines, templates) would be most valuable. The other types of support which were preferred equally by just over half of the respondents included: access to financial support; networking opportunities; equipment, materials, resources or supplies; and training sessions or workshops support.

• The top topics or subject areas selected by School Councils indicated a need to learn more about practices or strategies for contributing to the School Improvement Planning (57%); engaging diverse populations (53%); and enhancing their communication strategies (49%).


• Between 40-45% of respondents were also looking for more information about the legislative, regulatory, policy and procedural expectations that guide School Council operations (including recruitment and orientation, operational issues, and fundraising).

• In the survey’s final and overall additional comments section, the top three coded categories for the most part reiterated the School Councils’ need for more information and training, improved communication strategies, and wider parent outreach and involvement.

Recommendations for Building Capacity


User-friendly on-line and reference documents and professional learning/ capacity building strategies in areas of support, needs and topic areas identified by School Councils are embedded in Learning Centre professional development strategies. System, Trustee, and LC staff professional development planning includes training on the connection of family engagement to student achievement and strategies for aligning and supporting School Councils

The Educational Partnerships and the Business Development and Community Services develop a mechanism for sharing lists of approved vendors and approved partnerships directly with School Councils

Learning Networks explore strategies for engaging School Councils/ families in the School Improvement Process

Schools share family demographic data with School Councils to assist in developing appropriate and culturally responsive activities/ events and strategies for engaging diverse parents

A series of on-demand webinars/ training be made available on the TDSB website addressing the top five areas identified

Learning Centres and Learning Networks should actively encourage parent engagement (especially at the high school level) to enhance staff’s belief in and knowledge of parents’ role in student success and achievement

Learning Networks explore the feasibility of creating a group of local area School Council Chair/ Co-chairs in order to share best practices, establish mentorship opportunities, and leverage great ideas to improve overall council and parent efficacy


In closing, this first system-wide School Council survey has led to a greater understanding of the current state of affairs regarding School Council operations and effectiveness, and the goal moving forward is to apply these survey findings and associated suggestions into concrete plans for action and capacity building. We now know where there are gaps in some School Councils’ knowledge and information about policies and operations, roles and responsibilities, and funding; what obstacles and challenges they face; and where they need support in accessing resources and in learning more effective strategies and practices to enhance their role as an important school partner. Although a higher response rate would have been desirable, these results aggregated at a system-level can be interpreted as a reasonably accurate representation of School Councils in the TDSB to inform next steps for action. This survey also provides some comprehensive baseline data for comparing and monitoring changes in knowledge, practice and perceptions if or when the same or similar survey is administered again to School Councils in the future.


BACKGROUND

During the 2015-16 school year and under the direction of the Parent and Community Engagement Office, a plan to reach out to all School Councils was formed with a goal to meet the expectation of Board Procedure PR.558-Parent and Community Involvement 4(g) that requires “a system survey of School Councils be conducted periodically to assess their effectiveness and to determine ways in which the system might provide further support for their work”. Given that this represented the Board’s first concerted effort into such a broad communication and feedback strategy with all School Councils, the intention was to initially gather a wide range of baseline data about all aspects of School Council roles and operations. While it ultimately led to a somewhat lengthy survey, the end product would serve to be a comprehensive set of data to form a strong foundation for informing current recommendations and action plans and for developing any future versions of surveys.

METHODOLOGY This was a co-construction project with the Research and Information Services department providing support for the design, formatting, and subsequent analysis of a survey instrument, in collaboration with the Parent and Community Engagement Office (PCEO) and a working committee composed of members from the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC), School Council members, parents, and staff representatives from the Community Support Workers from Model Schools. To start, various documents (i.e., including the Ontario Reg. 612/00, School Councils; TDSB Parent and Community Involvement Operational Procedure PR.558 SCS and Policy P023; and School Councils: A Guide for Members, Ministry of Education; information on the TDSB website about School Councils; etc.) were referenced as primary resources for identifying both general areas of focus and specific items for the survey. An extensive list of potential categories, issues, and sample items for possible inclusion was drafted for preliminary discussions with and vetting by the parent consultation group. Over the next few months, members of the group emailed and/or convened a number of times in the evenings by teleconference to contribute to the process by prioritizing areas of focus, making decisions about content, co-constructing items, deliberating over wording and language and/or whether sections should be condensed, omitted or expanded, etc. After each session, their feedback was incorporated into a revised version and presented back to them for further comment and modification. While it proved challenging to be as brief and concise as we all had hoped, the group’s insights and contributions were extremely valuable and in the end ensured that the final tool adequately reflected their own information needs and wants as well. In the final version, the main sections on the School Council Survey included the following headings:

• Background Information • School Council Roles and Functions • School Council Membership and Operations (Memberships, Operations, Meetings, Funding) • Communications and Relationships • Building Capacity and Next Steps • Additional Information


In the final stages of development, Toronto School Administrators’ Association (TSAA), federation reps, and Community Support Workers were all given an opportunity to provide their input and comments; and then a nearly final version was also field-tested by a small sample of School Council members, Chairs or Co-chairs prior to wider distribution. The field-testers were asked to confirm whether the language used was clear and appropriate; that the meaning of each question was understandable; that the survey length and timing were manageable; and that the design and answer format was straightforward.

SURVEY DISTRIBUTION A system-wide message about the 2015-2016 School Council Survey was disseminated by the Parent and Community Engagement Office through a variety of communication networks and distributions lists such as the School Council e-list, parent conference e-lists, Direct Line, the TDSB website, the System Leaders Bulletin, and the Community Advisory Council distribution lists. Communications included a link to an invitation message, the posting of the online survey, and instructions for completion. The invitation notice indicated that TDSB was launching its first system-wide on-line School Council Survey in collaboration with the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC) with the primary objectives to:

∙ assess the current status of School Council operations across the Board ∙ identify areas of effective practice and areas needing further attention or support ∙ guide next steps for improvement.

The survey was available on-line from May 9 to June 13, 2016. Instructions explained that the survey was to be completed either by the Chair, Co-Chair, or an Active Council Member on behalf of the School Council, and that only one survey per School Council group should be submitted. In the event that a school had more than one type of School Council, the Chair/ Lead of each group could also complete a separate survey. While the on-line survey responses could only be submitted electronically, a paper copy of the survey was also provided for reference purposes and/or for preliminary completion at the respondent’s convenience and to be transferred to the on-line format later. Respondents were advised that aggregated group responses only would be tabulated and shared with School Councils and used by the Board’s Parent and Community Engagement Office (PCEO), Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC), and Trustees to better aid and support School Council efforts.

SCHOOL COUNCIL RESPONDENTS In total, 162 completed surveys were returned by School Council representatives during the month it was posted on-line. While the exact number of existing School Councils is uncertain, responses from 162 School Councils represented a return rate of 27.6% based on 588 TDSB schools. Of these, the large majority described their school as a regular day school (94%), 5% said it was some other type, and fewer than 1% were from an alternative school.

http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/Community/docs/SchoolCouncilSurvey2015-16_Final.pdf

http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/Community/docs/SchoolCouncilSurvey2015-16_Final.pdf


Additional descriptors of school type were provided by approximately one-fifth of the respondents and included schools with French Immersion/ Extended French programs (12 responses); special education programs or classes, such as gifted, autism, developmental disabilities (11 responses); other speciality programs for example, arts, music, sports, International Baccalaureate (7 responses); Model Schools (2 responses). The distribution of survey respondents by panel was fairly consistent with the proportion of schools by grade level configuration across the system as a whole.

The enrolment patterns of those schools by panel were also as expected. Elementary-only schools typically housed less than 500 students and many less than 250. Combined elementary/ middle schools ranged between 250 - 750 students, while most intermediate-only schools enrolled between 250-500 students. The enrolment range for secondary schools was wider, with numbers anywhere between 500 students to more than 1,000.

Table 1: Enrolment Range

Enrolment Range

Grade Range <250 250-500 500-750 750-1000 >1000

Elementary (n=77) 33% 49% 13% 5% 0%

Elementary/ Middle (n=45) 9% 42% 29% 16% 2%

Middle/ Junior High (n=12) 0% 83% 17% 0% 0%

Secondary (n=24) 4% 13% 21% 29% 33%

In describing the types of parent groups currently operating in their school, all respondents except one (99.4%) indicated a general School Council that represented the whole school. A few others also mentioned having an additional School Council representing a distinct parent group (such as music parents, garden committee, parent council); a separate Home and School Association; and/or other parent groups. The overall response rate was adequate to provide fairly accurate survey results for the purpose of system-wide reporting. However, that was not the case for conducting any sub-analyses by other descriptive factors or smaller units of study. For example, the number of responses within each of the

Elementary (K-5, K-6)

48%

Elementary/ Middle (K-8) 28%

Middle/ Junior High

7%

Secondary 15%

Other 3%

Figure 1: School Council Respondents

by Panel


smaller Ward or Learning Network groupings was not sufficient to compile individual summaries of their specific local results with any degree of statistical accuracy or confidence.

SCHOOL COUNCIL ROLES AND FUNCTIONS

The purpose of School Councils is, through the active participation of parents, to improve pupil achievement and to enhance the accountability of the education system to parents.

Ontario Ministry of Education, Regulation 612/00

The majority of respondents felt that the statement above was either a mostly true (52%) or somewhat true (34%) reflection of the role School Council played in their school community. Another 8% felt the statement was either somewhat or mostly untrue, while another 6% weren’t sure or left the question blank. School Council representatives were then asked to consider a list of 14 specific School Council roles and functions and to indicate (a) whether they were aware of that function; (b) how frequently the School Council engaged in that activity; and (c) the level of importance that should be placed on that function. For the most part, respondents (80-90% and up) were well aware of the various roles and functions that may be assumed by School Councils, with only a few exceptions. For example, several of them did not realize that a School Council could contribute in the following areas: participate in School Improvement Planning (22% not aware); make recommendations to or advise the School Board (31%); participate in the development of the school budget (45%) or the non-Board financial plan (53%). Figure 2 lists the School Council roles and functions in the order of their perceived “importance” (with the blue bars representing the percentage who rated importance as “high”) and comparing that to the percent of respondents who said their Council engages in that activity “often” (dark green bars) or “sometimes” (light green bars). Those comparisons revealed some positive correlations as well as some disconnects in terms of actual practice. The comments following Figure 2 reference the alignment of the high importance and often responses only, although the sometimes category is also included in the chart for additional information.


88

83

80

75

70

65

65

65

65

59

57

57

39

33

74

57

56

65

30

72

59

39

43

41

6

23

15

23

15

26

34

14

25

14

24

32

25

41

27

40

14

11

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Share SC information with parents

Obtain parent input about issues

Advise/ make recommendations to Principal

Complete a School Statement of Needs (SSON)

Participate in School Improvement Plan

School fundraising and social activities

Support school initiatives with resources

Share information about Board/ Ministry issues

Represent parents on school committees

Host information nights, workshops, etc

Advise/ make recommendations to School Board

Advise about school policies and practices

Participate in developing School Budget

Participate in developing non-Board financial plan

% respondents

Figure 2: Comparison of School Council Activities by Importance & Frequency

Importance: High Frequency: Often Frequency: Sometimes


A few key observations related to Figure 2 and the relationships between frequency of practice (often) and perceived importance (high) are highlighted here:

Sharing information about School Council issues and activities with parents was the top rated function in terms of both importance (88%) and frequency of occurrence (74%).

Other functions rated high in importance (75-83%) were: obtaining parent input about issues under consideration; advising or making recommendations to the Principal; and completing an SSON for administrator vacancies. These roles had a consultative or advisory element to them and occurred often according to 56-65% of respondents. On the other hand, participating in the School Improvement Plan process was also considered fairly important (70%) but only 30% of School Councils reported doing this often.

Organizing school-wide fundraising or social events tends to be one of the most common activities for many School Councils, although it was also the one area where the often frequency ratings (72%) were slightly higher than the perceived importance ratings (65%).

Approximately two-thirds (65%) of respondents also felt that the next three items in the figure had high value or importance as School Council functions. While the frequency with which School

Councils said they often supported school initiatives with finances, materials or equipment was fairly well aligned with its importance; there were larger gaps in actual practice with regards to sharing information with parents about relevant Board and Ministry issues and/or representing parents on school committees (e.g., safe & caring schools, etc.).

Some discrepancies between perceived importance and actual practice were also evident in regards to hosting information nights or presentations for parents and providing advice about school policies and practices (e.g., dress code, safety, homework, or attendance policies). The widest disconnect between the two categories was related to providing advice or making recommendations to the actual School Board. While 57% of respondents thought that was an important role for School Councils, only 6% of them said they did this often (with 66% reporting this happened only rarely or never).

School Councils were also not very likely to participate often in the development of either the School Budget (15%) or the non-Board financial plan (23%). Only about a third of respondents rated these tasks as important for them and, as mentioned earlier, many were not aware that these were functions of School Councils.

“While fundraising is a large part

or our role, it should not be limited

to only that.”

“Have mandatory training…about roles and functions so we are all on the same page.”


An open ended section asking respondents to identify the top three areas of focus or accomplishment for their School Council this school year followed, and a total of 447 comments were entered for this question. While there was often considerable overlap in the actions or activities mentioned across categories, the original comments were coded by a primary key word or phrase that seemed to best represent the intent or meaning of the comments. The number of comments within the top ten categories and a few paraphrased examples under each code as a sample of those comments are summarized in Table 2.

Table 2: Top Areas of Focus/ Accomplishments for School Council, 2016

Top Areas of Focus/ Accomplishment for School Council, 2016

# Coded Category Sample Comments

97 Fundraising Fundraising in general; or fundraising for specific events or programs (e.g., fun fair, food drive, pizza days, athletics, concerts, enrichment activities, equipment)

52 Support Initiatives Providing support/ funds to enhance school curriculum, special initiatives, enrichment programs in general or for specific needs (e.g., eco-school, buddies programs, STEM, technology, the arts, resources)

45 Communication Facilitating and/or improving communications and information sharing with parents and between school community members (home-school liaison); by various means such as regular meeting updates, newsletters, emails, social media, web site

43 Parent Engagement Increasing parent engagement and/or organizing social events or meetings about topics of interest; encouraging parent involvement and volunteering; through committees or roles for parent reps

24 Host Information Sessions

Holding information sharing nights, presentations, or workshops. A few respondents mentioned examples like curriculum nights, health topics, or guidance information

23 Community Building Building community engagement through community events and outreach activities, and promoting a positive school climate/ spirit and raising the school profile in the neighbourhood

23 Events Planning and supporting a wide variety of school-wide events (e.g., social events, fun fairs, multicultural nights, arts/ music shows, charity walks/ runs)

20 Health & Safety Issues

Mental health and well-being focus; health (nutrition programs) and wellness initiatives; online/ internet safety and cyberbullying; safety plans or measures to improve traffic control, road, pedestrian and/or bus safety around the school

17 Council Improvements

Improving council in various ways including: expanded membership; being more inclusive; creating new positions/ roles/ committees; delegating jobs; re-aligning processes and procedures; developed a mission statement and action plans; succession planning; creating a handover binder for future members; developed a Parent Handbook

13 Resources Purchasing/ investing in additional resources, materials or equipment for the school; such as books and reading materials, gym equipment, library shelving, and technology like laptops, tablets, etc.


SCHOOL COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP AND OPERATIONS

A. Membership

The composition of School Councils varied from school to school, although essentially every one included a Principal or Vice-Principal and elected or non-elected parents as members. The breakdown of School Council members by percent response is presented as follows:

100% • Principal (or Vice-Principal delegate) 97% • Elected parent members 82% • Teaching staff of the school 37% • Community representative(s) 28% • Non-teaching staff of the school 16% • Student(s) 11% • Others (mostly non-elected parents)

• Others mentioned included a CSW, community guests, workshop attendees, Ward

rep, reps from partner school, a secretary

The degree to which respondents felt that the School Council membership reflected the demographic make-up and diversity of the whole school population was quite variable, as shown here:

It was evident from some of the comments elsewhere on the survey that engaging a wider cross-section of parents can be quite challenging in some schools and was an area that needed further attention and effort.

To a great extent 25%

To a moderate extent 38%

To a limited extent 26%

Not at all 11%

Figure 3: School Council Reflects the School Demographics

“Difficulty getting out parents who are representative of the school

population."


B. Operations

Table 3 details the responses about School Council operations and procedures and reveals that not all expectations are being fully met in every Council.

Table 3: School Council Operations and Procedures

Our School Council: Yes %

No %

Not Sure %

Holds annual elections at the beginning of the school year 93 6 1

Has established some decision-making processes (e.g., by consensus, by vote, etc.) 91 5 4

Develops an action plan for carrying out School Council activities throughout the year 80 12 7

Sets goals and priorities for the upcoming year 79 13 7

Has a good understanding of Ontario Regulation 612 governing School Councils 65 14 20

Develops its own set of by-laws to direct operational issues (e.g., election procedures, membership vacancies, conflict of interest, conflict resolution, etc.)

54 32 13

Completes an annual report about the School Council’s goals, activities, fundraising, and financial statements

54 25 19

As illustrated in Table 3:

• Nine out of 10 School Councils reported they hold annual elections and establish some decision-making processes; and eight out of 10 said they develop goals, priorities, and an action plan for the upcoming year.

• While two-thirds of respondents said they had a good understanding of Ontario Reg. 612 (65%), the remaining third either admitted they did not or weren’t sure.

• Just over half the respondents (54%) indicated that the School Council developed their own set of by-laws or completed an annual report. While many said they did not, there was a fair degree of uncertainty as well.

Optional comments at the end of the section expressed many positive, collaborative and effective practices, but others also offered some possible explanations or insights into the challenges School Councils face in regards to their operations (e.g., being a new council; in a transition mode; mostly acclaimed council positions; recruiting new members is hard; lack of any handover documentation; different reporting formats employed, etc.).


# Coded Category Sample Comments about Operations

6 New Council We are a new council…just establishing by-laws, election process, infrastructure, priorities; first year with active council, working well together with guidance from knowledgeable principal; in transition mode; still learning about role; no documentation/ handover from previous council for clarity

6 Election Process Our council is mostly acclaimed; positions are affirmed rather than elected as not much competition; elections only held as required; everyone who wants to get involved and be in a role can do so; hard to recruit a voting member to Council; not many parents express interest…current members getting burnt out; elections at the beginning of the school year in accordance with Reg. 612; all parents in the school are considered members of the Council

6 Goal Setting Our goals, activities, fundraising and finances are discussed at Parent Council meetings…and are transparent; we discuss goals and priorities for the coming year, although circumstances and events may change the focus and direction as the year progresses; we create a fundraising action plan; specific financial and academic performance goals need to be made for the year and a tighter action plan be in place; time commitment and skill is a challenge for many parents to run council with clear goals and priorities; support from administrators and school staff is necessary

4 Reporting We complete an annual financial report; annual report is more of a financial report; our financial statements outline the budget for the year; no annual report, but send out monthly reports after each council meeting

4 Bylaws Bylaws already developed; in the process of revising and re-launching new set of bylaws; developing bylaws a priority for this year; slowly formalizing guidelines over 5-7 years and making them more available centrally for our new parents

4 Communications The treasurer’s report, agendas and minutes are circulated for each meeting; our focus on parent engagement hampered by lack of access to parent emails; information is provided annually but of limited interest to broader parent community; communication is terrible…if we miss a meeting, we are out of the loop (no agenda, no minutes published); need to look at successful methods used by other schools

Other Comments Acknowledged a re-writing of their Constitution to align with Reg. 612; low attendance or lack of commitment by other parents; a lack of formal direction and decision-making; a need for more training, human resources, administration/Principal support, etc.

C. Meetings

For the most part School Councils were adhering to protocols for organizing meetings, with 90% or more of them always or usually scheduling and communicating their meetings well in advance, planning agendas in coordination with the Principal, and having the Chair or Co-Chair lead the meeting; and 85% also recording and publicly sharing the minutes of those meetings. The use of sub-committees in the decision-making process however was quite inconsistent across the board (see Table 4). Seventy percent (70%) said their meetings were always or usually attended by non-council parents or community members, while another 17% said this happened sometimes. As an incentive to encourage parent attendance at meetings, 71% of School Councils also mentioned that child care services were always or usually available as required, while almost one-fifth (19%) said that child care was rarely or never available. In contrast, interpretation or translation services were much less likely to be available,


with 45% of respondents reporting that such language supports were rarely or never provided, and another 22% saying they weren’t sure.

Table 4: School Council Meetings

Always/ Usually

Sometimes Rarely/ Never

Not Sure

% % % %

School Council meetings are scheduled and communicated well in advance

95 3 1 -

Meeting agendas are planned in coordination with the School Principal

90 6 2 2

Meetings are led by the Chair/ Co-Chair 94 2 4 -

Minutes of School Council meetings are taken and made publicly available

85 5 7 4

Meetings are attended by other non-council parents and/or school community members

70 17 10 2

The School Council uses sub-committees in its decision-making process

44 23 28 6

Child care services are available as required 71 6 19 4

Interpretation or translation services are available as required

27 6 45 22

D. Funding

Three-quarters (74%) of survey respondents reported that their School Council had access to sufficient funds to meet their operational needs and requirements, while 25% felt their financial resources fell short. In looking more closely at the various sources of funds that School Councils do access, the most common strategies were through their own school fundraising efforts (74%); followed by applications for PROG- Parent Reaching Out Grants (64%) (see Figure 4). Interestingly, only half of the respondents (49%) reported accessing either the $500.00 allocated to every School Council by the Ministry or the TDSB funds of $1.25 per pupil (up to a maximum of $1,000.00). Just over 10% of respondents also said they supplemented their School Council finances through other external grants and/or additional monies from Model Schools for Inner Cities.


By way of further explanation, any additional comments focussed largely on some of the challenges surrounding School Council funding. While school-based fundraising was the most prevalent strategy for many schools, it tended to be more difficult in schools with smaller enrolments, certain demographics and/or transient populations, and created discrepancies between “have” and “have-not” schools in their abilities to fundraise.

Information about and/or access to other sources of funding was also lacking. Some schools were unaware that other financial resources like the Ministry and TDSB allocations existed, or they did not know how to access them, or they were unsure if or how the Principal may have used them without their knowledge.

A few people cited some of the specific school and facility improvements that were much needed. With schools (especially small ones) being underfunded, there was insufficient operating budget to provide any student or school extras and then the burden is often borne by the parent community. The School Councils’ own goals and events were likewise limited by its budget and available funds, and so they had to plan accordingly.

13%

14%

49%

49%

64%

74%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Additional MSIC funds

External grants

Ministry funds of $500.00

TDSB funds of $1.25 per pupil

PROG applications

Own Fund Raising

% of School Councils accessing funds

Figure 4: Sources of School Council Funding

“The disparity in the amount of

money raised by councils should

be eliminated.”


# Coded Category Sample Comments about Funding

10 Fundraising • The demographic of our school community is not conducive to fundraising; reliance on fundraising very difficult for smaller schools with a transient population; discrepancy between fundraising abilities at different schools problematic; TDSB needs to look at capping or equalizing resources among "have" and "have-not" schools

• We didn't do any fundraising event; PRO Grants and board and ministry funding have been sufficient for our programming needs

• Regular fundraising efforts; annual fundraisers (e.g., BBQ, fair, lunch programs); cut council activities if we don’t raise enough; members provide time and “donations” to make things happen

8 Access to Funds Our council (or school admin) does not know how to access them; no funding provided to date; principal controls the funds – don’t know if/ how they are used; not aware these additional funds exist

5 Ministry/ TDSB Funds

Would like more information about these; not aware of $500 funds for SC or MSIC; have not accessed them; principal may use for parent engagement items (childcare, bussing to events) but co-chairs not involved

5 Insufficient Budget

Being a small school, we are under-funded; limited by existing operating budget; sufficient funds to run the monthly meetings but could use more funding to operationalize student learning/ academic experiences; schools are underfunded and the burden is borne directly by the parent community (e.g., for items like the maintenance, refurbishing and purchase of new technology)

4 School Needs Funds needed for school improvements (specific items cited included major renovations, overall building maintenance, play yard structures, bathroom, lunchroom sink, technology resources, music program, excursions, and enrichment); need to think outside the box to get things done versus only using contracted TDSB skilled professionals to do the work

3 Limitations Events planned within limits of available funds; we keep our goals within our budget; work within the allocated amounts; share with other schools to reduce costs and maximize benefits

Others Will make use of PRO grants; told not to count on MSIC funds; UPHS funding has been accessed; Continuing Education funds help to offset meeting costs; it’s important to use the money correctly based on teacher and parent priorities and a set budget; how the money is spent is not well planned in advance; we don’t track the amount we use annually but we are permitted to access school supplies for our meetings which counts towards our allocation; was told school covers costs when council runs out of money


COMMUNICATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS School Councils employed a variety of strategies to communicate with the wider school community. However, only 12% of the respondents reported they were using a designated School Council email account that is offered by the Board and available for all School Councils, while 40% said they weren’t using it. Almost half of the respondents (49%) indicated that they weren’t even aware of it. Nevertheless, they did use other communication strategies or methods to inform or share School Council news with other parents and community members. As illustrated in Table 5, the top five methods used most “often” by at least half or more of the School Councils and in order of frequency were: • School Council meetings • Email messages and/or alerts • Individual flyers or notices sent home with students • Reports within a school newsletter (as opposed to a dedicated School Council newsletter) School Councils were much less likely to use technological mediums like a website page, social media platforms, or phone/ automated message systems.

Table 5: Communication Methods

Frequency of Communication Methods Often %

Some-times %

Rarely/ Never

% Not Sure

%

School Council meetings 90 6 3 1

Email messages and/or alerts 66 12 18 2

Individual flyers/ notices sent home with students 55 28 16 -

Information signs or posters displayed on the school’s Public Noticeboard (Regulation 613; 1.1)

51 20 23 5

Reports within a school newsletter 49 29 20 2

School Council newsletter 35 7 52 3

School website 35 22 36 6

School Council website 31 6 53 5

Social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter…) 24 15 56 5

The School Council Facebook page 15 4 73 8

By phone or automated message system 14 13 66 4

Other (13 responses such as exterior sign, informal playground conversations, via Principal’s weekly emails, school blog)

The survey also included a list of statements about desirable School Council communications, relationships, and information sharing and asked respondents to indicate how frequently their own School Council engaged in those practices. As shown in Table 6, their most positive and frequent responses were related to the School Council always or usually having good respectful working relationships with others (94%), and actively encouraging parents to attend meetings (91%); and the role of the Principal always or usually providing


the information and resources they need (89%) and taking their advice and recommendations into consideration (81%). Three-quarters of respondents reported that a parent delegate attends Ward Council/ Forum meetings either always/ usually (54%) or sometimes (22%); and that parent outreach strategies help to connect with culturally diverse families either always/ usually (54%) or sometimes (20%). However, for both statements, about one-fifth of respondents said this rarely or never occurred. While seven out of 10 (69%) School Council respondents were well aware of the work of the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC); less than half said that PIAC always or usually provided School Councils with helpful information and resources (45%) and even fewer said that School Council members always or usually attended the PIAC-hosted appreciation event in February (41%) or their Parent Conference in November (30%). Nearly a third of respondents said they rarely or never attended these events, and several others weren’t sure. Similarly, only about one-third of them said they always or usually attended other workshops or training sessions provided by the TDSB, another third said this happened sometimes, while the final third attended workshops either rarely or never or weren’t sure.

Table 6: Statements about Communications, Relationships, and Information Sharing

Statements about Communications, Relationships, and Information Sharing

Always/Usually %

Some-times

% Rarely/Never

% Not Sure

%

The School Council has a positive, respectful working relationship with others

94 4 2 1

Parents are actively encouraged to attend School Council meetings

91 6 3 -

The Principal provides information and resources to support our work

89 8 2 1

The Principal takes the advice/ recommendations offered by the School Council into consideration

81 13 2 1

The School Council is aware of the work of the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC)

69 16 8 7

Parent outreach and engagement strategies help us connect to culturally diverse families

54 20 19 6

A parent delegate attends Ward Council/ Forum meetings

54 22 21 4

PIAC provides the School Council with helpful information, support and/or resources

45 24 17 14

School Council members attend the School Council Appreciation Event in February hosted by PIAC

41 17 30 12

School Council members attend workshops or training sessions provided by TDSB

32 33 27 9

School Council members and/or parents attend the PIAC “Parents Make a Difference” conference in November

30 20 32 17


BUILDING CAPACITY AND NEXT STEPS The final section of the survey (Figures 5a and 5b) addressed the current state of School Councils’ effectiveness across the TDSB and reflected many of the findings reported in the preceding sections. While a majority of respondents felt that their School Council did have access to the resources and information needed to carry out their roles and did have a meaningful influence on school planning and decision-making either to a great or moderate extent, at least one-fifth of them did not.

To follow-up, the next set of questions asked about building capacity and the kinds of additional assistance that would be most valuable in order to maximize the success and effectiveness of their School Council. Figures 6 and 7 present their preferred types or methods of support and the specific topics or subject areas where more information is needed, from highest to lowest responses.

Great extent 35%

Moderate extent 45%

Limited extent 19%

Not at all 1%

Figure 5a: School Council has Access to Resources and Information Needed to Carry out their Roles

Great extent 35%

Moderate extent 39%

Limited extent 21%

Not at all 5%

Figure 5b: School Council has a Meaningful Influence on School Planning and Decision-making


Slightly more than two-thirds (67%) of respondents indicated that written documentation (such as a handbook, best practice write-ups, guidelines, templates) would be most helpful as direct reference materials and resources. In addition, other types of support were preferred equally by approximately half of the respondents: access to financial support; networking opportunities; equipment, materials, resources or supplies; and training sessions or workshops. The “other” responses most often referred to “human” resources or support networks (e.g., having a School Council advocate; an online discussion forum; more information about PIAC or a visit from PIAC once a year; an expert or mentor to advise on school issues; meetings of School Council Executives within the ward; having TDSB vet and compile a list of experts and speakers available to book for council meetings). Others mentioned workshops, greater access to parent emails or School Council contacts, and increased involvement by parents, community, teachers, or administrators.

In terms of specific topics or subject areas where School Councils needed or wanted more information, the top three requests were related to practices or strategies that could potentially increase their overall effectiveness by contributing to the School Improvement Planning (SIP) process (57%); engaging diverse populations (53%); and enhancing their communication strategies (49%). The next set of topics selected by 40-45% of the respondents were associated more with the legislative, regulatory, policy and procedural expectations that guide School Council operations (including recruitment and orientation, operational issues, and fundraising).

67%

54%

54%

53%

51%

12%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Reference documents

Financial Support

Networking Opportunities

Equipment, materials, resources

Training/ Workshops

Other

Figure 6: Preferred Types of Support

“Sharing of best practices from other

engaged councils would help to

improve overall efficacy.”


A slightly smaller number of respondents (between 20-28%) were also looking for more information or practical techniques about how to run effective meetings, how to build positive relationships, and how to build consensus and make decisions. A few other single comments elaborated on topics like the purpose/ mission of School Councils, digital communication strategies, fundraising issues, purchasing guidelines, grant writing, event planning, parenting workshops, and advocating the use of the School Council Handbook.

57%

53%

49%

45%

44%

43%

40%

28%

26%

20%

7%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Contributing to SIP

Engaging Diverse Populations

Communication Strategies

Recruitment & Orientation

Legislation & Regulations

Operational Procedures

Fundraising Policies & Procedures

Effective Meetings

Relationship Building

Consensus Building & Decision Making

Other

Figure 7: Specific Topics for More Information


FINAL COMMENTS Finally, additional space was provided at the end of the survey for any other last thoughts or comments about School Council successes or issues. For the most part, the comments were a reiteration or an elaboration of points already touched on throughout the survey and this report. For example, the top three coded categories were about the need for more information and training, improved communication strategies, and wider parent outreach and involvement. In acknowledgement of the time and effort these School Council members committed to completing the survey, several samples of their personal perspectives and opinions are represented here in Table 7.

Table 7: Additional Comments

# Coded Category A Sample of Additional Comments

17 Information/ Training

Have a mandatory training session at the Ward level each year about roles and functions so we are all on the same page; all relevant government applicable laws and procedures must be readily available; provide a handover binder and orientation from the school; provide any procedural documents or handbooks as a guide; need to know about available resources, grant applications, membership expectations, what CPAC & PIAC have to offer; learned a lot of what we are responsible for and what we could be doing just by filling in this form

14 Communications Availability of board email account and/or parent email addresses an issue; technical problems (logins, email, website); need a digital platform for active two-way parent communication; what are the policies related to communications?; weekly school newsletter keeps community informed; need a more stream-lined approach between the School & Council communications; a large catchment area makes it difficult to communicate with and recruit parents; have made strides with an online website calendar with all pertinent school & council information

12 Parent Involvement

Belief in the importance of parent role in the success of our children in collaboration with school and board partners; Principal should be reminded that parents are vital to success, and actively encourage parent involvement especially at the high school level; difficulty getting out new parents or parents who are representative of the school population - maybe due to language and cultural barriers; need more social events in the school so that parents can get to know each other; challenging to recruit new members - recruitment ideas and orientation would be very helpful

8 General Positive Comments

Very positive and productive relationship between the parent community, school staff and administration; a very active SC and all parties within the school collaborate well; excellent support of the Administrative Team and Office staff; sharing and mentoring with other SAC Executives at PIAC events very valuable; successful Ward activities and local school events

6 Volunteers In a small school with limited resources and a small council, we find that a lot is expected of us when we are just parent volunteers; council parents are volunteers and many have full time job and family responsibilities on top – it can be overwhelming; run by untrained and very busy volunteers who have little authority to function as an effective part of the TDSB quality control system

5 Fundraising We can’t fundraise the same way as surrounding schools with richer families; the disparity in amount of money raised by School Councils should be eliminated by sharing the money or by capping the amount of money schools can raise to under $7,000.00; our role has become more like a bank rather than a partner in the education - while fundraising is a large part of our role, it should not be limited to only that; need support in grant writing to generate funds


# Coded Category A Sample of Additional Comments

3 Collaboration with Other School Councils

Next year, plan to create a group of local area School Council Co-chairs in order to share best practices and leverage great ideas; online connections such as a blog or experience sharing with other School Council would be a good resource; sharing of "best practices" from other engaged councils would help to improve overall efficacy

2 Survey Issues What are you going to learn from/ do with this information?

2016 snapshot of school council … advisory...2016 snapshot of school council operations in the...

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