3.17 School Management
A. School Faculty Council
The School Faculty Council shall be formed in each school building. The principal and/or his/her designate(s) shall meet monthly during the school year with the School Faculty Council. The Council shall have as one of its members the AEA Building Representative.
The purpose of the Council shall be to provide a means of communication between the building staff and the building principal. The Council shall serve in an advisory capacity to the building principal.
The size of the Council and the departments, levels, and special groups to be represented on the Council shall be determined by the faculty at a September meeting.
The faculty shall elect the representatives to the Council by secret ballot during the month of September. After the first (1st) of October, the Council shall meet and elect its chairman by secret ballot. Neither the building principal nor the AEA building representative may serve as chairman. The term of the new council shall begin at the beginning of the school year.
The chairperson, in cooperation with the principal, shall schedule one (1) council meeting per month. The agenda for this meeting shall be prepared by the chairperson and submitted to the principal (who may add items) and council members at least twenty-four (24) hours before the meeting.
Other meetings of the Council may be called by the chairman, a majority of the members of the Council, or the principal.
The chairman shall designate a member of the Council to serve as secretary at each session. This person shall be responsible for providing a summary of the meeting to the building principal prior to the preparation of the minutes for general staff distribution.
The principal and Faculty Council shall consult on all matters involving building policy and procedures. Unresolved issues shall be referred in writing to the AEA Professional Problems Committee by the Council chairman within five (5) days, if the majority of the Council so instructs him/her. A copy shall be given each member of the Council.
The Faculty Council shall have the right to determine the expenditure of funds which are made available through food or beverage machines operated in the faculty lounge(s).
The Council shall designate the activities to be supervised, subject to faculty approval, and recommend to the principal those employees to be paid under the extra pay category of “activity supervisors.”
Effective with the 1991-1992 school year, a School Faculty Council may become a Building Leadership Team. The process for converting a School Faculty Council to a Building Leadership Team involves three steps:
1. The principal, the Faculty Council, or a majority of the certificated staff requests a presentation on the building leadership teams from the commission on site based management.
2. The certificated staff of the building shall have the opportunity to attend a commission presentation on building leadership teams.
3. The certified staff votes by secret ballot and by a two-thirds margin of all certificated staff assigned to the building approves converting the School Faculty Council to a Building Leadership Team.
A Building Leadership Team is characterized by the one-person-one-vote principle, with the building principal being a voting member of the Team with one vote. The Building Representative and the PTA President shall also be members of the Building Leadership Team. An additional parent representative may also be selected by the Building Leadership Team to serve as a team member. The Building Leadership Team is to participate in shared decision making, a concept in which teachers and the principal work together to make building level decisions. The partnership established by the Building Leadership Team must protect and guarantee the interests of the teachers and the administrator(s).
The Building Leadership Team shall collectively assume responsibility for building level decisions within the limits of law, state minimum standards, board policy, budget, and professional ethics. The Building Leadership Team’s authority is limited to those decisions that would ordinarily be made at the building level. The Building Leadership Team may reserve to itself or designate to the principal specific types of decisions. Where a decision is not reserved or designated, the principal shall retain responsibility in that area.
The building principal shall be able to appeal any Building Leadership Team decision that he/she believes is a violation of the limits of the law, state minimum standards, board policy, budget, or professional ethics to a committee composed of the Superintendent or his/her designee and the President or his/her designee. If a mutually acceptable decision cannot be reached within thirty (30) days of the date of the appeal, the principal’s appeal shall be forwarded to the Board for action within fifteen (15) work days or at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting, whichever is later. A record of such appeals and decisions shall be made and a copy of the record promptly provided to all parties.
If a Building Leadership Team desires to take action for the 1992-1993 school year and/or subsequent school years which requires an exception to the Agreement, to the policies of the Board, or to the administrative regulations of the Board, it shall arrange for the entire staff of the building to have the opportunity to provide informed reaction to the anticipated request before the Building Leadership Team votes to request the exception.
Exceptions to the Agreement shall be granted only by a majority vote of the full Joint Professional Problems Committee. The Joint Professional Problems Committee shall consider the request at the first regularly scheduled meeting following receipt of the request and must vote no later than the second regularly scheduled meeting following receipt of the request unless a delay in the vote is agreed to by the President and the Executive Director – Human Resources. The Superintendent and the President shall cooperate with the Building Leadership Team in implementing the exception.
The Joint Professional Problems Committee shall consider requests for an exception to Board policy and shall make a recommendation to the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall consult with the Board and respond to the requested exception within fifteen work days or following the next regularly scheduled Board meeting, whichever is later.
Immediately upon ratification of this agreement, the parties shall select members to serve on the site-based management commission as described in section 11.02 of this Agreement. This commission shall be available to advise Faculty Councils and the Joint Professional Problems Committee about the process of becoming and working as Building Leadership Teams.
For the duration of this Agreement reaffirmation of the Building Leadership Team and its membership shall be required annually in September by a simple majority vote of all the certified staff assigned to the building.
The President and the Superintendent shall cooperate in assisting Building Leadership Teams to fulfill the responsibilities involved in shared decision making. If, in the opinion of the Superintendent or the President, an intervention is warranted with respect to the operation of any Building Leadership Team, either may request that the Joint Professional Problems Committee conduct a review. Subsequent to the review, the Joint Professional Problems Committee shall submit recommendations to the President, the Superintendent and the Board which may include, but are not limited to, intervention by the Site-based Management Commission or a rearranging of the organizational structure of the building. If the Joint Professional Problems Committee cannot agree to a set of recommendations, the Board shall determine what, if any action is to be taken.
C. Annual Review
Section 3.17 B. Building Leadership Teams shall be reviewed at the end of each school year by the Joint Professional Problems Committee and revisions may be made by the mutual agreement of the President and the Executive Director-Human Resources.
3.18 Staff and Other Meetings
Meetings on the first work day of the school year shall be scheduled so that each member has the equivalent of one-half day to prepare his/her classroom for the opening day of school. Attendance at meetings other than those specified in this section shall be voluntary. Minutes of such meetings shall be provided each staff member. Although members are encouraged to attend school functions and school-related meetings, Open House and Parent-Teacher Conferences are the only evening meetings with required attendance.
A. Building Meetings
All members shall attend the scheduled Tuesday building staff meetings. Staff meetings may be held in the member’s building before or after school as determined by a majority vote of the school faculty. Evening meetings shall begin within ten (10) to fifteen (15) minutes following school dismissal and shall not exceed one (1) hour in length nor extend beyond 5:00 p.m. Morning meetings shall not exceed one (1) hour and shall end not less than ten (10) minutes prior to the beginning of a teacher’s homeroom responsibility. One (1) meeting may be held each month, without restriction on content except that “building concerns” will be the first item of business on the agenda. Members shall not be required to tabulate data during a staff meeting or complete assignments for subsequent meetings. A second meeting may be called in May to address building operations issues related to the closing of school. The agenda for all building staff meetings shall be distributed to the staff at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting.
The principal may schedule one (1) staff meeting per school year at another Akron Public Schools building. In case of emergency, the principal may, with the agreement of the AEA Building Representative, call additional building meetings without notice.
Staff meetings shall not be held on election days or on days designated as Open House or Conference Days.
The principal shall not require a member to attend a “make-up” staff meeting when a member is unable to attend the regularly scheduled meeting, nor shall the member be required to view a video tape of a missed staff meeting.
B. Open House and Conferences
All members shall attend the annual Open House each school year which may be scheduled in the evening.
All members shall attend the scheduled fall and spring Parent-Teacher Conference Days. Conference days shall be scheduled on Thursday evening (5:30-8:30 p.m.) and Friday (9:00 a.m.-12:00).
For the purpose of scheduling parent-teacher conferences on Parent-Teacher Conference Day, members shall not be required to make telephone contact with parents.
In lieu of attending the Parent-Teacher Conference Day each semester, a member may elect to make eight (8) visits to eight (8) different homes to be completed within the semester and prior to the scheduled Parent-Teacher Conference Day. Documentation of each home visit must be provided to the principal.
By a majority vote of members assigned to the building, a faculty may elect during the month of September to schedule report card pickup days [twelve (12) hours annually] in place of the Parent-Teacher Conference Day/Home Visit option. In the event a faculty votes for the report card pickup option, members will not have the option to make home visits or conduct parent teacher conferences.
Report card pickup days shall begin five (5) minutes after school dismissal.
Intervention Specialists, Speech/Hearing Therapists and Psychologists who have completed the IEP’s due by the date of the conference day for all students assigned to them shall be excused from attending Parent-Teacher Conferences/Home Visits or Report Card Pickup Conferences.
C. Inservice
At least once every two years, one building meeting, identified in paragraph A above, shall be devoted exclusively for inservice on the Code of Student Behavior. An inservice schedule shall be jointly developed by the Executive Director of Student Services and the Association President.
Two (2) half days annually, with full pay within the school day, shall be scheduled within the school calendar for the purposes of inservice education. Effective with the 1997-1998 school year, the Board shall schedule four (4) late start/early release sessions. Such programs shall be planned by the Division of Curriculum and Instruction in consultation with the professional staff. The dates for inservice sessions shall be determined by the school calendar committee and shall be included on the school calendar.
A member may develop a personal growth proposal in lieu of attending the scheduled late start/early dismissal inservice sessions. The proposal may include visits to other school systems or attendance at professional conferences. Said proposals shall be submitted to the Joint Professional Problems Committee for approval, and shall not exceed two (2) annually.
The Superintendent shall establish an inservice steering committee composed of four administrators named by the Superintendent and four members named by the President. The function of the committee shall be to develop and monitor the system’s staff development program. The system’s staff development program shall have as its goal the improvement of student outcomes and test scores.
The Board reserves the right to request designated teachers to participate in inservice activities for five (5) days outside the normal member work year. This five-day block will carry a compensation rate of $300 per week. Effective with the 1997-1998 and the 1998-1999 school years, this amount shall be increased to $400 and $500 per week, respectively. Teachers within designated areas of assignment selected to participate in the additional week of inservice activities will be advised by the close of the school year. Participation in the program is voluntary. The inservice seminar will be scheduled within a ten-day period prior to the report date.
Members choosing to attend optional board sponsored inservice days, provided within the school calendar, shall be compensated for their attendance at the established daily substitute rate. Inservice programs scheduled in the two (2) mandatory half day inservice days shall occur within Summit County. Attendance at such inservice activities scheduled outside the county shall be voluntary. The Board shall reimburse all members attending such inservice activities outside the city at the established mileage rate.
Preparing and presenting inservice programs or other presentations within the established school calendar, or in addition to it, are not part of a member’s work load. Such assignments shall be voluntary. Members selected as presenters for inservice activities shall be reimbursed for their services at the extended time employment rate (JC 604).
Members will attend professional staff development training or inservice during the workday when scheduled by the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. Said meetings may be scheduled on a waiver day (a day when students are not in attendance) or on a normal workday. When scheduled on a normal workday, the Board shall provide substitute coverage for teachers who attend the meeting.
In addition to the above, the Board shall schedule not less than 12 hours of professional staff development training or inservice each semester. Said training shall be scheduled after the school day in blocks one to two hours in length and shall start not later than 3:30 p.m. and conclude not later than 5:30 p.m. Training sessions shall be published during the semester immediately prior to the semester in which the training will be offered.
Member attendance at the training described in the paragraph above shall be voluntary and shall be unpaid, except that members who attend six clock hours of training during the first semester shall be excused from the inservice/records day at the end of the first semester, and members who attend at least six clock hours of training during the second semester shall be excused from the last work day of the school year.
D. Departmental, Grade Level, or Special Subject Meetings
In months when members are required to attend a departmental, grade level, or special subject meeting, members shall be required to attend only one (1) building staff meeting.
Special subject teachers (art, music, health and physical education, library science, foreign language, home economics, business education, special education, vocational education, industrial arts/technology education) shall attend two (2) special subject citywide meetings annually. These meetings shall not extend beyond 5:00 p.m.
All other members shall attend two (2) building departmental or grade level meetings annually which shall be scheduled in their buildings. These meetings shall begin within ten (10) to fifteen (15) minutes following school dismissal and shall not exceed one (1) hour in length.
E. Records Day
A records day for members shall be scheduled for one-half (1/2) of the final day of the fall semester; that portion of the day to be set aside for this purpose shall be designated by the Superintendent.
3.19 Dialogue Day
Dialogue Day shall be scheduled on Saturdays for three (3) or more hours. Attendance shall be voluntary. Members participating shall be paid at the established hourly inservice rate, and shall be granted continuing education units (CEU’s).
3.20 Curriculum Review Committee
Requests for a curriculum study on programs already in place shall be submitted to the AEA Curriculum Committee. The committee shall collect and evaluate data from the teachers requesting the change and/or study. The committee shall then determine whether to submit the proposed change or study request to the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, for formal consideration.
In the event a request to study or change programs already in place is approved by the AEA Curriculum Committee, the chairman shall notify the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction of such approval. No more than two (2) studies shall be submitted to the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction during any one (1) school year. The Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction shall form a committee, which one of them shall chair, and one-half (1/2) of which shall be the AEA Curriculum Committee.
The Joint Committee shall meet to discuss the proposed change. A curriculum change shall be recommended to the Superintendent by a majority vote of the Joint Committee.
In the event a curriculum modification is approved by the Joint Committee, the Committee’s report shall be submitted to the Superintendent for disposition. The report shall specify the instructional materials and support personnel required to effect the recommended modifications.
All curriculum modifications approved by the Board shall become effective at the beginning of the next semester, if possible. Under no circumstances may an approved change become effective later than the beginning of the next school year.
In the event the Joint Committee rejects a proposed curriculum modification, the Committee shall provide members requesting the change with a report which shall specify the reasons for the rejection of the purposed change.
The Board shall notify the Association of any changes it intends to make in the curriculum, including changes in courses of study. A volunteer committee shall be established to study the intended change.
A list of members, volunteering to serve on this curriculum committee, shall be provided to the Association. The Association may appoint up to three members to serve on the curriculum committee who may or may not be among the members volunteering to serve on the committee. The committee shall determine staff training, materials and other items necessary to accomplish the change under consideration.
The Association shall be notified of the committee’s recommendations and shall have an opportunity to review the recommendations before they are implemented.
3.21 Textbooks
The Board through the Superintendent shall, whenever possible, provide each student with individual copies of all textbooks which, in the judgment of the members, the student will need in courses to which they are assigned.
The Association shall be informed of the creation of textbook adoption committees and be provided with a list of members volunteering to serve on the committees. The Association may appoint up to three (3) members to the committee who may or may not be among the list of volunteers.
The recommendations of the textbook adoption committee shall be provided to the Association for its review prior to implementation.
Questions about the desirability of individual texts shall be submitted to an advisory committee of six (6) teachers, appointed by the Superintendent, and the President, each to appoint three (3). The Superintendent shall designate the chairman of the committee.