SLT Bylaws

ENGAGEMENT • Bylaws: PTA | sLT • Volunteer

Official Bylaws of the
Public School 11
School Leadership Team

AMENDED ON
September 24, 2018

SIGNATORS

The primary mission of the School Leadership Team (SLT) of PS 11 is to oversee the development of the school’s Comprehensive Education Plan (CEP) and make decisions about the budget that allow the CEP to be implemented. The SLT also supports the schools education model of a "Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child" collaborative approach to learning, health, and well-being. PS 11 is committed to providing our children with a comprehensive child-centered curriculum that is sensitive to individual learning needs and styles, as well as celebrates and cultivates individual strengths and interests. Through a standards-based curriculum, which includes a rich Arts program, we are committed to developing life-long learners. PS 11 views all children as viable contributors to society who will grow to appreciate and cherish their own uniqueness as well as that of the world around them and beyond. PS 11 believes that it takes all stakeholders: administrators, teachers and parents, working collaboratively to create a school where all our children can flourish and reach their fullest potential.

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Section 1 — Size of Team

The total number of members shall be a minimum of 10 and maximum of 17. The team shall maintain an equal number of parent (5) and staff members (5), from each constituency.

Section 2 — Mandatory Members

The only three mandatory members of the SLT are the school’s principal, the Parent Association/Parent-Teacher Association (PA/PTA) President and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) Chapter Leader. Mandatory members of the SLT may designate another member of their constituent group to serve in their place. In the case of PTA co-presidents, the remaining PTA officers shall determine which co-president will serve as the mandatory member of the SLT.

Section 3 — Members at Large

The remaining members of the team shall consist of:

• Four elected parents

• Two nominated staff members

• One elected DC 37 member

Section 4 — Eligibility and Election of Team Members

A parent is defined as a parent, by birth or step-parent, legally appointed guardian, foster parent or person in parental relation to a child. A person in parental relation refers to a person who has assumed the care of a child because the child’s parents or guardians are not available, whether due to, among other things, death, imprisonment, mental illness, abandonment of a child, or living outside of the state. Parents from the school are eligible to be elected by the school’s PTA to serve on the SLT. Parents may not serve on the SLT as a parent member if they are employed by PS 11, the district office of PS 11 or any School Support Organization that PS 11 purchases services from. Faculty and Staff employed at PS 11 are eligible to serve as a faculty/staff member of the SLT as long as they are not a parent of a child at PS 11. Parent coordinators may not serve as members of the SLT in any capacity in the school where they are employed. However, parent coordinators may be invited to attend meetings as observers or presenters in schools in which they are employed. They also may be asked to serve on SLT subcommittees.

Parent and staff SLT members must be elected or nominated by their own constituent group in a fair and unbiased manner determined by each constituent group. All elections/nominations must be advertised widely, with reasonable advance notice given. Elections/ nominations must be open to all members of the constituent group and must be held in accordance with the term limits set forth in these bylaws. Parent member elections must be scheduled after PTA elections are held each spring. Parents must be provided a minimum of ten calendar days’ notice prior to the election. The PTA is encouraged to stagger the terms of the non-mandatory parent members of the SLT. Community based organizations may also serve on SLTs. The SLT will create a process for the organizations to apply for membership. A member of the team may also recommend an organization for membership. This will be done on an annual basis. Community based organization members will be included in the total number of team members, but will not be counted when determining the balance of parent and staff members. Elections held to fill vacancies due to resignation, cessation of member eligibility, or removal pursuant to Article-655 will be conducted by the appropriate constituent group within 30 days of the vacancy. Team members elected to fill vacancies shall be eligible to serve until the completion of that term.

Newly elected team members will attend and observe the final SLT meeting of the school year.

Section 5 — School Leadership Roles

The officers of the School Leadership Team shall be a Chairperson(s), a Secretary, a Timekeeper and a Fiscal Officer.

Chairperson: The Chairperson shall be selected by consensus of the team and shall serve for a period of one year. If the team opts to elect Co-Chairpersons, they will share the role of Chairperson as outlined in these bylaws. The election shall take place at the September meeting. The Chairperson is responsible for scheduling meetings, ensuring that team members have the information necessary to guide their planning, and focusing the team on educational issues of importance to the school. The Chairperson ensures that voices of all team members are heard.

Secretary/Timekeeper: The Secretary will be responsible for sending SLT meeting notices and for keeping the minutes of SLT meetings. Such minutes must be maintained at the school, with a copy provided to the PTA. The Timekeeper ensures that all agenda items are discussed by monitoring the allotment of time afforded each item.

Financial Liaison: The Financial Liaison shall assume responsibility for documenting member participation for the purposes determining eligibility for the annual SLT remuneration.

Section 6 — Length of Term and Term Limits

Team members, with the exception of mandatory members, are elected for two-year terms. However, all members must remain eligible to serve pursuant to Chancellor’s Regulation A-655 for the duration of their term.

There are no term limits on consecutive terms faculty/staff members may serve.

Term limits for parent representatives will be three consecutive elected terms. If a parent has multiple children in the school the three consecutive elected terms still applies; however the parent can run again for election following a break in membership of the SLT. The mandatory PTA President slot on the SLT does not count towards the three consecutive terms. Regardless of the term limits, if no other willing, eligible candidate is identified for a particular constituent group, a member may be elected for an additional term.

Section 7 — Responsibilities of School Leadership Team Members

1. Team members, including those additional roles outlined in these bylaws, are responsible for developing an annual school Comprehensive Educational Plan (CEP) that is aligned with the school-based budget for the ensuing school year. The school-based budget provides the fiscal parameters within which the SLT will develop the goals and objectives to meet the needs of students and the school’s educational program. The principal shall consult with the SLT in developing the school-based budget.

2. To ensure alignment of the CEP with the school-based budget, the principal shall provide the SLT with a report from the DOE Galaxy budgeting system within a reasonable period of time after the school receives it. The school-based budget provides the fiscal parameters within which the SLT will develop the goals and objectives to meet the needs of students and the school’s educational program. The principal makes the final determination on the CEP and the school-based budget.

3. The SLT is not responsible for the hiring or firing of school staff. The SLT does not discuss the evaluation and/or rating of staff members or deal with problems involving individual staff, students, or parents.

4. The SLT shall provide an annual assessment to the community superintendent of the principal’s record of developing an effective shared decision-making relationship with the SLT members during the year.

5. The SLT will serve as the vehicle for consultation with parent representatives regarding federal reimbursable funding (e.g., Title I). The SLT will coordinate with other school committees such as the Parent Association and the Title I Committee to ensure that all school-wide committees are working toward the same goals set forth in the CEP.

6. The constituent groups on the School Leadership Team shall select their representatives for the C-30 Level I Committee subject to the manner prescribed in Chancellor’s Regulation C-30.

7. Team members must work collaboratively by sharing their ideas and concerns and listening to the ideas and concerns of others; engaging in collaborative problem-solving and solution-seeking that will lead to consensus-based decisions.

8. Team members must communicate effectively with their constituent groups and share the views of their constituencies with the team.

9. While SLT meetings are public and anyone from the school community can attend, only those team members who have been elected by their constituencies and those seated as core members may participate in the decision-making process.

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Section 1 — Schedule of Meetings

The School Leadership Team shall meet at least once a month during the school year. The first meeting of the school year will be arranged via email among the SLT members. The full schedule of dates and times of the meetings will be determined at the first SLT meeting in September. Meetings will be scheduled for at least 90 minutes. Meetings must take place on school or DOE premises. Meetings will be scheduled at a time convenient for parent members on the team. Parent members will be polled each year to determine a convenient time for team meetings. Additional meetings will be scheduled by the Chairperson as needed or upon request by the team members.

Section 2 — Notice of Team Meetings

The School Leadership Team will establish a yearly calendar which shall be posted in the general office, in the parent coordinator’s office and the schools website at the beginning of each school year. The calendar shall be distributed at the first meeting of the parent association each school year. The Chairperson will send meeting reminders to each team member one week prior to all meetings by email or telephone.

Section 3 — Meeting Attendance

School Leadership Team members are expected to attend all meetings. If team members are unable to attend the meeting, they must contact the Chairperson in advance of the meeting.

Section 4 — Quorum

A majority of SLT members including representation from each constituent group shall constitute a quorum. Each constituent group shall be responsible for ensuring that their group is adequately represented at each meeting.

Section 5 — Order of Business

• Call to Order

• Reading and Approval of the Previous Meeting’s Minutes

• Committee Reports

• Discussion of Unfinished Business Agenda Items

• Discussion of New Business Agenda Items

• Creation of Agenda for the Next Meeting

• Adjournment

Section 6 — Agenda Items

All proposed agenda items sent to the Chairperson must be accepted for the agenda. Discussions of the appropriateness of the items should be held at the SLT meeting. If an item is deemed inappropriate for the SLT, the reason for the decision will be recorded in the minutes. Discussions and decisions about the items should not occur via email, unless deadlines dictate a decision about an issue prior to the next scheduled meetings and scheduling an emergency meeting is not possible. A summary and date of an email discussion should be reflected in the minutes.

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Section 1 — Removal Process

Team members who fail to attend three consecutive meetings, fail to perform their roles and responsibilities as outlined in these bylaws, or behave in a manner that is disruptive and undermining to the work of the Team will be removed by consensus of the remaining team members. The School Leadership Team must have a quorum of members present and reach unanimous agreement when deciding to remove a member. The member shall be provided a written notice of the Team’s decision. The letter shall include the reason for the removal and the member’s right to appeal the decision. The letter shall be signed by the Chairperson or Co-Chairpersons and shall be sent by registered return receipt mail delivery to ensure proper notification and receipt.

Section 2 — Filling a Vacancy

When a member resigns or is removed, the vacancy will be advertised to the appropriate constituent group and an election will be held in accordance with these bylaws.

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Section 1 — Consensus-based decision-making

The Leadership Team shall strive to engage in collaborative problem solving and seek solutions that will lead to consensus-based decisions and, when necessary, work toward effective conflict resolution. No single member of the School Leadership Team shall have the power to veto the collective decision of the rest of the School Leadership Team. The team will attempt to resolve conflicts and impasses among team members over a particular issue by employing any or all of the following measures, as deemed necessary:

• Table the discussion for the next meeting.

• Seek direction or advice from someone with expertise on the topic under discussion .

• Utilize the services of an outside facilitator.

• Provide training in consensus decision making for team members.

• Any other measures deemed appropriate by the team, to move the issue forward.

In reaching consensus on difficult issues the team members shall make decisions which place “Children First.” At P.S. 11, all decisions are made in the best interest of our children.

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Section 1 — Assistance from the District Leadership Team (DLT)

The School Leadership Team will seek assistance from the DLT or appropriate superintendent when members cannot reach agreement on an issue. Where team members have difficulty obtaining information or wish to obtain assistance in resolving issues relating to consultation with the school principal, they may seek assistance from the DLT or superintendent. If after receiving assistance from the DLT or superintendent, the Team still cannot reach agreement on the CEP, the superintendent will make the final determination.

Section 2 — Assistance from the Office for Family Engagement and Advocacy (OFEA)

If the DLT or superintendent is unable to resolve such issues to the satisfaction of team members, team members may send a written request for assistance to the designated OFEA engagement staff.

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The bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the team, provided notice of any proposed changes has been given at a previous meeting. In addition, the bylaws will be reviewed annually, at the start of the school year to ensure that the document’s provisions meet the needs of the team and remain consistent with Chancellor’s Regulation A-655.

These bylaws were amended on September 24, 2018 and are on file in the principal’s office.

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