UPDATE: School Advisory Councils
The past three months have been a whirlwind in the Family and Community Engagement Office as we continue to develop and carry out School Reform Commission Policy 920 on School Advisory Councils. Here's a quick update on our renewed effort around SACs:
What is Policy 920?
This policy was implemented in June 2016 by the School Reform Commission and states that “all District schools shall have an active and engaged School Advisory Council.” SACs are responsible for collaborating with the principal on specific data-driven matters that affect student achievement and school improvement and are comprised of parents/family members (the largest group on the SAC), the school principal, school staff, community members, and students at the middle school and high school levels.
Over the past several years, SACs in Philadelphia have struggled to be effective agents of change in support of student achievement and school improvement. Unfortunately, most of the challenges that SACs have faced have been due to a lack of cohesive policies, procedures, and practices related to their operations. However, the new SAC Policy aims to significantly increase the involvement of families and the community in the educational process and make SACs catalysts for change in our schools. The policy was designed to ensure the establishment of an active and engaged SAC in each District school for the purpose of accomplishing the following two important goals:
To encourage families to become actively engaged in the education of their children, and to represent parent voices and advance their role in the educational decision making process; and
To interact effectively with all constituencies—families, community members, students, and district staff for the benefit of improving the achievement of all Philadelphia’s public school students.
Why are SACs important?
The philosophy behind SACs is: when parents and family members are engaged in their student’s school, academic achievement improves. SACs allow families to have a meaningful role in improving the school and for the school to engage families in improving the education of their children.
Our data indicates that 64% of Philadelphia Schools are currently operating without any kind of School Advisory Council. Our mission is to make sure that percentage drops down to 0% by June of 2017.
What is the FACE Office’s role in this?
First, we've gotten our SAC webpage (www.philasd.org/sac) up and running with a new, user-friendly format. This way, we can post information and resources for everyone to use.
Second, we will be publicly posting a SAC Launch Guide in October 2016 on our webpage. This guide will give all schools updated information and helpful tips for starting a SAC from the ground up.
Third, we will provide professional development trainings, workshops, and conferences to SACs (with sessions on how to read school budgets, understand school data, understand the School Progress Report, meaningful engagement, and more). SAC professional development trainings will involve many District departments so that SACs can be informed about a wide range of issues that affect academic achievement, climate and culture, and family engagement.
Fourth, the FACE office will be keeping in touch with all schools in the District to hold ourselves accountable in implementing this policy—we will collect data and keep open communication so that all of us in the School District community know what progress our schools have made and what resources there are to keep up the momentum in starting SACs across the District.
We are here to guide you and provide resources and support to all Philadelphia District schools during this renewed effort to empower families and students to create an enriching school environment across the city.
I’m interested! What do I do next?
All interested people should fill out a SAC Application Form online at www.philasd.org/sac. When an applicant submits an application, a copy of their application will be sent to the applicant, the school principal, and the FACE Office.
While the FACE Office no longer accepts paper applications, you are welcome to download a Paper SAC Application Form at www.philasd.org/sac under “SAC Management Forms.” Applicants unfamiliar with computers can fill out this paper form, which is identical to the online application. The Paper SAC Application Form is also available in other languages. However, once the Paper SAC Application Form is filled out, someone must then input the information into the online SAC Application Form (www.philasd.org/sac). This is the only way in which FACE will accept applications.
PRINCIPALS: The school principal should submit a SAC Recruitment Timeline Form (found on www.philasd.org/sac > SAC Management Forms) to notify the FACE Office of the school’s SAC composition, Application Open and Close dates, and tentative election dates. Within 5 school days of the school’s Application Process close date, the FACE Office will send a spreadsheet of all SAC applicants to the school principal, along with an indication of whether or not the school should hold a SAC election and next steps for holding an election (if need be).
For new SACs, the FACE Office recommends that the school hold SAC Elections in December 2016 so that SAC membership can be finalized before the Winter Recess and the SAC can hold its first meeting in January 2017.
And: keep checking our webpage (www.philasd.org/sac) for updates and new resources! Email any questions, comments, or concerns to sac@philasd.org and our SAC Support Team will get back to you ASAP.
