Friday, April 26, 2002
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Friday, April 26, 2002 |
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School council elections approach A dozen new schools will begin school councils during the 2002-2003 school year, with parent and teacher elections to be held in the coming weeks. The 12 schools - including East Coweta High School, Madras and Evans Middle Schools, and nine elementary schools - will hold elections in mid-May for two parents and two teachers to join the seven-member councils. This year, Arnco-Sargent Elementary, Smokey Road Middle and Northgate High Schools were the first Coweta County schools to elect school councils, which were created by the 2000 A-Plus Education Reform Act. In accordance with that law, the seven-member councils are comprised of two elected parents, two elected teachers and two appointed members of the business community, and are chaired by the school's principal. The councils act as consensus-building bodies that focus on school improvement and student achievement at their schools, and can act as a liaison with the Coweta County Board of Education. The 12 schools getting school councils this year have declared special parent meetings in order to elect parents to the councils. The school and the meeting dates are: ·East Coweta High School - May 7, 6:30 p.m. ·Madras Middle School - May 6, 2002, 6:30 p.m. ·Smokey Road Middle School - May 6, 6:30 p.m. ·Arbor Springs Elementary School - May 7, 7 p.m. ·Atkinson Elementary School - May 13, 6 p.m. ·Canongate Elementary School - May 7, 6:30 p.m. ·Elm Street Elementary School - May 7, 7 p.m. ·Jefferson Parkway Elementary School - May 9 at 7 p.m. ·Moreland Elementary School - May 9, 6:30 p.m. ·Northside Elementary School - May 13, 6 p.m. ·Ruth Hill Elementary School - May 13, 6 p.m. ·Western Elementary School - May 9, 6 p.m. Parents or guardians at each of the schools will have an opportunity during the meetings to elect two parent representatives for two-year terms on the councils. The parent representatives must have children at the school next year. Teachers will also elect two of their peers during separate May meetings. Business community members are drawn from representatives of the school's business partners. The Coweta County Board of Education appoints one of the business members, and the school councils themselves appoint a second business partner representative. Though advisory in nature, the councils are subject to the Georgia Open Records and Open Meetings Act, meet every month, and are tasked with specific responsibilities. The councils also advise the principal and, where appropriate, the Board of Education on matters such as school codes for conduct and dress, curriculum goals and priorities, the preparation of a school profile and the school's improvement plan, among other matters. The three Coweta County schools with councils already in place will not need to hold new elections, because parents, teachers and business people are serving two-year terms. By state law, all Coweta County Schools will have school councils by the 2003-2004 school year.
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