Communications Council for the Windham Southeast School District
NOTICE OF MEETING
The Communications Council of the WSESD will meet remotely on Thursday, May 20, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/99349766693?pwd=MDh3VG9wb2NlNzFlazRoUHpCQlQxUT09
Meeting ID: 993 4976 6693
Passcode: dz8wm0
One tap mobile
+19292056099,,99349766693#,,,,*452029# US (New York)
Dial by your location
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 993 4976 6693
Passcode: 452029
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/avvun7cnE
AGENDA
I. Call to Order
II. Approval of Minutes – March 12, 2021
III. Recognition of Visitors
IV. Agenda Additions/Changes
V. Board/Leadership Council Development/Goals
VI. Website Improvement Recommendations
VII. Student Voice Proposal
VIII. Schedule Communications Council Monthly Meeting
IX. Adjournment
…..
Communications Council for the Windham Southeast School District
Friday, March 12, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.
I. Call to Order 10:05
Present: Michelle, Ruby, Robin and Jaime
Minutes of 2/4, 2/10, and 2/11 were approved.
II. Recognition of Visitors: Deb Kardane.
III. Leadership Council Development
Committee members suggested we survey existing LC members to see what they see as their responsibilities and ways they can have voice in informing the work of their school within the district. Further questions included What is the balance of staff / parent / community members among LC members, and how and whether chairs are chosen.
Deb suggested asking basic factual questions to determine what actually is happening in each council, looking for clarity of purpose – start with a positive dialogue about what’s working well before diving into problem solving.
Board would like to improve communication with LCs and consistency
Ruby developed the following questions:
Do you have consistent meeting times?
Do you have an agenda template or warning you send to central office prior to meeting?
Do you have access to a zoom account? Is it a personal account or the school’s?
What is the make up of the LC (staff, parents, community members)?
What are some of the struggles you see with LC retention and perpetuation?
What types of events have you held/do you envision holding in the future?
How do you determine what projects or initiatives the LC will focus on annually?
How do you describe the LC in 2-3 sentences? (elevator pitch)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ffF4hnoTj9l7qujl5yI4cWdJYU98R97m/view
We would like to see the Board determine what the purpose of the LCs is, and what they would like to see from them. Monthly agenda items from the board might be helpful.
Mirror the same questions to the principals – what do they see as the LCs purpose and what would they like to do.
There is some confusion about the name – conflict between Leadership Team vs Leadership
Council vs Leadership Advisory Council – is leadership supposed to be happening?
How can we make participation more accessible to parents, community members and staff?
Putney addresses this by having 2 meetings/mo at 2 different times to catch people with different schedules. Some may find 2 meetings per month to be a barrier.
How can we advise LCs more deeply about what happens at meetings
And how can we convey to the board the need to anticipate board agendas in greater advance so we can have feedback from LCs before the board discussion.