Commitment to
Shared Decision Making:
A Blueprint for Progress
District Partnership Team Plan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
Biennial Review Committee 4
II.
A Systemic Approach To Continuous
Improvement 5
a. District
b. Values
and Beliefs
c. Profiles
of Shenendehowa Students
d. Essential
Content and Competencies
e. Performance Tasks
f. Strategic Goals and Objectives
III.
Site Based Planning and
Shared-Decision Making 6
a.
Compliance with Commissioner's Regulation 100.11
b.
What Is Shared Decision Making And School Based Planning?
c.
School Based Planning
d.
Shared Decision Making
e.
The Requirements for Success
IV.
Expectations for Stakeholder Involvement 9
a. School
Partnership Team
b. Charge & Operating Expectations for Team
c. Selection of Members
d. Membership Terms
e. Team Member Roles and Responsibilities
f. Team Meetings
g. Compliance with Requirements
h. Training
V.
Accountability for Student Outcomes 14
VI.
Types of Decisions and
Responsibilities 15
a.
Categories 1-3
VII.
Continuum of Shared Decision Making
Processes 17
a.
Matrix of Administrative and Partnership Team
Responsibilities
VIII.
Means and Standards for Assessing
Success 23
IX.
Decision Making and Process
Resolution 24
a.
What if Consensus is not Reached?
b.
Appeals Process
c.
Waivers
X.
Revisions to this Plan 26
XI.
Appendices 27
a.
Appendix A- Commissioner's Regulation
100.11
b.
Appendix B- Dynamic Teams
c.
Appendix C- Dynamic Team Assessment
d.
Appendix D- Shenendehowa Board of
Education Policy- 4110
e.
Appendix E- Shenendehowa Board of
Education Policy- 4250
f.
Appendix F- Shenendehowa Board of
Education Policy- 4310
I. 
Biennial Review Committee
District Leadership
Dr. L.
Dr. Teresa Snyder, Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, Support & Accountability
Building Level Administration
Mrs. Deborah Price, Principal,
Mr. Frank Tedesco,
Interim Principal,
Mr. Thom Van
Gelder, Assistant Principal,
Building Partnership Teams -
Faculty
Francine Plavnick, Teacher, Chango Elementary
Susan Morrissey, Teacher, Karigon Elementary
Mary Jo Murphy, Nurse, Tesago Elementary
David Herrington, Teacher, Orenda Elementary
Erica Ryan, Teacher, Skano Elementary
Peter Thomas,
Teacher,
Kristin Giudici,
Teacher,
Michael Silvagnoli,
Teacher,
Lesley
Kirkpatrick, Teacher,
Building Partnership Teams-
Support Staff
Mary Marino, Teacher Aide, Arongen Elementary
Jeanne Kuhn, Monitor, Okte Elementary
Student Senate Representatives
Amanda Barbour
Erin Hanley
Parents
Nancy Koval, PTA Council
Carolyn Machina, Tesago
Ann Schwanda, High School
Kim Vilardi,
Board of Education
Mrs. Janet Grey
Mr. Gary DiLallo
II. A SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
The
The district’s Value and Belief Statements define HOW and WHY students learn, based on ideals held in common by the school and the community. Most important of all is a strong commitment to the belief that all students can learn. Shenendehowa’s values and beliefs serve to guide the actions and behaviors of all staff members, both in the classroom with students and in our community with one another.
The Profile of a Shenendehowa Student at each program level (elementary
school, middle school, and high school) identifies, in broad terms, what all
students should know and be able to demonstrate upon completion of each level.
Tangentially, the district’s Essential
Content and Competencies (
The district’s Strategic Goals and Objectives serve to combine the expertise of staff with community involvement in partnership to yield continuous achievement by all students. The organizational structure and corresponding roles and responsibilities serve to provide the capacity to effectively plan and monitor the gamut of programs and services and ensure that the accountability for results is everyone’s responsibility.
The purpose of shared decision
making is to encourage shared responsibility and accountability for student
success, regardless of such factors as socio-economic status, race, ethnicity,
gender, language background, and/or disability.
The
In
To improve decision making, the Board of Education and the Superintendent may delegate or "decentralize" decision making authority. This means that the Superintendent and Board empower other members of the organization to make certain decisions. Decision makers are held accountable for the results of their choices.
When decision making authority is delegated to a limited number of individuals within an organization, the organization is said to be "centralized." When many people representing different levels of an organization possess decision making authority, an organization is said to be "decentralized." No organization is totally centralized or decentralized. Instead, organizations exhibit a tendency toward one of these patterns or the other.
School Based Planning is a strategy for encouraging decentralized decision making and school based accountability. It involves giving schools the authority to make decisions that shape and determine student learning, that are consistent with and supportive of the broader district goals that are annually adopted by the Board of Education. By having this authority, schools can create and support learning environments that best meet different student needs, while yet communicating and collaborating with each other so as to ensure relative consistency and uniformity in the provision of certain fundamental programs and services.
From the perspective of a Board of Education, School Based Planning means being a policy board instead of a collective management team. As a policy board, the Board of Education sets direction by deciding "what" the school district must accomplish to fulfill its mission or purpose. When this direction has been set, the school board delegates to schools, through the Superintendent, the authority to decide "how" these things get done. The School Board and Superintendent then monitor progress and provide staff with the support that they need to achieve the expectations.
The challenge is to achieve an appropriate balance between centralized and decentralized decision making (i.e., school based decision making). Additionally, there must be a constant effort toward maintaining this balance over time as forces that shape the need for centralized and decentralized decision making change.
Compliance with Commissioner's Regulation
100.11
Commissioner's Regulation 100.11 (Appendix A.) requires that every public school district in New York State develop and adopt a plan for assuring participation by parents and teachers with administrators and school board members in school based planning and shared decision making.
In November 1992, the District
Partnership Team (DPT) was established and charged with developing this plan.
The District Partnership Team is a representative group of stakeholders within
the
To
help ensure the effective and efficient utilization of the time and expertise
of the individual members of each partnership team in fulfilling the
responsibilities listed above, each Building Partnership Team shall select a
representative from their Team to serve as a member of the District Partnership
Team. That representative shall be responsible to attend both Building and
District Partnership Team meetings. They will keep the District Partnership
Team informed of the activities of their building teams, and be a part of
discussions supporting and coordinating of efforts to satisfy the District's Long
Range Goals. They will also inform their Building Partnership Team of the
activities of the District Partnership Team.
In addition to the building
representatives, the District Partnership Team shall include representatives
from other stakeholder groups, such as the Board of Education,
The District Partnership team is also expected to serve as a sounding board for the Superintendent, being a think tank on new initiatives, and a forum for collection and sharing of best practices. The agendas, meeting dates, and minutes of each District Partnership Team meeting shall be shared with the respective school level teams so as to ensure timely and complete communication. Similarly, said items shall be shared with the District Partnership Team by building level teams.
What Is Shared Decision Making And School
Based Planning?
School based planning and shared decision making complement one another. Shared decision making provides opportunities for parents, community residents, teachers, administrators, support staff, and students to participate in the decision making process. School based planning provides opportunities for this participation to be meaningful.
School Based Planning
School based planning empowers schools by providing the flexibility to create instructional environments that meet the needs of students and accomplish the district's Strategic Goals and Objectives. School based planning is a process which decentralizes authority for decision making and school based accountability for student outcomes. By decentralizing authority, decision making can occur at the level in the organization where information concerning the decision is most available, where the decision is to be implemented, and where accountability for the results of the decision will be assumed.
Building or department level
decisions shall however be consistent with the district’s Strategic Goals and Objectives
that serve to combine the expertise of staff with community involvement in
partnership to yield continuous achievement by all students. School based planning does not preclude or
supersede the responsibility of the superintendent or his/her designee to
oversee instructional planning, which shall be consistent with and in support
of the Profile of a Shenendehowa Graduate, Profile of a Shenendehowa Middle
School Student, and the Profile of a Shenendehowa Elementary School Student,
The Values and Beliefs, The Essential Content and Competencies (
Shared Decision Making
The key to the district’s success is the effective planning and monitoring of the gamut of programs and services. The district’s organizational structure and corresponding roles and responsibilities ensure that the accountability for results is everyone’s task. Rigorous and viable curriculum combined with high quality instruction stands at the core of the organizational structure.
Shared decision making is driven by the belief that the most effective choices are made when those affected by the decision are involved in the decision making process. It is a process by which members of an educational community cooperate in identifying and implementing activities to advance and improve student learning. This process is used to assist with the realization of programs and services, collaboratively deciding on issues, and resolving problems. The goal is to utilize the expertise and perspective of the representatives to guide and shape decisions that positively impact student outcomes.
The Requirements for Success
To be successful, school based planning and shared decision making requires commitment, time, and hard work. Success requires that trust be established and communication be maintained. The key to a successful shared decision making team is having all members committed to working together in a positive way to solve the issues of the school, lending to greater success for all students. School based planning is a process, not a “quick fix.” See APPENDIX B for an overview of the characteristics of a successful and dynamic shared decision making team.
IV. EXPECTATIONS FOR STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT
Shared decision making is collaboration in decision making, shared responsibility, and shared accountability for student success. It is a partnership that includes administrators, teachers and other school staff, students, parents and community members. These stakeholders are involved in significant decisions about their school and they collaborate in decision making because each is affected to some degree.
In the
For every decision, consideration must be given to the expected nature of stakeholder involvement. Two forms of involvement that should be considered are:
· Advisor (Makes recommendations to the decision maker)
· Decision Maker (Makes the decision)
For every decision, consideration must also be given to the expected range or extent of stakeholder involvement. Levels of involvement that should be considered are:
· Individual Participation (All interested parties participate)
· Representation (Interested parties ask one or more persons to participate on their behalf)
The expected nature and extent of stakeholder involvement must be determined and communicated to stakeholders. School level partnership teams shall develop and publicize mechanisms or ways in which feedback or suggestions can be readily garnered from and provided to the various building constituents (parents, students, and staff). Such modes of communications may range from a comprehensive website to the simple provision of comment sheets located in a designated area in the respective offices. Additionally, processes must be designed to encourage and support this involvement. These processes can range from a single meeting of a few individuals to a complex process involving many meetings of different individuals over long periods of time.
School Partnership Team
Here at Shenendehowa, stakeholder involvement will be fostered through "School Partnership Teams." The Partnership team is charged with guiding and shaping shared decision making within the school to create and support a learning environment that best meets the needs of students in accordance with establishing district goals by doing the following:
- To develop, clarify, and communicate expectations described in this plan for shared decision making and school based planning within the school.
- To provide guidance and support for achieving these expectations. This includes developing and maintaining team operating procedures, working with Staff Development to provide necessary training, facilitating communication among all stakeholders, and serving as an information resource.
- To monitor and assess progress and, when necessary, initiate change. This includes evaluating the performance of the school based planning and shared decision making process and initiating improvement.
The building Principal is responsible for providing leadership and guidance for the team, with the clear recognition that as the official administrative representative at the school building he/she is ultimately accountable for the final decision. Each school will develop a Partnership Team composed of the following partners:
· Principal
· Administrative Representative (ex. Academic Administrator)
·
Parent / Community members (approved by the school-based
· Student (High School/Middle School)
· Faculty (Certified staff)
· Staff (all other staff assigned to the school)
· Designated Board of Education Liaison (s)
The School Partnership Team shall be composed of equal partners. That is, each partner will share equally in discussions and planning and no one partner can control or veto the team's directions. The composition of team shall be annually assessed to insure a balance the representatives on the Team, allowing for the possibility that each stakeholder group may be represented by more than one representative.
Charge & Operating Expectations for
Team
It is a clear expectation that:
- Partnership Teams will seek the active participation of parties affected by the decision.
- All Team members should be viewed as equals when the group is seeking support for a course of action.
- Members can choose to express varying levels of support using a variety of methods or approaches.
- Those not supporting the direction must offer another alternative.
Once a course of action has been resolved, all members of the School Partnership Team are expected to support the Team's directions and the course of action will be actively communicated to key stakeholders.
Selection of Members
The stakeholders representing each partner will determine the process for selecting its members.
·
The school-based Teams must ensure that a process is in place
so that all interested parents/guardians with children in the building are given
equal and fair consideration, and that
· STA should assume responsibility for identifying and selecting faculty (members).
· Support staff represented by CSEA should assume responsibility for identifying and selecting staff members for the Partnership Team from all staff members in the building.
· Student Senate should assume responsibility for recruiting and selecting members. Membership in Student Senate is not a prerequisite to be a member of the partnership.
Membership Terms
In order to provide more continuity, Teams shall develop procedures which will ensure overlapping member terms. Individual term limits should be set, at least 2 to 3 years in duration.
Team Member Roles and Responsibilities
Roles and responsibilities for members of School Partnership Teams shall be determined by each Team. Team roles may include but are not limited to: leader, facilitator, recorder, time keeper, coach, and chart recorder. The “leader” is typically the Principal or designee, someone who is keenly aware of relevant policies, processes and protocols, to provide guidance and insure compliance and appropriateness of deliberations.
Responsibilities for the Partnership Team shall include:
- Establish and adhere to a Code of Conduct.
- Attend each meeting.
- Establish meeting agendas.
- Develop lines of communication with stakeholder groups evidenced by reporting on the work of the team, gaining feedback on topics and issues discussed, and representing and reflecting the views of respective stakeholders.
- Schedule meetings.
- Provide notice of team meetings.
- Convene meetings.
- Facilitate meetings.
- Maintain and distribute minutes of the meeting.
- Members shall encourage participation by the entire school community in School Action Teams.
Team Meetings
School Partnership Team meeting times shall be selected to assure genuine participation by all team members. Commitment is needed to a schedule which provides an opportunity for members to participate on a regular basis.
Advance notice of School Partnership Team meetings shall be given to all members and shall be prominently displayed in the school. Team members shall receive a meeting agenda prior to the meeting.
School Partnership Team meetings shall be open to interested parties. Interested attendees may request time to speak at the meeting by making their request known to a Team Facilitator prior to the meeting. Everyone in attendance is expected to follow the Code of Conduct.
Minutes of School Partnership Team meetings shall be taken. These minutes will be kept on file in the office of the school Principal. Meeting minutes shall be available upon request to any interested party.
Compliance with Requirements
Decisions and recommendations stemming from School Partnership Team deliberations may not supersede or violate state or federal law and regulations, district policies or regulations, or provisions of collective bargaining agreements, nor may be inconsistent or contrary to established district strategic goals and objectives.
Training
Every year, each team shall provide an orientation for all new School Partnership Team members. This should include history and procedures for the team. There shall be periodic training for the entire School Partnership Team members, which shall be the provided by the district and participation is required. Each school Partnership team shall coordinate the scheduling of said training with the Superintendent’s Office. Training sessions and topics will be the discussed and decided by the District Partnership Team.
V. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR STUDENT
OUTCOMES
First and foremost, members of School Partnership Teams are accountable for the effect collaborative decisions have on student outcomes. Hence, as individuals, and as a group, the School Partnership Team has accountability for student outcomes. This means recognition of the legitimacy of a request by any stakeholder to explain their rationale for a specific recommendation. The Principal, as the official representative of the district at the building level, is responsible for providing leadership and guidance for the Team so as to ensure that all decisions are within the purview of his/her authority and in accordance with applicable district policies, goals, and federal and state laws and regulations.
To be accountable, members of a School Partnership Team shall adhere to the following practices:
- Representatives must actively seek input from their constituents.
- Representatives must communicate proposals and decisions of the team to their constituency in a timely manner.
- Decisions with a wide range of impact must be communicated through district and school newsletters and other media.
- All meetings must be open to anyone who wishes to attend.
- Each School Partnership Team must develop a uniform format for agenda and minutes of their meetings. These agendas and minutes shall be distributed to all team members in a timely manner.
- Minutes of team meetings must be a matter of public record and be available to the public on request.
- Once every other year, School Partnership Teams must assess the success of their shared decision making and school based management process. This assessment must be based on data pertaining to improvements in student achievement and stakeholder beliefs about their level of involvement in school and district decision making.
Members of School Partnership Teams are also accountable to each other:
- After establishing ground rules, it is the responsibility of all members to assure that members adhere to the ground rules.
- Each member must respect the opinions and perspective of other members.
- Team members must actively support consensus decisions. (Support is defined as working to fully and successfully implement the team’s decision and to be available to explain the decision and its implications, in a positive manner, to stakeholders. This support is expected even in situations where the decision was not the first choice of the individual team member.)
Accountability also extends the right of stakeholders to replace their representatives on Partnership Teams and to establish procedures for this purpose.
VI. TYPES OF DECISIONS
Any issues brought before a school level Partnership Team for consideration must:
- Focus on student learning and continuous improvement;
- Relate to the district and school mission, goals and objectives, and
- Positively impact the overall learning community.
The school partnership team model will be largely
applied to issues, activities, or initiatives that impact the environment and
culture of a school. While there is a clear recognition that issues or
decisions impacting the environment and culture of the school should be
facilitated through the respective partnership teams, school buildings often
utilize ad-hoc committees such as those associated with the respective school
level (high school, middle school, and elementary) Vision initiatives, school safety
teams, scheduling committees, and budget committees, to research, plan, and
implement various initiatives. In all instances, the building
Principal is responsible for providing the leadership and guidance, with he / she
being ultimately accountable for the final decision. It is
important to note that the charge of an ad-hoc committee may change and can be
revised over time.
Subsequently, the accountability for the outcome of the ad-hoc
committee may vary with the change in charge.
In every instance however, the role of the school level partnership
team should be to objectively review the respective proposal (s), complete a
thorough assessment of the strengths and weaknesses thereof, and provide the
applicable ad-hoc committee with specific feedback or recommendation(s) as to
how the proposal or recommendation can be enhanced or modified to be
effectively implemented and meet the needs of students. All proposals and
subsequent implementations should lend to a more positive learning environment,
positive working environment, and increased cooperation among stakeholders.
Categories of Decision - Role of Partnership Team
The following categories serve to illustrate the differences between types of decision and the involvement or interplay with the school partnership team. School partnership teams must develop appropriate decision making matrices to determine the types of decisions and the responsible parties, in accordance with the scope and content of the Shared Decision Making Plan.
Category 1 – Issues which are typically within the purview of the Partnership team include those which are specific to that building and have an impact on student achievement. The team shall deliberate and come to a collaborative decision. The authority and accountability for execution rests with the building principal, but the team shall be accountable for communicating and ensuring ownership amongst the school community.
Examples:
· Building environment issues
- Discipline Code
- Expectations and guidelines for volunteer projects
- Developing building goals
- School climate
- Communication within the building
- Field trip procedures
Category 2 – Issues which the Partnership team may consider for comments via the appropriate channels, but which have broader district implications that may affect multiple buildings, programs or Board policy. Building team input will be advisory to district committees or administrators.
Examples:
- Inter-school/district staff development
- Grading policies
- Student/Teacher Assignments
- Class size and Classroom utilization
- Evaluation of Personnel
- Safety/Crisis response procedure
Category 3 – Issues outside of the authority of Partnership Teams. Building teams would not consider issues that are governed by state or federal law or regulation, board policy, or contractual issues. The principal or district administration may, however, review these with the team to help shape or enhance decisions or implementation of outcomes.
Examples:
- Board of Education Policies
- Curriculum/Course Offerings
- School Calendar
- Public Referendums
- Emergency Closings
- Contractual Obligations
- State laws and regulations
Matrix of
Administrative and Partnership Team Responsibilities
This matrix framework calls attention to critical responsibilities of the administration and school level partnership teams, grouping them into related areas: Leadership, Instruction, Students, Staffing, Partnerships and Community Relations, and Budget and Resources. The continuum is not meant to be all inclusive, recognizing that there are numerous critical responsibilities and decisions that rest with the Board of Education. It is recognized, however, that in many instances, the Board and / or the Superintendent may engender participation and involvement of others to assure the effectiveness of said decisions and the ultimate outcome for students.
By articulating these critical aspects of school and district operations and corresponding accountability, it clarifies the responsibilities of the school level administration and partnership teams. The framework clearly recognizes that each school will probably create different learning environments, knowing that there is no one right way of achieving excellence for all students. School level administrative teams and partnership teams are expected to “assure” desired outcomes in the respective areas, as well as be responsible for “supporting” the direction and/or decisions that have been made to achieve the most desirable outcome in the designated aspects of the school or district operation.
Administrative: The District will be responsible for providing the leadership to assure the implementation of decisions or procedures with the goal of positively impacting the outcome for students. This shall encompass the scope of authority vested in the Board of Education, District Leadership and Support Staff Team, Principals, and Academic Administrators.
Partnership Team: The partnership team is charged with
guiding and shaping shared decision making within the school to create and
support a learning environment and school culture that best meets the needs of
students. Such participation and involvement is grounded in the belief that the most
effective choices are made when those affected by the decision are involved in
the decision making process. It is a process by which members of an educational
community cooperate in identifying and implementing activities to advance and
improve student learning. This process is used to assist with the realization
of programs and services, collaboratively decide on issues, and resolve
problems. The goal is utilize the expertise and perspective of the
representatives and key stakeholders to develop recommendations for improving
student outcomes.
LEADERSHIP
Administrative
Responsibility Partnership
Team Responsibility
|
Provide leadership and support for the District and school mission and vision. |
Provide guidance and support to develop a School mission that supports the District mission and vision |
|
Provide leadership and support for compliance with District policies and regulations. |
Provide guidance and support that assures school practices and procedures are consistent with applicable policies and regulations. |
|
Provide leadership and support for achievement of District goals and priorities.
|