When the School Improvement Program (SIP) and the School Based Coordinated Program (SBCP) were established, they were envisioned as ways to increase school wide effectiveness, improve student achievement, and over time, better prepare students to be productive workers and responsible citizens. One of the principal tenets of these programs was that those individuals closest to the students should be more involved in making significant decisions affecting the instructional program of the school. The School Site Council (SSC) was selected to be the vehicle by which the school community would come together to chart the school’s path to improvement.
The SSC is uniquely suited to carry out this function since it is representative of all segments of the school community. Being composed of the principal, teachers, other school personnel and parents, it provides a forum for all the major players in the school to come together and identify common goals and establish a plan to achieve these goals. The SSC’s success depends upon both the ability and the willingness of all those involved in the process to work together in a cooperative manner to develop an effective curricular and instructional program in which all students may attain higher levels of academic competence.
The primary task of the SSC is to ensure that the school is continually engaged in identifying and implementing curriculum and instructional practices that result in both strengthening the core academic program and ensuring that students have access to and success in that program. This core program should embody the District’s curriculum, which itself should reflect the state frameworks and curriculum standards.
The SSC is charged with the task of developing and approving a school plan for using the supplemental resources to increase the student’s understanding of and success in learning the core curriculum and to monitor that the plan is followed and resources are used to support the plan.
