APPENDIX W

To achieve the goals of this initiative, more effective working relationships must be forged between and among the parents, teachers, students, building administrators, the Superintendent, other School Department personnel, the Union, the Board and the community at large.

The Board and the Union agree that the school site is the appropriate place for most decision-making affecting the education of children in that school. Accordingly, they agree that the school sites should have as much flexibility as possible in managing their budget and organizing their educational programs for maximum educational effectiveness, free of unnecessary restraints imposed by School Department policies or by this collective bargaining agreement. This approach is known as School-Based Management.

The parties also agree that the best quality decisions at the local level are likely to result from a process of shared decision-making. Shared decision-making is a process in which all members of the education community at the school level collaborate in establishing a vision, identifying problems, defining goals, formulating policy, implementing programs, and learning from experience.

The purpose of shared decision-making is to create a climate in the schools where faculty, parents, administrators, students (at the high school level), and other community participants working together share the responsibility and accountability for school improvement, better student performance, increased satisfaction among professional educators, greater involvement by and with parents, and stronger support from the community at large.

The parties recognize that the overriding goal of School-Based Management and shared decision-making is to improve the quality of instruction and learning for students. All actions taken pursuant to this Appendix shall be consistent with this goal.

The parties agree that Principals are the educational leaders at the school site. The building administrator is a key person in creating the environment necessary to bring about positive change. The Principal shares with teachers and parents (and students at high school level) through their representatives on the School Site Council the responsibility to create an environment where learning and teaching are enhanced.

The parties recognize that the most important interactions affecting student performance take place daily between teachers and students. Teachers, therefore, must be given a shared voice in decisions at the school site. The parties recognize that with this increased role in the decision-making process the teachers at the school site assume more responsibility and accountability for the success of the school.

The parties recognize that parental involvement is essential in achieving educational success for students. Therefore, parents shall also be given a voice in decisions at the school site.

The parties realize that to achieve effective shared decision-making at the school level a significant restructuring of schools must occur, and the parties agree to work cooperatively in an effort to bring about these necessary changes. Significant changes in school governance, instructional practices. staff roles, and community involvement will take time -- they will not be accomplished in a single year, and the task will require a sustained commitment from the leadership of the Union, the Board. and the Superintendent of Schools. The parties pledge to provide this commitment.

To succeed in developing effective and collaborative working relationships. a core group of principals, parents, teachers, and other staff in each school must receive training :o acquire the new roles and relationships this Agreement envisions. Skills are needed in consensus building, teamwork, conflict resolution, effective meeting skills. active listening, new models of learning, teaching, and so on. The parties pledge to seek the funding necessary to provide each school with the training needed to achieve its educational goals.

To achieve the goals of this Agreement, strong, sustained, and visionary leadership is required. The parties need to help each other educate their constituents and the community at large about the need for a new kind of relationship and what it entails operationally The Union agrees to make a special effort to communicate the need for this kind of chance to its Building Representatives and to monitor and maintain steady encouragement of progress. The Superintendent of Schools agrees to do the same with building level and central staff administrators.

Whenever possible, the Union and the Board agree to consult before deciding on any issue that impacts the other. The goal of this provision is effective communication, preventing surprises, and more informed decision-making. It does not require either party to give up any right to act autonomously that they might otherwise have, nor does it require either party to approve of any action the other proposes to take. The leadership of each party shall seek to set an example in achieving this goal and to encourage others in the system at all levels to incorporate such an approach into their ways of working.

The Superintendent of Schools and the President of the Union together with appropriate members of their respective staffs agree to meet regularly (at least monthly) to monitor the progress of the mutual goals espoused here and the operation of the school system in general, and to consult about the inevitable issues that will arise in the operation of this initiative

The Union and the Board recognize that the provisions of this initiative reflect consensus on a direction to move toward school improvement. Both sides recognize that School-Based Management ("SBM") represents a new way of doing business with which they still have limited experience. Success is likely to require much flexibility and continued learning from experience. Therefore, the Board and the Union agree to work together during the period of this Agreement to assess and improve the structures established here for School-Based Management and shared decision-making.

Finally, the Union and the Board agree that any school community wishing to become an Approved Union/Board School-Based Management Site must follow the process and complete the application contained herein. This process may commence on September 1, 1995.

The Union/Board School-Based Management Technical Support Committee (herein after referred to as the "Committee") shall be comprised of three (3) persons appointed by the Chairperson of the Providence School Board and three (3) persons appointed by the President of the Providence Teachers Union. The School Board Chairperson and the Union President may appoint alternate members of the Committee to ensure full participation and representation of each party at each Committee meeting. The Committee shall elect a chairperson on an annual basis. In addition the parties shall mutually agree upon and appoint one (1) person from outside the Providence School System (i.e. an individual who is not employed by the Providence School Board) who shall serve as a non-voting member of the Committee. The individual mutually-appointed by the Parties shall act as the Chairperson of the Committee.

The Committees function and responsibilities are as follows:

1. Receive and expeditiously review all School-Based Management proposals.
2. By majority vote, the Committee shall approve or reject each School-Based Management Proposal. The Committee may request proposal modification prior to voting.
3. Monitor the implementation of each approved School-Based Management Proposal.
4. On an annual basis and by majority vote, the Committee shall reauthorize or rescind authorization of each previously Approved School-Based Management Proposal. The Committee may request proposal modification prior to voting.
5. Work cooperatively with and support the technical assistance requests of each school community interested in becoming an Approved School-Based Management Site.
6. Report, on a. quarterly basis, the status of School-Based Management in the Providence Public Schools.

Said application is subject to revision based upon a majority vote of the Committee
 

School:  _____________________________________

Address:  ____________________________________

Phone:  ________________________________

Table of Contents for RFP:

1. Rationale for requesting to be a site-based managed school
2. Philosophy and Goals:
1. Demographic description of your student population
2. Guiding principles under which your school will function
3. Philosophy of Teaching, Learning and Administration
4. Schooled goals for students. teachers, parents. administrators and non-certified personnel
3. Structure:
1. Descriptive summary of your site-based managed school
2. Describe your academic restructuring plans and their congruence to your schoolwide goals, philosophy and guiding principles citing sound research and examples of successful practice.
4. Governance:
1. Describe your governance structure, its decision-making protocols and parameters and its congruence to .our schoolwide goals. philosophy and guiding principles.
2. Describe the impact this change will have upon the following relationships in your school: students. teachers, administrators, parents, non certified staff. community and any others that will be impacted by the change.
3. Describe any proposed activities which must be examined for possible violation of law, regulation. policy, or contract.
5. Action:
1. Describe how you will assess your change process and its impact on student achievement. What indicators of progress will be used at the end of the first year? and so on?
2. Give a timeline of major and on-going activi ties and identify the people charged with overseeing/accomplishing these activities.
3. Describe any professional development. staff development and/or parent education activities and how these activities support your schoolwide goals.
4. Describe the process of writing this proposal. What was the teamwork writing process? How did you gain schoolwide support for this proposal?
5. How will you keep all staff, parents. central administration. School Board, and community informed about all proposal initiatives?
6. Budget:
1. Delineate a budget needed to accomplish your tasks and explain the budget's relationship to your schoolwide goals.
7. Proposal Parameters
The parties agree that significant changes in school governance, instructional practices, staff roles, and community involvement take time. The tasks require a sustained commitment from the leadership of all parties. In turn, the parties need to help each other educate their constituents and the community at large about the need for a new kind of relationship and what is entailed operationally. Change will not take place at the same pace in all the schools. Each school within the system has developed its own identity and procedures over the years. Therefore, by establishing a continuum of change schools wishing to become site-based managed can monitor their progress and assure themselves that they have followed the necessary steps to make site-based management work within their education environment. In a similar manner a continuum of change will assure the members of the Union/Board School-Based Management Technical Support Committee that schools wishing to become Site-Based Managed schools have followed the prescribed steps necessary for successful shared decision-making.

The parties agree that each Union/Board Approved Site-Based Managed School shall have established a school-site council whose composition shall include no less than 51% certified teaching personnel assigned to said school with the Union Building Delegate a member of said council.

The parties agree that each proposal addresses as part of their governance model the following areas:
composition of school site councils; diversity of the school site council; the role of school site council; the operation of the school site council in shared decision making; the by-laws of the school site council; the training of council members; and the scope of authority of the council.

8. The Providence School Board has established the following mission, statement of beliefs and continuum of change for becoming a site-based managed school:

 
• Mission of the Providence School System

Students of ail ages in the diverse cultural mosaic of the Providence community will be enthusiastic. life-long learners, workers, and citizens, each with marketable skills achieved relative to his or her ability. These outcomes will manifest themselves in a nurturing environment driven by excellence in educational opportunity.

• Statement of Beliefs

We believe that within the Providence School System:

• All children can learn
• Schools can no longer educate alone
• Schools can and must change
• Schools will reinvent themselves
• A nurturing environment facilities learning
• Pluralism is vital
• Learning is results driven
• Accountability is measurable
• Professionalism will permeate the educational process
• Communication will be both two-way and multi-dimensional among all
• Quality is contagious
• System-wide frameworks will guide educational reform
• Continuum of Change