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What is a School Site Council (SSC)?

The SSC decides upon academic instructional programs and all related categorical resource expenditures for a school. All schools that receive federal or state categorical funding are required to have a SSC. The SSC decides how to spend categorical funds.

A SSC is a school-community representative body made up of:

  • Principal and Vice Principal
  • Teachers
  • School Staff
  • Parents or Community Members

What does a SSC do?

  1. Develops and approves the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA)

    • Sets and/or reviews school goals and selects specific improvements

    • Establishes budgets based upon the SPSA

    • Recommends and submits site plan to Board of Education (State Administrator) for approval

  2. Reviews and modifies the SPSA

    • Monitors and evaluates implementation of SPSA and resulting student achievement

    • Assesses effectiveness of planned strategies, activities and remedies

    • Participates in local, state, and federal reviews of the school's program for compliance and quality;

  3. Collaborates with other Advisory Groups (English Learner Advisory Committee ELAC, Gifted and Talented Education -- GATE, School Advisory Committee -- SAC)
    • Obtains recommendations from school site advisory, standing, and special committees regarding the focus of the school's SPSA
    • Completes English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC) tasks ( if the SSC has ELAC authority).
  4. Encourages parent, family and community involvement
    • Encourages broad representation of parents, community members, teachers and students, if appropriate
    • Includes all socioeconomic, ethnic, and programmatic groups represented in the school- community.
    • Develops and oversees Title I Parent Involvement Policy and Home - School Compact

    How do I get involved?

    You must be chosen by your peers. Contact your school administrator to express interest

    • If you're a parent, guardian or community member, you will need to be elected by the parents and guardians of the students.

    • Elections may use ballots or voice vote. election procedures should be outlined in the bylaws of the SSC

    • SSC seats are not reserved for any group or individual

    • Nondiscrimination policies must be observed (membership is not restricted to any group)

What is a Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA)?

The main task of the SSC is to develop a Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) for the school every year. The SPSA covers how the school's discretionary and categorical funding will be spent to achieve the following goals:

  1. Involvement: That parents, staff, students, and community members participate in developing, implementing, and evaluating core and categorical programs.
  2. Governance and Administration: That policies, plans, and administration of categorical programs meet statutory requirements.
  3. Funding: That allocation and use of funds meet statutory requirements for allowable expenditures.
  4. Standards, Assessment, and Accountability: That categorical programs meet state standards, are based on the assessed needs of program participants, and achieve the intended outcomes of the categorical program.
  5. Staffing and Professional Development: That staff members are recruited, trained, assigned, and assisted to ensure the effectiveness of the program.
  6. Opportunity and Equal Educational Access: That participants have equitable access to all programs provided by the local educational agency, as required by law.
  7. Teaching and Learning: That participants receive core and categorical program services

that meet their assessed needs.

Steps for Developing the SPSA

  1. Measure effectiveness of improvement strategies at the school
  2. Seek input from school advisory committees
  3. Reaffirm or revise school goals
  4. Revise improvement strategies and expenditures
  5. Recommend the approved SPSA to the board of education.
  6. Monitor implementation of the SPSA

RESOURCE LIST

School Site Council Implementation of the Single Plan for Student Achievement. Prepared by Clarence A. Boyd, Jr. Chair, DAC 2007 - 2008

Guide and Template for the Single Plan for Student Achievement: A Handbook for School Site Councils, California Department of Education. http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/sr/le/singleplan.asp

California Department of Education Single Plan for Student Achievement Mailing List

http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/sr/le/subscribe.asp

Presentation: Schoolsite Councils. Prepared by Family and Community Office

  1. School Site Council Implementation of the Single Plan for Student Achievement. Prepared by Clarence A. Boyd, Jr. Chair, DAC 2007 - 2008

  2. School Site Council Implementation of the Single Plan for Student Achievement. Prepared by Clarence A. Boyd, Jr. Chair, DAC 2007 - 2008

  3. Guide and Template for the Single Plan for Student Achievement: A Handbook for School Site Councils, California Department of Education. http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/sr/le/singleplan.asp

  4. Guide and Template for the Single Plan for Student Achievement: A Handbook for School Site Councils, California Department of Education. http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/sr/le/singleplan.asp

  5. School Site Council Implementation of the Single Plan for Student Achievement. Prepared by Clarence A. Boyd, Jr. Chair, DAC

Source:

http://www.urbanstrategies.org/programs/schools/documents/MicrosoftWord-WhatisaSchoolSiteCouncil_51908ej_001.pdf