[Winona Online Democracy] Thanks Dick, Eric, Brenda and Randy for kicking off the discussion on site teams and providing some background information.
While we wait for other responses to come in from additional people who were asked specific questions, does anyone have any questions for Dick, Eric, Brenda and Randy about the basic workings (and history) of Site Teams in our schools? Based on the information they provided, does everybody feel they have an understanding of what site teams are and what they are supposed to do? Also, if anyone wants to see the complete list of individuals who I sent questions to (and the questions I asked), please feel free to visit my School Board Weblog at www.civicideas.org/weblog. -Steve Kranz ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brenda S. Terpstra" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "WinonaOnline Democracy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 4:00 PM Subject: Re: [Winona] Discussion on Site Teams > [Winona Online Democracy] > > Steve, > > I served on Site Teams at both the elementary and high school levels as a > Parent Representative for years. The idea is to bring together all the > stakeholders (administration, teachers, parents, students, staff, and > community) to handle decisions which affect the school. Sometimes it works > well - sometimes it doesn't - depending on the issue. > > A few issues that might be considered are: > > What if a decision needs to be made quickly (to meet a deadline or take > advantage of extraordinary opportunities that present themselves)? > > Issues are often "talked to death" but no action is taken because there is > no consensus. Who should have the final say? Does the principal have the > tie-breaking vote? Should he/she? > > Who has the greatest stake? Teachers? Students? Parents? How do you > balance the number of reps so that all the parties can truly have equal or > fair representation? > > All parents don't agree on issues. Those parents present may represent a > minority view on any particular issue? Same is true of students and other > reps too. Going back to the constituency for a vote isn't always possible! > > It's difficult to find working community members who can take off a couple > hours to meet during the day. Business owners, etc. find that their time is > too valuable to spend it discussing the "nuts and bolts" issues that don't > matter a lot to the larger community. > > Where is the division between what issues can be decided by the > professionals (who have training and experience for it) and those that > should be decided by all the stakeholders? The agenda often is bogged down > by petty issues. > > I'm sure there are other issues too. > > Brenda Terpstra > > > _______________________________________________ > This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy > All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. > No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. > To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit > http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona > Any problems or suggestions can be directed to > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at > http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org > _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
