COMMUNITY HOUSE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP TEAM
BYLAWS
Article I: NAME
Section 1: The name of this School Leadership shall be the Community House Middle School Leadership Team, located at Community House Middle School whose address is 9500 Community House Road, Charlotte, North Carolina 28277.
Article II: AUTHORITY
Section 1: The authority of this team is derived from North Carolina General Assembly (1995 (Regular Session 1996), c 716, 3.)115C-105-27. Development and Approval of School Improvement Plans.
Article III: PURPOSES
Section 1: To facilitate the development of the School Improvement Plan.
Section 2: To monitor, assess, and amend the School Improvement Plan
Section 3: : To advance policies and procedures that enhance achievement and meet educational, safety, and parent involvement goals.
Section 4: To facilitate decision making, two-way communications and make important data available.
Section 5: To increase the capacity of the school to address parent and staff concerns.
Section 6: To build the capacity of the school to improve in the following areas:
a. Curriculum
b. School Climate
c. Classroom management/discipline
d. Two-way communications
e. Parent involvement
f. Extra-curricular activities
Section 7: To consult with the principal and make recommendations on budgetary issues relating to staff development, instructional materials, and staff positions.
Article IV: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: The .composition of the School Leadership Team shall be the Principal, one Assistant Principal, six (6) members of the Instructional Staff and seven (7) parents, including the parent who is the President of the PTA/PTO or other parent leadership organization with the greatest membership. In addition, up to two (2) at-large members may be elected to the School Leadership Team by secret ballot by the Parent Leadership group (PTA/PTO) which represents the greatest majority of parents in the school to serve during any one (1) school year.
Section 2: All staff positions shall be elected by secret ballot cast by constituent staff members.
Section 3: Parent members of the School Leadership team shall be elected by secret ballot by the Parent Leadership group (PTA/PTO) which represents the greatest majority of parents in the school.
Section 4: The parent membership shall reflect the racial, geographic and socio-economic status of students in the school. If this does not occur in the election process the principal may make appropriate appointments.
Article V: MEETINGS
Section 1: The school leadership team shall meet at least once a month.
Section 2: The School Leadership Team of Community House Middle School shall meet on the last Monday of each month beginning in September of each school year unless otherwise agreed upon by a quorum of the then acting School Leadership Team.
Section 3: Special called meetings or changes in the date and time of meetings shall be called by the chairman of the School Leadership Team and the Principal at least 5 working days before the change.
Section 4: All meetings shall be held at a time and place convenient to the majority of all of the members.
Section 5: Minutes shall be given to each team member and posted within one week after the meeting.
Article VI: OFFICERS
Section 1: The officers of the School Leadership Team shall be Co-Chairpersons, Recorder, and Timekeeper.
Section 2: The Co-Chairpersons of the School Leadership Team shall be elected for the upcoming school year at the May meeting of the School Leadership Team, provided that if there is no meeting in May, then at the June meeting of the School Leadership Team. One (1) Co-Chairperson shall be a parent representative and one (1) Co-Chairperson shall be an instructional staff representative. All other Officers of the School Leadership Team shall be elected at the first meeting of the School Leadership Team of the school year.
Section 3: The Co-Chairpersons shall:
a. Meet regularly with the principal to discuss priorities and to set the agenda
b. Review the minutes from the last meeting
c. Review progress of objectives of the School Improvement Plan
d. Request agenda items for next meeting
e. Confirm next meeting date
f. Lead meetings
g. Follow up on member assignments
h. Notify public of meetings
Section 4: The Recorder shall:
a. Record the minutes at all meetings
b. Distribute minutes within one week of last meeting
c. Post minutes to the CHMS website
d. Maintain a file of all minutes and agendas
Section 5: The Timekeeper shall:
a. Assist the team in establishing the length of each meeting and the timeframe for each agenda item
b. Monitor time throughout meeting and remind team of timeframe.
Article VII: TERM LIMITS
Section 1: Elections to the School Leadership Team shall be completed by September 20 of each school year.
Section 2: Co-Chairpersons shall be elected to a one-year term.
Section 3: Parents and staff members shall be elected to a three (3) year term, provided that any parent or staff member who is absent from three (3) consecutive meetings in any one school year shall be deemed to have resigned from the School Leadership Team and a replacement member shall be elected by the School Leadership Team to fill the remaining term at the next scheduled School Leadership Team meeting. At-large members of the SLT shall be elected to a one (1) year term.
Section 4: Each year one-third (1/3) of the elected group shall rotate off the team.
Section 5: In the case of a vacancy, an election shall be held to fill the remaining term.
Section 6: While an individual may be appointed/elected to serve more than one three-year term on the SLT, these three-year terms may not be consecutive in order to provide opportunities for other parents and staff members to participate.
Section 7: The principal shall have the discretion to reappoint a member whose term has expired for an additional one-year term to meet the SLT’s goals of consistency and diversity.
Article VIII: QUORUM
Section 1: A quorum of two-thirds of the voting membership is required for official business to be conducted. The quorum for Community House Middle School Leadership Team is 10.
Article IX: DECISION MAKING
Section 1: Attempts at decision making shall first be made by consensus of the members. (A consensus decision is one in which the judgment is decided by most of the School Leadership Team members.).
Section 2: Before a decision is made by consensus, every voting member shall be informed through presentation of facts, dissemination of information, and expression of opinions.
Section 3: The School Leadership Team chairperson or his/her designee shall take an active role in summarizing, interpreting, and organizing attempts to reach a consensus.
Section 4: For any major decision, the chairperson shall present as many as two attempts at gaining consensus, which includes asking each member for a stance on the decision.
Section 5: Attempts at consensus can take place in a span of one meeting or over the span of two meetings, depending upon the requirements of the decision.
Section 6: Once a decision is reached by consensus, it shall stand.
Section 7: If consensus cannot be reached, then a vote shall be taken. A minimum of 60% of the votes is required to carry the motion.
Section 8: Only members of the SLT will be eligible to vote on SLT matters.
Article X: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Section 1: Each meeting shall be an open forum with a limited time of a maximum of six (6) minutes at the beginning of each meeting assigned for public comment.
Section 2: Speakers’ names shall be on the agenda.
Section 3: Each speaker shall be allotted three (3) minutes, with additional time granted in the discretion of the principal and the Co-Chairs.
Section 4: Action required shall be discussed later, and action taken shall be in writing.
Section 5: All personnel issues will be discussed in a closed session. (A closed session is for sitting members only.)
Article XI: PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
Section 1: The rules contained in the current edition of Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Community House Middle School Leadership Team.
Article XII: AMENDMENTS
Section 1: These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the School Leadership Team by a two-thirds vote of the members present and voting, provided that notice of the proposed amendment shall have been given at least 30 days prior to the meeting at which the amendment is voted upon with a quorum present.
The following persons verify that these Bylaws were voted on and adopted by the general membership of the Community House Middle School at a meeting on the 20th day of May, 2013.
Chairperson: Beth A. Wood
Co-Chairperson: Rhonda Rivers
Principal: Jamie Brooks