CEC 1 liaison position

1. CEC 1 liaison position Best practices, new ideas

2. CEC liaison history • In the early incarnation of the CECs (2003- 2011 or so) the DoE parent facing dept (Parent Support, OFEA, OFIA, DFACE) trained CECs to assign liaisons to the schools in their district. • Starting around 2011 the liaison position no longer appeared in training materials but continued as a best practice across CECs. • Several years ago, under the current DFACE leadership training documents began listing liaising with SLTs as a CEC power/duty.

3. D1 liaison best practices Some best practices that emerged in D1 include: •  Each member liaises with 3 or 4 schools and establishes regular contact with that school’s leaders. • CEC members do not liaise with schools where they have a child to avoid any conflicts of interest, appearance of favoritism/bias and to maximize individual knowledge of community schools. •  One liaison represents all the schools located in a shared building to avoid possibly replicating the issues among schools and to foster the necessary unity and collaboration that successfully-shared buildings require. • At each business meeting liaisons report back on schools, updating the council on BCAS walk throughs, initiatives schools are working on, progress towards district campaigns, etc

4. Liaison supports Each member has access to a file with the kind of information helpful for liaisons to meet with their schools: Liaison Function Overview and School Information • Contact info – Principal/AP/PC/PTA President • SLT/PTA meeting dates • Class size/ Capacity info Capital Plan • Capital Plan timeline • Sample emails/letters for contacting school • BCAS docs for each school • Previous year requests for each school Campaign info and scripts As needed: email/telephone scripts and templates to carry a campaign to each school

5. Define the Liaison purpose Difference between: constituent services (address problems at each school) vs. building better relationships and establishing means of communication for district wide initiatives, emergency campaigns, supporting CEC mission/goals.

6. Fall sample meeting schedule • Start of school year: relationship building Establish contact in Sept/Oct • Around/after 10/31 audit: collect class size info- noting over crowded or under enrolled classes, general enrollment trends • Nov-Dec: Start discussing Capital Plan process/time line/requests/possible facility walk throughs ( BCAS or otherwise)

7. Winter/Spring sample meeting schedule • By January: liaisons usually have established some level of trust/good communication channels with their schools and can begin to bring campaign and issue-related info to their contacts in schools. • Throughout Spring semester: report back to CEC and bring district wide issues to schools • May/June: help arrange for paper and other gifted supplies

8. CHAIRING A MEETING • CEC One by laws allow each member multiple opportunities to set meeting agendas ( with Council approval) and chair meetings in a democratic process that builds capacity and leadership skills among all members. • Planning the agendaIn the month prior, at the business meeting, the CEC discusses the upcoming months' Business and Calendar meeting agendas, working from a template of agreed upon topics for that month. • The monthly chair works with the AA to set the agenda based on previous discussion • The AA sends the draft to the whole council for discussion/ approval via email • The AA invites any guests/speakers/prepares material needed such as handouts/agendas.

9. Once agenda is set… • The AA sends out notices via email to all PC's, PTA presidents, principals and parents/teachers/community member's that subscribe to CEC1 email list for posting/backpacking/school lists • Working on a time frame that allows for the mandatory 10 days notice to media/schools/parents/community/etc. after sufficient time for translation into Spanish/Chinese by DoE translation services.

10. At the meeting • During both the Business and Calendar meetings, the monthly chair facilitates the meeting- taking roll call, leading discussion of each agenda item, taking public comment, keeping order, track of time per item, etc.Each business meeting agenda should include an item to plan for the next month's meetings.

11. More meeting tips • Roll of the Recording Secretary The chair should verify ahead of time that the Recording Secretary will take minutes at the meetings. • Roll Call for Attendance Begin the meeting by calling roll and recording members’ attendance in the white “Meetings” binder. This binder has past agendas and minutes and other general info, including the bylaws. If members are absent, consensus is needed to determine if an absence is excused/not. • Roll Call Votes Filling vacancies and electing officers is done by roll call vote. Each member’s vote is stated publicly and recorded.

12. More meeting tips • Role of the Public Calendar + Business meetings are all public. The Calendar meeting should be formally adjourned before the Public Comment Period begins. Speakers’ should sign up on the green sign-up sheet at the front table. From which the Chair calls their names to speak. Public comments is generally limited to 3 minutes During the Business Meeting, there is not a designated time for public comment. • Role of the Parliamentarian The Parliamentarian should have familiarity with basic parliamentary procedures and Robert’s Rules of Order and be able to answer procedural questions during meetings. A copy of Robert’s Rules of Order is at every meeting.