School Organizational Teams

The establishment of School Organizational Teams at schools supports the belief that critical decisions affecting instruction are best made at the school level by those most closely involved with the students. An increased level of autonomy granted for making decisions that directly affect their schools and students will result in increased accountability at the school level and a tendency for school communities to take ownership of student progress.

WHAT IS A SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL TEAM?

Under Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) 388G, there are specific functions of School Organizational Teams. Their main functions, as defined by law, are as follows:

1) The principal, with the assistance and advice of the School Organizational Team, is responsible for developing the Plan of Operation for the school, which consists of:

a) Development of the strategic budget that outlines how the school will use allocated funds to support student results.

b) Development of the School Performance Plan for improving achievement of students, as required by Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 385A.650.

2) Providing continued assistance and advice to the principal in carrying out the Plan of Operation.

3) Assisting in the discussion of any additional authority to be transferred to schools to carry out responsibilities.

4) Assisting with the selection of the next principal when there is a vacancy.

Principals may periodically seek the Team’s input on other matters; however, the principal retains responsibility and accountability for school decisions.

The principal serves as a non-voting member of the Team. The Team provides support and assistance to the principal; final accountability for decisions rests with the principal. If any Team decisions result in a violation of state law or District regulation, the principal has the obligation to act accordingly.

School Organizational Teams must consist of the following members:

2 to 4 licensed staff members
1 support staff member*
3 to 6 parents, representing 50% of the total number of voting members
School’s principal (non-voting member)
Student representative (non-voting member, secondary schools only)
1 community member (optional, non-voting member)

*If there are 4 licensed staff members on the team, there must be 2 support staff members

Principals have the discretion to determine the makeup of the Team within these parameters. For example, if the principal decides that the Team will have 2 licensed staff members, there must be 1 support staff member and 3 parent members on the Team.

Team members serve until September 30 of the following school year and may serve additional terms as long as they are eligible and continue to receive the highest number of votes. Members of the Team serve without compensation of any kind.

SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL TEAM MEMBERSHIP DETAILS AND ELECTION PROCESS

By October 1 of each school year, the principal must establish the School Organizational Team. Any eligible employee has the opportunity to vote, regardless of whether the employee is a member of the association for that employee group.

Principals must follow the procedures established by the professional organizations for the selection process for the following groups:

Clark County Education Association (CCEA) for licensed staff (ccea-nv.org)
Education Support Employees Association (ESEA) for education support professionals (esea-nv.org)
Nevada Parent Teacher Association (Nevada PTA) for parents at schools with a PTA (nevadapta.org)

(Full Video) School Organizational Team Processes.mp4

In the event there is a vacancy on the Team, new members must be selected following the same procedures as listed here. Vacancies must be filled within 30 days. Principals must notify their School Associate Superintendent when a vacancy occurs on the Team outside of the regular election cycle at the start of the school year each fall.

HOW DO SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL TEAMS OPERATE?

As stated in the What is a School Organizational Team section above, under Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) 388G, there are specific functions of School Organizational Teams. Their main functions, as defined by law, are as follows:

1) The principal, with the assistance and advice of the School Organizational Team, is responsible for developing the Plan of Operation for the school, which consists of:

a) Development of the strategic budget that outlines how the school will use allocated funds to support student results.

b) Development of the School Performance Plan for improving achievement of students, as required by Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 385A.650.

2) Providing continued assistance and advice to the principal in carrying out the Plan of Operation.

3) Assisting in the discussion of any additional authority to be transferred to schools to carry out responsibilities.

4) Assisting with the selection of the next principal when there is a vacancy.

Principals may periodically seek the Team’s input on other matters; however, the principal retains responsibility and accountability for school decisions.

Selection of Chair and Vice Chair: Upon establishment of the Team, the school principal must schedule the first meeting and act as Chair until a Chair is selected. The first item of business for the Team is to select a Chair and a Vice Chair from among its members by majority vote. The principal cannot serve as the Chair or Vice Chair.

Quorum for Voting Purposes: The Team may take action only when a majority of its voting members are present. A majority vote is required to take action on a matter. A quorum is not required in order to conduct a meeting or for discussion items.

Frequency of Meetings: Team meetings must be held at least once a month during the school year while classes are in session.

Notice of Meetings: Team meetings must be posted at least three working days before the date of each meeting. Suggestion: post the schedule for all Team meetings for the year at the start of the school year. Principals must post the agenda to the school website.

Meeting Requirements: Team Meetings are not subject to Nevada Open Meeting Law requirements, however, the public must be permitted to attend any portion of the meeting during which confidential information is not discussed and each meeting must include a period for public comment. Meetings may not be held during employee’s contract hours. Please see the Appendices for a sample agenda template for Team meetings.

0. How School Organizational Teams Function Just-in-Time Training.mp4

CONSIDERATIONS FOR SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL TEAMS

In addition to the required four main duties, the School Organizational Team is responsible for:

CCSD REORG CULTURE CLIMATE TRAINING v3.mp4

Supporting the principal when the school Plan of Operation is presented to the community.
Functioning as a collaborative group that fosters student achievement. Teams should invest time and thought into determining the norms and procedures of the Team.
Participating actively in School Organizational Team meetings to help inform the principal’s decision making.
Aiding the principal in sharing progress and results of the implementation of the Plan of Operation with the community.
Providing input regarding the principal to the School Associate Superintendent a maximum of twice per year, if considered necessary by the team.
Teams may provide input regarding the principal to the School Associate Superintendent a maximum of twice per year.

SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL TEAM CONFLICT RESOLUTION

It is expected that the Team will have adopted norms for behavior that outline appropriate conduct for members. Normative behavior is broadly defined as the standard of correctness for the efficient and successful functioning of the Team. In the event that the Team experiences a conflict that cannot be solved amongst its members, the principal should contact their School Associate Superintendent.

Just in Time- Consensus Building Training.mp4

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