WWPS School Improvement Team Policy
The West Warwick Public Schools place a high importance on fostering collaboration among various stakeholders, including parents, students, community members, faculty, and staff. This commitment to collaboration aligns with the goals of the RI School Improvement Act of 2000 and the RI Education Accountability Act of 2019.
To enhance the effectiveness of collaborative efforts, each school within WWPS will establish a School Improvement Team (SIT) under the leadership of its principal. Principals are required to present their proposed SIT members to the Superintendent and School Committee for annual approval by June 1, ensuring readiness for the upcoming school year. Details regarding the scope and composition of these SITs are provided below.
Scope
Each school SIT shall assist the principal in:
Identifying needs of students;
Making recommendations to the principal regarding curriculum accommodation plans;
Reviewing the individual school budget;
Making recommendations to the principal regarding selection of school-based administrators, teachers, and support personnel;
Forming a School Improvement Plan, which must be submitted by each Principal to the Superintendent by June 1 of each academic year.
The Superintendent shall provide each of the SIT plans to the School Committee by June 30 of each academic year, to provide input into the School Committee’s work on policy development, financial stewardship and strategic planning
Composition
Each School Improvement Team shall be composed of the principal and an appropriately balanced number of teachers, education support employees, students, parents, and other business and community citizens who are representative of the ethnic, racial, and economic community served by the school.
Members representing teachers, education support employees, students, and parents shall be selected by their peer groups at the school in a fair and equitable manner that shall be determined by the principal.
Community membership on the SIT will be determined in the following manner:
The principal shall gather a list of interested community members wishing to serve on the school's SIT team.
The principal shall provide the list to the superintendent with recommendations for appointment to the school SIT.
The school committee may provide feedback to the superintendent regarding the list of community applicants to the school SIT to ensure the school SITs are reflective of the diversity within the school community.
Should the school committee determine that the membership selected by the school is not representative, the committee shall direct the principal to reopen the application process and appoint additional members to achieve proper representation.
The superintendent will appoint members of the community to the school SIT.
At a minimum, each SIT within WWPS shall be comprised of:
School Principal
Teachers (may include classroom teachers, certified student services personnel, and/or media specialists)
Education Support Employees (any person employed by a school who is not defined as instructional or administrative personnel pursuant to law and whose duties require twenty (20) or more hours in each normal working week)
Parent representative(s)
Community member(s)
High School and Middle School SITs shall also include:
Students (mandatory for high school; strongly encouraged for middle school)
Department Head (Humanities)
Department Heads (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics)
Term Length
SIT members shall serve a two-year term. Members may be re-elected or re-appointed for another term; however, members may not serve more than four consecutive years, or two consecutive terms. Terms of members shall be staggered to foster continuity. If a member vacates their position prior to the end of their term, the principal shall replace such member as soon as practicable to complete the term.
References:
RI Gen. Laws § 16-53.1-1, et Seq.
RI Gen. Laws § 16-97.1-1
Policy Adopted:
11/13/2002
Policy Revised:
11/08/2023