The best way to teach civic involvement is to model it.
Members of the Site Councils at each of Vail’s schools are doing exactly that.
While many school districts establish site councils, the councils in Vail are unique in that:
- the chair of each site council must be a parent
- parents and community members must constitute a quorum of the site council (the council cannot be dominated by staff members)
Site councils help the principal make decisions regarding budget priorities, discipline rules (i.e., dress code), and other issues related to each school. Site Council members are also called upon to provide input to district operations and to serve on important committees ranging from new school planning to interviewing principals when openings occur.
Serving on a site council is also a great stepping-stone to greater involvement. For the past ten years almost every member of the Vail Governing Board gained experience and knowledge of school operations by first serving on a school site council.
Elections for vacant site council seats occur at the beginning of each school year. If you are interested in serving on a site council, please contact the principal of your child’s school for more information.
To help maintain the success of our schools, every parent is also highly encouraged to thoughtfully participate in the election of site council members.
