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Bylaws

Glenkirk Elementary School 

Teacher Parent Advisory Council Bylaws

Amended March, 2019

 

 

Article I. Purpose

Under the philosophy of the site-based management in Prince William County Public Schools, the Glenkirk Teacher Parent Advisory Council (TPAC) will represent and assess the needs of the community and staff. TPAC will help develop the School Plan and ensure that it reflects the vision and mission of Glenkirk. TPAC will act as an advisor to the school administration on the budget, implementation, evaluation and modifications of the School Plan. TPAC will conduct a broad, annual school wide survey of parents and staff to obtain feedback, identify areas of improvement, and make specific suggestions for improvement based on survey results.

 

Article II. Membership

In addition to the Principal, TPAC will be comprised of rotating parents and staff members. There will be one staff representative from each of the following:

Staff Representatives

  • Kindergarten
  • 1st Grade
  • 2nd Grade
  • 3rd Grade
  • 4th Grade
  • 5th Grade
  • Encore (Art, Music, PE, Guidance, Librarian)
  • Specialists (Speech, ESOL, Special Education and Reading)
  • Classified
  • Administration

 

Staff may chose to share a position amongst two members who each represent the same constituency and will each agree to serve the duration of his or her term.  This representative team will share one vote between them on all TPAC agenda items.  Both representative team members will be listed as holding a shared position.

 

Parent Representatives

There will be two Parent Representative from each of the following geographical areas. The Parent Representatives will change accordingly if the school boundaries affect the geographical areas represented by the student population. The current Parent Representatives are as follows:

  • Ellis Mills
  • Glenkirk Estates
  • Morris Farms
  • Saranac

 

Parents may chose to share a position amongst two members who each represent the same constituency and will each agree to serve the duration of his or her term.  This representative team will share one vote between them on all TPAC agenda items.  Both representative team members will be listed as holding a shared position.

 

  1. Summary of the TPAC Representative role
  2. TPAC representatives advise the school administration on the development and implementation of the school plan representing their constituent’s opinions and ideas.
  3. TPAC Members have an obligation to communicate proactively with those individuals they represent and to gather feedback from their groups to help them be effective advisors.
  4. TPAC Members names and email contacts will be published on the Glenkirk Elementary website in the TPAC section and will be in the TPAC Notebook located in the office. If a TPAC member does not want to publish a personal email, he/she may set up a special email for the sole purpose of TPAC communication.
  5. TPAC members must contact the Chairperson with at least 1 days notice if he/she cannot attend a regular meeting.
  6. TPAC members encourage their constituents to attend TPAC meetings.

 

Article III. Selection Process

A.A TPAC parent member not interested in an officer position and the Principal are responsible for managing the selection process of new TPAC members and for officer elections. TPAC will maintain and publish detailed "Member Selection and Officer Election Procedures" to support these bylaws.

 

  1. Selection for TPAC members will be held prior to the May general meeting to allow new members the opportunity to attend the May and June meetings before their term begins.

 

  1. For Parent Representatives: A notice will be sent out school wide electronically in early to mid April advertising the open positions for the next term on TPAC with the groups indicated. Interested persons will submit their names to the Parent Volunteer and Principal. If more than one parent from a specific area is interested in serving as a representative, the community affected will vote for their representative before the May meeting. See the detailed procedures for more information.

 

  1. For Staff Representatives: Each grade level will work together to select their staff representative. The Principal will work with the effected groups to select a Classified and a Specialist representative.

 

  1. Eligibility: TPAC parent members will be parent volunteers from the geographical areas currently represented by the Membership bylaw. Parent members must have at least one child attending GES. No more than one family member may serve at one time unless serving in a shared representative capacity. TPAC staff representatives must be employed at GES. Staff members who also have children at GES may serve as TPAC staff representatives only.
  2. Member Vacancy: In the event there is a parent or staff vacancy during the TPAC term, the Vice Chair and Principal will send a school wide notice seeking volunteers for the groups indicated and those people will be invited to the next TPAC meeting. If there is more than one parent interested in serving, the effected community will vote to select their representative. If only one parent volunteers, that person will be instated at the next TPAC meeting.

 

Article IV. Tenure

A.Term: Each TPAC member serves a two-year term that runs from July 1 to June 30. The rotation for each group should be staggered to ensure that TPAC always has new and previous members. Any member wishing to serve additional terms must resubmit their name for consideration and be subject to an open election in the event that more than one volunteer comes forward to serve during the time period in which new members are solicited.

 

  1. Resignation: The member resigning will submit in writing their intent to resign to the Principal with an effective date. The Chairperson will read the letter at the next meeting.

 

  1. Removal of a Council Member:
  2. A TPAC member can be removed if two consecutive meetings are missed and the TPAC member has not notified the Chairperson with reasonable advance notice of absence.
  3. A TPAC member can be removed if a total of three meetings are missed from September to June.
  4. A TPAC member can be removed if he/she routinely breaches the Quality Meeting Guideline (as specified in Article VII of these Bylaws).

 

  1. Process to Remove a Council Member
  2. The secretary will keep track of attendance and notify the Chair of members who need to be asked to resign.
  3. The member will receive a formal written notification signed by the Chairperson and Principal.
  4. The TPAC will vote on the removal of the member, with a 2/3 majority vote required.

 

  1. Procedure for Filling Vacancies
  2. To fill a vacant member position, the TPAC may nominate individual parents who have attended meetings and shown interest in the board. If none are available TPAC will follow the Selection Process as stated in these Bylaws.
  3. To fill a vacant officer position, the TPAC will follow the Officer Selection process as stated in these Bylaws.

 

Article V. Officers, Duties, Elections

  1. Chairperson: This elected position will be filled by a parent. The duties are as follows:
  2. Preside over meetings and work with the Vice Chairperson in planning and directing the business of TPAC.
  3. Review with the Vice Chairperson the planning and preparing of the yearly and monthly agenda.
  4. Send the agenda to members and publish the agenda on the GES website one week prior to the meeting.
  5. Appoint committees and serves as an ex-officio member.
  6. Serve as the member-at-large for families of students with no other formal representation.

 

  1. Vice Chairperson: This elected position will be filled by a staff member. The duties are as follows:
  2. Exercise all functions in the absence of the Chairperson.
  3. Maintain a roster of the membership with the phone numbers and addresses.
  4. Create a phone tree and provide each member with a copy.
  5. Review with the Chairperson the planning and preparing of the yearly and monthly agenda.
  6. Timekeeper.

 

  1. Secretary: This elected position will be open to any member. The duties are as follows:
  2. Keep full and accurate records of the proceedings of all TPAC meetings.
  3. Keep a written list of attendees at each TPAC meeting.
  4. Within two weeks after each TPAC meeting, provide the minutes of the previous TPAC meeting to the group for review and approval at next meeting
  5. Upon approval of the minutes, ensure the TPAC minutes are uploaded to the GES Website in a timely manner.
  6. Make sure the TPAC notebook in the office has a copy of the minutes and is up to date.
  7. Prepares official correspondence.

 

  1. Superintendent Advisory Council Representative: This position will be open to any member. There must be an alternate. The duties are as follows:
  2. Attend the monthly Prince William Superintendent Advisory Council meetings to represent Glenkirk Elementary.
  3. Report to TPAC news from the Superintendent Advisory Council meetings.

 

  1. Officer Elections: Officers' terms run from July 1 through June 30. A parent member selected in March and the Principal are responsible for the Officer Election Process. TPAC will maintain and publish detailed "Member Selection and Officer Election Procedures" to support these bylaws.
  2. Officers for the upcoming year are selected at the June meeting based on the representatives selected for the upcoming year. Officers will assume their duties on July 1.
  3. Persons interested in an officer position will submit their nomination to the Principal and parent volunteer at least 7 days before the June TPAC meeting.
  4. Persons who submitted their names in advance will be allowed to give a brief introduction or speech to the TPAC membership at the June meeting.
  5. If there is more than one person nominated, the offices of Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Secretary will be elected by a secret ballot at the June meeting by the new and upcoming members on the council... Two neutral TPAC members will tally the ballots. Should there be a tie vote; the Principal will be included as the tiebreaker.
  6. If there is only one nominee for a position, then a motion must be made to accept by acclamation.

 

  1. Procedure to Remove an Officer: In the event an Officer is not performing the duties as specified in the bylaws, the Principal along with one other officer may take appropriate action to remove the nonperforming person.

 

Article VI. Committees

The Chairperson will form committees as needed and ask for volunteers to ensure that there are both staff and parent members on each committee.

 

Article VII. Meetings

TPAC will hold regular monthly meetings from September to June on a regular date and time as agreed upon by the Chairperson and Principal. The meetings will last no longer than 1.5 hours. TPAC meetings are open to all Glenkirk parents, staff and community members.

 

  1. Meetings will be publicized using school wide electronic communication at least one week in advance including an overview of the agenda, the school sign located in the front of the building and in general at Back to School Nights.

 

  1. The agenda of each meeting will tentatively be set at the previous meeting. The Chairperson will contact the Principal prior to finalizing the agenda to determine if changes or actions need to be made before sending to members. A finalized agenda will be sent to TPAC members one week in advance so they can encourage their constituents to attend the TPAC meeting and so they can gather feedback from their groups so as to represent them effectively at the meeting.

 

  1. If special meetings are needed or a meeting needs to be canceled, the Principal will contact the Chairperson and notice will be sent via email and posted on the school website. The Principal and the Chairperson will reschedule canceled meetings as needed.

 

  1. Each member should follow the Quality Meeting Guidelines as follows:
  • Participants are punctual.
  • Meetings start at the specified time.
  • Meetings are uninterrupted.
  • Participants actively listen.
  • There are no 1-to-1 or side conversations.
  • There is active participation.
  • Participants share responsibility for the team’s progress.
  • Members are free to respectively remind of agenda and rules.
  • Participants respect the agenda.
  • Timekeeping is observed.
  • Members are expected to conduct themselves professionally.

 

 

Article VIII. Citizens’ Time

  1. The first 15 minutes of each TPAC meeting will be designated as citizens’ time. Any staff member, parent or member of the council may address TPAC. Each person will have three minutes. Citizens’ time may be extended at the discretion of the Chairperson. All issues, questions and/or concerns must be submitted one week prior to a TPAC meeting in writing or email form to [email protected] with name and phone number. If citizens would like to remain anonymous, they may contact the representative of their neighborhood.

 

  1. The Principal will respond to issues, questions and/or concerns raised during Citizens’ Time in one of three ways:
  • Address immediately, at Principal’s discretion;
  • Provide a written statement or contact the person(s) prior to the next TPAC meeting; or
  • Provide an answer at the next TPAC meeting.

 

Article IX. Principal’s Address

A.Any issues of concern for informational purposes will be shared during this time at the meeting.

 

Article X. Decision Making

  1. Only current members as defined in these bylaws under "Membership" are eligible to vote.

 

  1. Meetings will be conducted by Robert's Rules of Order.

 

  1. Decisions of TPAC regarding the planning process and the School Plan will be reached by consensus. The goal of the council is to reach consensus.

 

  1. In the event consensus cannot be reached, a majority vote will be taken to determine the position of the council. Only TPAC members are eligible to vote.

 

Article XI. Amendments

The TPAC Bylaws shall be revised annually. At the March meeting, a committee will be formed to review the bylaws. Any suggested changes and/or additions will be discussed at the April meeting and final consensus will be reached at the May meeting.