Thomas Jefferson

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Collaborative School Committee

Thomas Jefferson High School Collaborative School Committee (CSC)

Our Mission:  The Thomas Jefferson Collaborative School Committee follows the policies and procedures of Denver Public Schools Board of Education Policy BDFH- Collaborative School Committees as well as the Collaborative School Committee School Leadership Team Roles and Responsibilities document released by Denver Public Schools.

It is the goal of the Thomas Jefferson Collaborative School Committee to uphold the mission of TJHS through support of the Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) in improving student achievement, and maintaining a positive school culture both at school and in the community.

Upcoming Meetings and Previous Meeting Minutes:

April 24, 2023
March 13, 2023
February 13, 2023
January 30, 2023
September 26, 2022
November 2, 2021
March 2, 2021
February 4, 2021
May 4, 2020
March 2, 2020
January 13, 2020
December 2, 2019
October 21, 2019
September 10, 2018
March 6, 2017
January 30, 2017
November 7, 2016
October 3, 2016
May 2, 2016
April 4, 2016
March 7, 2016
February 1, 2016 (cancelled)
January 11, 2016
December 7, 2015 (cancelled)
November 9, 2015
October 5, 2015
September, 2015
June, 2015
May, 2015
April, 2015
March, 2015
February, 2015
January, 2015
December, 2014
November, 2014
October, 2014

Bylaws & Norms:

The School Improvement Plan (SIP) has been replaced by the Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) and any reference to the SIP should be replaced with UIP.

Membership:

Membership of the Collaborative School Committee (CSC) should consist of members from the following categories and in the amount shown:

  • Administrator
  • Faculty – 4 members
  • Classified Employees – 1 member
  • Parents – 4 members
  • Student Board of Ed – 2 members
  • Community Member – 1 member

Elections will take place in the spring before the end of the school year. New members must be elected and notified in time to attend the June meeting of the CSC.

The term of service for all members shall be two years, except the principal who is a permanent member; at the end of the term, members shall step down from their position. Notification shall be made to constituent groups for nominations. If no person steps forward to be nominated, then the retiring member may elect to serve an additional term. Elections shall be staggered so that, whenever possible, no more than ½ of the faculty members and no more than ½ of the parent members will stand election in a single year, thereby ensuring that experienced members are always on the team.

Every attempt shall be made by CSC members to attend each meeting. In case of absence, the member shall send an email notifying the chairperson as soon as possible. If a quorum cannot be met, the chairperson shall send a meeting cancelation notice.

The faculty of the school shall elect faculty members. If no more than four faculty members express interest, no elections shall be held. Elections will take place in the spring before the end of the school year. New faculty members must be elected and notified in time to attend the June meeting of the CSC.

The classified employees of the school shall elect classified employee members. If no more than one classified employee expresses interest, no elections shall be held. Elections will take place in the spring before the end of the school year.

New classified members must be elected and notified in time to attend the June meeting of the CSC.

The two Thomas Jefferson student representatives to the DPS Student Board of Education shall serve as members of the CSC for the duration of their term on the Student Board of Education.

Parents and members of the community shall elect parent and community members. If no more than four parents and no more than one community member express interest, no elections shall be held.

Applications for new parent and community members will be distributed through any reasonable parent and community communication.

The committee strongly encourages, but does not require representation from diverse areas of the school such as core subjects and electives. Although the committee encourages diverse representation, once elected to the committee, it is incumbent upon every member to keep the interests of the entire school in mind and strive to make the best decisions possible for the school community in its entirety.

Committee Roles:

There are three basic roles on the CSC at each meeting:

  1. Chairperson
  2. Timekeeper
  3. Secretary

At the first CSC meeting of the new school year, committee members shall elect a Chairperson, a Timekeeper, and a Secretary from the membership (excluding the principal). In the case of a contested election, a secret ballot shall be used for the election process. Only those members who have served one year on the committee shall be eligible for the position of Chairperson.

If the chairperson is absent for a meeting, the principal shall appoint someone from the committee to serve as chairperson for that meeting.

Role Responsibilities:

Chairperson:

  • The chairperson is responsible for the general operations of the meeting. The chairperson will ensure that members of the committee stay on topic and are able to address all topics on the agenda.
  • If any questions arise about the operations of any particular meeting, the committee should strive to resolve the question through consensus, but ultimately it is the chairperson’s job to make a decision that ensures fairness, while still allowing the meeting to continue
  • At the end of each meeting, the chairperson shall elicit items for the next meeting and set times for each agenda item to be shared with the Timekeeper.

Timekeeper:

  • The timekeeper shall assist in the facilitation of the meetings by keeping track of time spent on each topic. Using the time allotments on the agenda, the timekeeper will remind the chairperson and the group when the time given for any topic is nearly expired. The timekeeper will also remind the entire committee when time has expired and periodically thereafter if the committee chooses to go over time.
  • The timekeeper is responsible for posting a tentative agenda for the next meeting and assigning approximate times to devote to each topic. A tentative agenda for the next meeting will be set at the end of each meeting, and the timekeeper will add to this agenda as necessary and email it to the CSC members prior to the next meeting.

Secretary:

  • The secretary is responsible for taking notes during the meeting capturing critical discussion points and any critical decisions as well as action items.
  • The secretary will use their notes to compile meeting minutes and send them out to the group no later than one week after the meeting is complete.
  • The committee will have one week to submit corrections/additions to the minutes to the secretary who will incorporate them into the minutes.
  • After one week, the secretary will submit the official minutes to the entire committee and for posting on the school’s Website and any other reasonable public places.

Processes:

The CSC will meet at least monthly as determined by the committee members.   All meetings shall be open to the public unless otherwise stated.

Decision Making:

The decision making process should be a collaborative process. To the extent possible, decisions should be made be consensus. Consensus is either a unanimous decision or a majority decision that the entire CSC, including the dissenters will support.

If consensus cannot be reached, the principal will take into consideration all of the discussion and feedback from all CSC members. The principal will consult with the Instructional Superintendent and Operational Superintendent and determine the best decision and communicate that back to the CSC members.

By-Law Review:

The CSC will review the by-laws at least one time per year in May.

Adopted September 2022