What is a School Advisory Council (SAC)? 

SACs bring together school stakeholders and individuals from local communities who share an interest in promoting student success. They provide parents/guardians, school staff, community members and when appropriate, students, with a voice to influence decisions that have an impact on student learning and well-being. As advisory bodies, SAC’s bring partners together to provide principals and regional centers of education (RCE’s) with advice that reflects the best interests of students from the point of view of the school community. SACs receive their authority from the Education Act (2018).

What are some of the Duties and Responsibilities of a School Advisory Council (SAC)?

The duties and responsibilities of an SAC include:
• Participating in the creation of the SAC Agreement and by-laws
• Collaborating to improve student achievement and well-being
• Providing feedback on school practices and initiatives
• Providing feedback on provincial policies
• Oversite for SAC grant spending decisions

School Advisory Council Agreement

Cole Harbour District High School Advisory Council Agreement

The purpose of this agreement is to establish the terms and conditions of the agreement between the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE), Cole Harbour District High School Advisory Council (CHDHS SAC), and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (EECD) to operate a School Advisory Council at the school level.

1. Effective date and review of the agreement

The agreement begins when signed by all parties. The agreement shall be reviewed annually by the SAC before June 30 of each year. Any agreed-upon revisions can be made at that time and submitted to the HRCE and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development for consideration, to become effective upon approval of all partners.

2. Structure of the Council

● The principal of the school, who is a non-voting member
● 4 parents with at least one representative from each of the feeder schools
● 3 students one from each grade
● 2 teachers
● 2 support staff
● 3 community members (which will include one African Nova Scotian member and one First Nations member)

A Vice-Principal may attend as a member of the general public and may participate in discussions at the request of the chair.

3. Decision-making process

Cole Harbour District High School Advisory Council will make decisions in the following ways:
● All decisions will be made by consensus.
● If a consensus cannot be reached, the decision will be delayed until the next meeting.
● If further discussion does not provide consensus, a vote may be needed in the interests of time.  75% of the vote must be attained to follow through on a decision.
● Advice will be provided to the principal only on decisions where a consensus has been reached.
● Meeting materials will be distributed within a week before the monthly meeting dates and recorded in the meeting summary.
● A quorum will be established when the meeting is called to order. A quorum will consist of a minimum of eight (8) of the SAC voting members present and shall include a minimum of one representative from each representative group. Representative groups consist of parents/guardians, students, staff, and community members.
● In addition, the principal or the designate (vice principal) must be present and are non-voting.
4.  Cole Harbour District High School Advisory Council Commitments

Cole Harbour District High School Advisory Council will be responsible for:

▪ providing all SAC members with a voice in decision-making
▪ working in collaboration with the principal and participating in efforts to improve student achievement and student and community well-being by receiving information on the school improvement plan and monitoring progress and improvements under the plan
▪ advising the principal and the regional centre on:  developing policies that promote student achievement and safe and inclusive schools; school practices and initiatives; communication among the school, parents and community; any matters that are referred to the school advisory council by the principal, the regional centre or the Minister
▪ developing strategies to improve and support the extracurricular programs and special projects of the school
▪ maintaining effective communication with parents/guardians by holding regular public meetings and making copies of agendas and minutes available upon request
▪ advising the principal and staff on any matters that are referred to the school advisory council by the principal, the regional centre or the Minister
▪ in accordance with the terms of the school advisory council agreement, determining priorities for spending the funds allocated to support the mandate of the school advisory council
▪ advising the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development or the Provincial Advisory Council on policy and other educational matters.
▪ preparing an annual report in the form and containing the information determined by the Minister.

5. Halifax Regional Centre for Education commitments

HRCE will provide the following support to Cole Harbour District High School Advisory Council:
▪ providing a yearly professional development session reflective of the roles and responsibilities of the School Advisory Council
▪ providing a School Administration supervisor to assist the school council as required
▪ providing feedback to the council on the school improvement plan and the annual report
▪ providing opportunities to give input on regional centre for education policies and procedures, initiatives and communication
▪ arranging meetings between the Regional Executive Director of Education or designate and the school advisory council as required
▪ making available copies of Provincial and HRCE policies via the HRCE’s website
▪ providing mediation services when there is unresolved conflict between the school advisory council and the principal
▪ responding to advice/questions from the school advisory council

6. Department of Education and Early Childhood Development commitments

The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development will support the Cole Harbour District High School Advisory Council by:
▪ developing educational materials to assist school advisory councils in fulfilling their duties and responsibilities
▪ providing opportunities to give input on provincial policies and any other matters referred to the SAC by the Minister
▪ providing mediation when there is unresolved conflict between the school advisory council and the regional centre for education
▪ organizing and/or supporting professional development opportunities for council members
▪ providing funds to support the mandate of the school advisory council

HRCE SAC Documents and Communications

 Cole Harbour District High School Advisory Council Bylaws

Membership
The Cole Harbour District High School Advisory Council will have no more than eighteen voting members which shall include:
• The principal of the school
• 4 parents with at least one representative from each of the feeder schools
• 3 students, 1 student from each grade level
• 2 teachers
• 2 support staff
• 3 community members
Eligibility for membership
Parents/guardians
 must have a child at Cole Harbour District High School and cannot be a Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) employee on staff at Cole Harbour District High School
Students
 must include the Student Council president or vice president and a grade ten - twelve student elected through an in-school election.
Teachers
 must be a teacher on staff at Cole Harbour District High School
Support staff
 must be on the support staff at Cole Harbour District High School
Community members
 must not be an employee of Cole Harbour District High School;
 must not have children registered at Cole Harbour District High School; and
 must reside in the geographical area served by Cole Harbour District High School or provide a service to or within the geographical area served by Cole Harbour District High School.
 The African Nova Scotian community member will represent the African Nova Scotia community of Cole Harbour District High School.
 The First Nations community member will represent the First Nations community of Cole Harbour District High School
Elections and appointments
Elections will be held in September and are usually by secret ballot. Appointments of community members will occur prior to the October meeting.
Parents/guardians
A call for nominations may be made during the first two weeks of September through the school website, newsletters sent home with children, and/or the Home and School Association, with a day designated for voting in late September. Nominations will close one week prior to a duly advertised voting day. Nominations will be received by the school principal and forwarded to the school advisory council chair. Election will be by a simple majority vote of eligible parents/guardians on a designated voting day. Those unable to vote on that day can contact the school to make arrangement to vote prior to the voting day. The principal and chair will appoint three individuals to act as scrutineers to count the vote.
Eligible parents/guardians are those who have children enrolled in Cole Harbour District High School. In the event of a tie, a run-off election will be organized.
Teachers and support staff
Teachers and support staff will elect/choose their own representatives in September by the method of their choice.
Students
One of the co-presidents will sit on the SAC, the other acting as designate. Other student representatives will be council representatives for grades 10 and 11.
Community members
The community member(s) will be appointed to the school advisory council by the SAC prior to the October meeting so that the executive can be selected. The position(s) will be advertised on the school website and may be advertised in the local newspaper. All applicants may be asked to submit, in writing, a brief resume and a letter which explains why the applicant is interested in being on the school advisory council.
Terms of service
Terms of service for each representative group are the following:
 Parents/guardians are elected for a term of three years. Parents/guardians elected or appointed to fill a vacancy are elected or appointed for the remainder of the term.
 Student representatives are elected/chosen for a term of one year.
 Teachers and support staff are elected/chosen from their respective group for a term of three years. Teachers and support staff elected or appointed to fill a vacancy are elected or appointed for the remainder of the term.
 Community members are appointed for a term of two years. Community members appointed to fill a vacancy are appointed for the remainder of the term.
 All members can re-offer for election or appointment to the SAC at the end of their term, to a maximum of three consecutive terms.
 A council member elected to an executive position may serve in that position for a maximum of two consecutive one-year terms.
 The principal position is permanent.
Vacancies
Should a vacancy arise, it will be addressed as follows:
 Vacancies on the SAC will be filled from the relevant membership group.
 Vacancies of less than six months may be filled by school advisory council appointment.
 Vacancies of longer than six months will be filled according to the bylaws governing elections or appointment of the appropriate membership groups to fill the remainder of the vacated term.
Executive
The executive will consist of a chair, vice chair, secretary, and principal. The selection of the chair, vice chair and secretary will be done annually at the October meeting. The chair, vice chair and secretary will be selected from those school advisory council members other than the principal and will serve no more than two consecutive years as chair, vice chair or secretary. The chair should not be an employee of the Halifax Regional Centre for Education.
Agenda and meeting summary
The chair will draw up the meeting agenda in consultation with the principal five days prior to each meeting. Copies of the agenda will be distributed to each member by email, along with any other information that is relevant to the agenda items. Agendas from each meeting will be kept in Cole Harbour District High School’s records, in either print or electronic format. Agendas will be made available to the public upon request and posted on the school website.
The secretary will prepare a meeting summary for each school advisory council meeting which will include highlights of key decisions and actions. Once approved at the subsequent meeting, the meeting summary will be provided to the principal of Cole Harbour District High School to be included in the school record in either print or electronic format. Meeting summaries will be made available to the public upon request and posted on the school website.
Meetings
Meetings will be conducted according to the following guidelines:
 A regular meeting schedule will be determined at the initial meeting of the school year with a minimum of 6 meetings annually. Additional meetings may be scheduled as determined by the Cole Harbour District High School SAC. Meetings will be a maximum of 90 minutes in length unless the SAC agrees by consensus to go longer.
 All meetings are open to the public. Members of the public who wish to address the school advisory council are asked to inform the SAC through the chair or the school principal in writing at least one week prior to the school advisory council meeting. They may address the meeting at the discretion of the chair.
 Agendas will allow for a ten-minute period for input on the agenda items from the public in attendance at the council meeting.
 Members who are not able to attend a meeting will notify the school advisory council secretary or the school advisory council chair by noon of the meeting date.
 Any member absent without cause for three consecutive meetings will be considered to have vacated their position. Vacancies will be filled as per these bylaws.
Quorum
A quorum will be established when the meeting is called to order. A quorum will consist of a minimum of eight (8) of the SAC voting members present and shall include a minimum of one representative from each representative group. Representative groups consist of parents/guardians, students, staff, and community members.
In addition, the principal or the designate (vice principal) must be present and are non-voting.
Decision-making process
The following principles and procedures will be used in making decisions.
Principles
 All council members are responsible for making decisions that ensure the best education possible for our students.
 All council members will have the opportunity to participate in decision-making.
 Council decisions will be by consensus whenever possible.
Procedures
 Agenda items will be discussed in a structured way prior to a decision.
 When background information is needed on an agenda item, the principal will provide council members with that information and the time required to review it in advance of a decision.
 Whenever possible, decisions will be made by consensus.
 If consensus cannot be reached, the decision can be delayed until the following meeting, which must occur within 30 days. If at that time consensus cannot be reached, a majority vote will be required of those members present.
 Decisions and recommendations will be recorded in the meeting summary.

School improvement plan and annual report
The school improvement plan for Cole Harbour District High School will be developed by the principal and staff of the school and shared with the SAC. The SAC will work in collaboration with the principal and participate in efforts to improve student achievement and student and community well-being by regularly receiving information on the school improvement plan and monitoring progress and improvements under the plan.
In addition, in accordance with the terms of the school advisory council agreement, the SAC will determine priorities for spending the funds allocated to support the mandate of the school advisory council including student achievement and report annually on the expenditures of funds to the Minister.
The SAC will prepare an annual report in the form and containing the information determined by the Minister. The report will be presented at the June SAC meeting and then submitted to the regional centre for education by the end of June.
Adopting and amending bylaws
A notice of motion, given one meeting in advance, is required to amend the bylaws. Bylaws will be amended following the established decision-making process. The amended bylaws will be forwarded to the regional executive director for approval, and the bylaws or amendments become effective upon receipt of this approval.

How do I contact my School Advisory Council (SAC)? 

Chair: 

Vice Chair:  Scott MacDonald
Secretary:
Parent: Sandra Derby, Kelly Rattray, Angela Hogan, Rae-Ann Penton, Michelle Paul
Staff member: Faerlie Richard
Staff member:  Huntley Reddick, Principal
Staff Member:  Jason Carmichael, Vice Principal
Community member: Susan Russell McGrath
Community member:

Attachment(s): 

chdhs_sac_minutes_tuesday_november_10_2020.docx.pdf

chdhs_sac_meeting_minutes_tuesday_october_13_2020.docx.pdf

chdhs_sac_meeting_minutes_february_18_2020.docx.pdf

january_14_2020_sac_meeting_minutes.docx.pdf

nov._12_2019_chdhs_sac_meeting_minutes_.docx.pdf

oct_8_2019_sac_meeting_minutes.docx_1.pdf

sept._24_2019_sac_meeting_minutes.pdf

sac_website_template.docx

chdhs_sac_meeting_minutes_tuesday_october_26_2021.docx