Every District of Columbia public school must have a functioning Local School Advisory Team that is constituted according to these guidelines and that conducts the business outlined herein. At this writing, the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act requires each Title I school to have a School Improvement Team. The Local School Advisory Team in each DCPS Title I school may serve as its school’s School Improvement Team (SIT). This has been deemed acceptable and in compliance with the ESEA by the DCPS Office of Federal Grants and Programs. Alternatively, the LSAT and the principal shall collaborate to determine the composition of the School Improvement Team (SIT).

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Primary Responsibilities:

As they have since 1992, Local School Advisory Teams have primary responsibility for the following:

• advising the principal on priorities and goals;

• working with the principal on developing the local Comprehensive School Plan, including the supporting budget;

• reviewing data in order to be informed about school needs and trends;

• monitoring and assessing the implementation of the local Comprehensive School Plan;

• using assessment results to develop specific strategies for research – based school improvement;

• alignment of strategic and specific goals and objectives of DCPS.

 

In the course of carrying out these responsibilities, all directed at improving student achievement, Local School Advisory Teams shall discuss and advise the principal on matters such as:

• allocation of school resources;

• organization of the school;

• curriculum options, including special or supplementary course offerings and specialized research -based instructional strategies;

• budget decisions;

• priorities and considerations for staffing patterns and the selection of personnel;

• monitoring overall student progress;

• school culture, and

• family engagement.

 

Each Local School Advisory Team will have the following members representing their constituencies:

• 1 WTU Building Representative or designee

• 4 Teachers, elected by the ET-15 and EG -09 teachers

• 4 Parents who have children currently enrolled in the school elected by the parents

• 1 Parent Group Leader (of PTA, PTO, PTSA, HSA, or other such group) or designee who has children currently enrolled in the school

• 1 Non-Instructional local School Staff Member, elected by non – instructional school staff

• 1 Student (in high schools, and optional at other levels)

• 1 Community Member who is a resident of the local school’s boundary

 

If all members of the Local School Advisory Team and the principal agree that an additional member is essential, they may include additional members on the Team. Possible additions could include adding a parent position in order to ensure language diversity that reflects the school’s diversity, a teacher of a specific discipline or adding a place for the parent of a student in the incoming, youngest class, to be chosen at the beginning of the school year. The maximum number of members for a Local School Advisory Team is fifteen (15).

For more information on the Local School Advisory Team and for a copy of its guidelines, please go to:

http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/About+DCPS/Budget+and+Finance/FY12+Fiscal+Report+Card/LSAT+Guidelines