School Improvement Council (SIC)
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2024-2025 Participants |
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Liz Blankinship |
Teacher |
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Lindsey Bostansic |
Community Member |
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Josh Burris |
Principal |
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Cyle Cole |
Community Member |
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Gina Doane |
Parent |
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Devon Gadow |
Parent |
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Adrienne Sanders |
Assistant Principal |
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Paige Speis |
Teacher |
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Frank Speziale |
Assistant Principal |
What is an SIC?
What is a School Improvement Council (SIC)?
A SIC is a broad-based body intended to advise the principal and school and is focused on helping to achieve school improvement.
Is every school required to have a SIC?
State law requires that every K-12 public school in South Carolina convene a SIC. The law states that it is the responsibility of the local school board to ensure SICs are constituted within each district. This includes career, vocational, and technical schools. Public charter schools may convene a SIC but it is not required by law
What do SICs do?
SIC duties focus primarily on the school improvement process. SICs:
Provide input and feedback during the development of the school's five-year renewal (improvement) plan and annual updates;
Assist in the implementation of school improvement programs and activities;
Monitor and report on progress toward improvement goals in the annual SIC Report to the Parents and with the principal in the narrative to the SC School Report Card;
- Provide other assistance as requested by the principal.
What are the Rules that Apply to SICs?
There are two sets of rules that apply to SICs.
The first is existing state laws and regulations. Current state law requirements regarding SIC membership, elections, and duties are set forth in Title 59 (Education) of the SC Code of Laws. 1 Because SICs are technically considered "public bodies," SICs must also follow the rules regarding open meetings and public records contained in the state’s Freedom of Information Act.2
The second set of rules is contained in a SIC’s bylaws. Bylaws are a set of written rules that members of an organization agree to follow in running their organization. Every SIC should have a current set of bylaws that have been approved by the membership and that is consistent with state law. SC-SIC has created a set of sample SIC bylaws that meet all state law requirements and include SC-SIC recommended practices.3 If a SIC doesn’t have bylaws or can’t locate them, it can modify and adopt the sample bylaws. A SIC can also choose to write its own bylaws from scratch. If it does so, however, the SIC must submit the bylaws to SC-SIC for review before they take effect to ensure that their provisions do not conflict with state law.
Bylaws
School Improvement Council Bylaws
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Article I - Name The name of the organization is the Gold Hill Elementary (GHES) School Improvement Council (SIC). |
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Article II - Purpose The purpose of the GHES SIC is to: 1. Assist in the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the five-year School Improvement Plan (also known as the “School Renewal Plan” or “Strategic Plan”). 2. Assist in the preparation of yearly School Improvement Plan updates. 3. Assist the school in the development and implementation of the School Reading Plan as required by the Read to Succeed Act. 4. Write the annual SIC Report to the Parents, which is to be distributed no later than April 30 each year. 5. Prepare, together with the Principal, the annual narrative for the SC School Report Card. 6. Provide advice on the use of school incentive award expenditures (if allocated by the legislature and awarded to the school). 7. Provide other assistance as requested by the Principal or local school board. *The SIC will not have the powers and duties reserved by law or regulation to the local school board. |
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Article III - Members ● The SIC will be made up of the following representatives: ○ At least two parents elected by parents of students enrolled at the school. ○ At least two teachers elected by teachers assigned to the school. ○ At least two members of the local community appointed by the Principal. These members should be from the non-parent portion of the community and the Principal should strive to make appointments that reflect diversity of the student body and local community. ○ The school administrative team as ex-officio members. ○ A PTO board representative as an ex-officio member. ● The SIC should be made up of twice as many elected members as appointed members, as required by state law. Ex-officio members do not count in this calculation. |
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Article IV - Nomination and Election/Appointment Procedures ● Nominations and elections for SIC parent and teacher representatives will be held each year no later than October 15. The specific date, time, and location that SIC nominations and elections are to be held will be determined by the SIC from year to year and publicized in advance within the school community. ● The Principal will appoint community member representatives, in consultation with elected SIC members, no later than November 15 of each year. ● SIC members will assume their responsibilities immediately upon their election or appointment. ● The SIC, in consultation with the Principal, will develop and approve procedures for parent nominations and elections that are fair and encourage participation by all parents. The SIC and school will communicate information about SIC parent nomination and election schedules and procedures to all parents who are eligible to vote in a timely manner using the most effective methods of |
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communication reasonably available. Parent nominations and elections shall be conducted using either a paper format, or an online form that can be submitted to the SIC. ● Teachers will nominate and elect their representatives to the SIC during a regularly scheduled faculty meeting or other means communicated with advance notice and encouraging participation of all staff. ● The SIC will keep the results of SIC parent and teacher elections on file, including the vote totals for all candidates, for a period of at least two years. ● In order to comply with state law reporting requirements, the Principal or his/her designee will enter the names and contact information for the current school year's SIC members into the online SC-SIC Member Network no later than November 15. ● The SIC Chair will ensure that the names of all SIC members for the current school year are posted on the school website and/or published in the school newsletter. |
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Article V - Terms of Office ● The term of office for elected SIC members is two years. ● For appointed SIC members, the term of office is one year. ● Whenever possible, terms should be staggered so that the terms of office of half of all SIC elected and appointed positions expire at the end of each year. ● The term of office for an ex-officio member of the SIC will continue for as long as that individual holds the position or office that is represented on the SIC. ● There is no limit to the number of terms that an SIC member may serve. |
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Article VI - Officers ● The officers of the GHES SIC will consist of a Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary. ● The SIC will elect these officers from among its elected and appointed members. Officer elections will be held during the first regular meeting after the SIC has completed its elections and appointments for the year. The term of office for SIC officers is one year. ● Any elected or appointed SIC member is eligible to run for SIC office except that all three officer positions may not be held at the same time by the same type of elected representative. Ex-officio members, including the Principal, are not eligible to serve as, or vote in the election of, SIC officers. |
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Article VII - Duties of Officers ● Chair ○ Preside at all meetings and have general supervision of the activities of the SIC. ○ Work in partnership with the Principal in planning and directing the activities of the SIC. ○ In partnership with the Principal, prepare the agenda for all SIC meetings and ensure that the agenda is sent to all SIC members and posted publicly in a timely manner, but no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting. ○ Retains the right to modify the agenda if it is determined to be in the best interest of the SIC and direct the pace of the meeting as best accomplishes the agenda. ○ Appoint members to standing and temporary committees as needed and serve as an ex-officio member of all committees. ● Vice Chair ○ Preside at meetings in the absence of the Chairperson and assist the Chairperson as requested. |
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● Secretary ○ Keeping a full and accurate account of the proceedings and actions of all SIC meetings (minutes) and ensuring that each SIC member receives this information in a timely fashion following each meeting. ○ Preparing any official correspondence that the Chair may request. ○ Ensure the SIC maintains a file that contains past meeting agendas, minutes, SIC correspondence, SIC Report to the Parents, and SIC bylaws. ○ Maintain a contact list of all SIC members. |
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Article VIII - Committees ● The SIC may establish, by a majority vote recorded in the meeting minutes, one or more standing committees as needed to assist in the efficient and effective operation. ● The SIC may also establish, by a majority vote recorded in the meeting minutes, one or more temporary committees made up of teachers, parents, business leaders, and other citizens to study specific issues and make recommendations to the SIC. An individual need not be an SIC member in order to serve as a temporary committee chair or member; however, each temporary committee should include at least one SIC member. ● The SIC Chair will appoint the members of standing and temporary SIC committees and designate committee chairs. ● Such standing and temporary committees should regularly report and remain accountable to the SIC and their scope of work should be limited to that assigned to them by the SIC. |
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Article IX - Membership Termination and Vacancies ● The SIC should terminate membership immediately upon the following: ○ A parent representative no longer has a child enrolled in the school. ○ A teacher representative no longer holds a teaching position at the school. ○ An elected or appointed member misses three consecutive scheduled meetings without prior notice. ○ An elected or appointed member submits a letter of resignation. ○ An elected or appointed member is elected to the district school board. ● In the event that an elected parent or teacher representative's membership terminates before the end of his/her term, the individual who received the next highest number of votes in the most recent election should fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. If for any reason such an individual cannot be identified or is unwilling to serve, the SIC Chair, in consultation with the Principal and SIC, should appoint another eligible parent or teacher as appropriate to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. ● In the event that an appointed community member's membership terminates before the end of his/her term, the Principal should appoint another eligible community member to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. |
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Article X - Meetings ● The first regular SIC meeting of the school year will be held no later than October 31. ● During the first meeting, the SIC will set a regular meeting schedule for the remainder of the school year. The schedule will be posted on the school website, included in the monthly school calendar, |
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and/or otherwise posted in a prominent location in the school. The SIC will strive to schedule regular SIC meetings on days and times that meet the needs and preferences of parents and community members as well as teachers and administrators. ● The SIC will meet monthly during the school year, except that the SIC may choose not to schedule a meeting in December. The SIC Chair or Principal may call additional special meetings so long as all SIC members are notified of the meeting at least 24 hours in advance. The SIC Chair, Principal, or committee chair may schedule committee meetings as needed so long as reasonable advance notice is provided to all committee members. ● All SIC meetings are open to the public and anyone showing an interest in the SIC and its activities will be encouraged to attend. Persons who wish to be placed on the agenda must submit a request to the SIC Chair or Principal at least five days before the meeting date. The Chair will time the agenda to ensure that SIC business is properly conducted and that persons scheduled to speak have the opportunity to do so. The Chair has the option to schedule a segment of the agenda for open comments from the public as needed and as time permits. ● The Principal or his/her designee will be scheduled on the agenda of every regular SIC meeting to share information on school activities, successes and concerns. Committees will provide reports as scheduled. |
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Article XI - Decision Making ● Voting ○ Each elected and appointed member of the SIC should receive one vote. ○ All ex-officio members should also receive one vote. ○ No SIC member may vote by absentee ballot or proxy. ● Whenever possible, the SIC will make decisions by consensus. If voting is necessary, a simple majority vote will be sufficient to constitute an action of the SIC. A simple majority of the voting members of the Council will constitute a quorum so long as at least one parent and one teacher representative are present. |
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Article XII - Training ● At the beginning of each school year, the SIC will ensure that members have access to information about their roles and responsibilities as well as information on school and local district policies and procedures. ● SIC members will be encouraged to attend School Improvement Council training workshops sponsored by the district office and/or the SC School Improvement Council (SC-SIC). |
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Article XIII - Bylaw Amendments ● These bylaws may be amended at any regular SIC meeting by a two-thirds vote of those present provided that (1) the amendments were previously introduced at a regularly scheduled meeting held within the last three months, (2) were included in the minutes of that meeting and distributed to all members, and (3) are listed as an agenda item for the current meeting. |
Meeting Minutes
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April 17 | 2:30pm |
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Next meeting Thursday, May 15. |
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March 20 | 2:30pm |
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December12 | 2:30pm |
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November 14 | 2:30pm |
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October 28 | 2:30pm |
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