School Site Council (SSC)

School Site Councils (SSCs) are a significant part of the overall decision-making body at each school. They are a very special group of people elected by their peers to represent the members of a school community. Their primary role is to guide the educational planning process to ensure the needs of all students are adequately addressed in the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA). The SPSA delineates the goals, programs, activities, and funds (contingent on availability) the school plans to use to ensure all students are challenged appropriately in the quest to meet or exceed grade-level standards.

SSCs are forums for shared governance. Research suggests that when done well, shared decision-making contributes to a healthy school culture and a solid professional community of educators. In addition, effective, shared decision-making supports improved classroom practices and student learning. These results indicate that democratic structures like SSCs are integral to school success.

The Federal government, the State of California, and the Fountain Valley School District (FVSD) have embraced these research findings and made them the standard way to conduct business. This has resulted in the adoption of the following common-sense principles to support SSCs:

Those closest to the students should be actively involved and make decisions affecting the school's instructional program.
A plan to improve education at a school receives more support when people understand it and/or help create it.
When families participate in all aspects of their children's education, including decision-making, their children and the school are more successful.

The Composition of School Site Councils (SSCs)

The composition of SSCs reflects the desire of the California Legislature and FVSD to increase the number of site-level decision-makers. Those most affected by the outcomes of decisions about planning and budgeting are best suited to coordinate and mobilize resources to meet students' needs.

The pie charts below illustrate the required composition of SSCs in elementary and middle schools. In both cases, the number of participants can vary, but the proportional representation for each group remains the same. In an elementary school, half must be parents/community members, and the other half must be school staff. The same is true in middle schools, except the community portion is split evenly into students and family/community representatives. Participation is a two-year commitment, with elections typically occurring in early fall, as needed.

The Composition of School Site Councils Diagram

Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA)

The Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) is a tool to help guide a school's improvement efforts. It is created collaboratively with staff and parent members of the SSC. Broad goals that establish levels of student achievement are outlined. Then, to transform the goals into manageable actions, student groups, grade level participants, annual growth targets, evaluation tools, group data to collect, and actions to take are delineated, and the funding sources are identified. An SPSA is helpful for the following purposes:

To define the school's goals for meeting the District's collective object of improving student achievement and closing the achievement gap;
To identify and align the strategies, programs, services, and resources the school will use to help meet those goals;
To monitor progress towards attainment of the goals;
To have a comprehensible plan to guide learning and teaching; and
As a communication tool to share with the school community.

To see each school's individual SPSA, CLICK HERE.