Overview

All schools in the Denver Public School system must have certain governance structures to ensure that families and communities have a voice in their schools. These structures are designed to help promote community involvement and strengthens schools. They are also required by state and federal law.

This website is designed to provide school administrators with recommendations and resources to ensure they not only easily meet compliance requirements, but also use these structures to build powerful ties with families and the community. 

Here are links to the screencasts on the governance structures presentation for school leaders and administrators: 

Shared Governance ELA-PACs and DACs
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BmfixjFtGW0P9l8U35iWEdjoA8nexOm6/view?usp=sharing

Shared Governance School Accountability Committee
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G9KdAi41jvqRjVO1wLi0IA2rE5gSVAJr/view?usp=sharing

Shared Governance Title 1 Parent Engagement
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1owhdfchAkvwYouYQqq48tMgKaSuqniJZ/view?usp=sharing

Five questions school leaders should ask:

1. Can I explain the functions of community involvement governance structures (CSCs, ELA-PACs, and Title I Family Engagement), and how they relate to each other?
   If not, read the Action Plan page for an overview and a diagram showing how the structures interrelate. The Calendar page explains how the the structures fit together throughout the year. Here is a presentation on the Integrated School Governance.
   
   
2. Does my school have a Collaborative School Committee (CSC) that complies with legal requirements?
   If you are not sure, read more about CSCs.
   
   
3. If my school is an ELA Program school, do I have a functioning ELA Parent Advisory Committee (ELA-PAC) that meets regularly? 
   If not, read more about ELA-PACs.
   
   
4. If my school is a Title I school, am I actively engaging families to discuss Title 1 funding?
   If not, read more about Title I Family Engagement.
   
   
5. Do the involved parents at my school represent the diversity of my school's student body?
   If not, read the Outreach section of the Action Plan page, and consider increasing your school's emphasis on Parent-Teacher Home Visits (mini-grants are available to your school for this purpose). 

How to use this site

This website is designed to provide guidance to school leaders in creating and maintaining a thriving school governance committee. We hope you find it to be a useful resource that is concise, clear, and easy for you to implement, proving clarity to each stakeholder's role and overall function as a group.

• Action Plan presents a model that combines the various school-based governance obligations, aligns to state and federal law, and collaboratively engages families, staff, and community members in building strong unified partnerships which drive student achievement.
• Calendar presents suggestions and requirements for what must be done each month of the year.
• The CSC, ELA-PAC, and Title I pages provide more information on each of these governance structures and the legal requirements.
• Monthly Toolkits contains a compilation of the resources and templates needed to implement these governance structures at your school. 

Required governance structures

• Collaborative School Committee (CSC)
• Colorado law requires all schools to have a CSC to increase the amount of accountability and parent involvement in our schools. (To learn more about the regulations, see the "Relevant Laws" section at the bottom of the CSC page.)
• We recommend that CSCs function as the primary school-based organization coordinating all parent engagement.
• English Language Acquisition Parent Advisory Committee (ELA-PAC)
• All ELA schools—that is, schools with high populations of English Language Learners—are required to have an organization that increases communication with parents about ELA programming at the school.
• Title I Family Engagement
• All Title I schools (defined as having 57% or more students receiving free/reduced lunch) must have an annual parent meeting to learn about state assessments and decide on how Title I funds are spent.
• Other committees
• There are two other required committees that are not related to family engagement and thus will not be covered on this website: the Personnel Committee and the School Leadership Team.
• The Personnell Committee stands apart from the CSC and provides oversight for UIP staffing decisions. There may be up to two parents on the Personnel Committee, appointed by the CSC. More information can be found in Article 13.8 of the DCTA Agreement (.pdf).
• The School Leadership Team reviews data and collaborates on the development of the Unified Improvement Plan and professional development among its responsibilities. More information can be found in Articles 5.4 and 8 of the DCTA Agreement (.pdf). 

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please email SchoolGovernance@dpsk12.org.