Fellowship Paper

"Time to review the causes of the American Revolution!" I eagerly announced to my morning 7th and 8th grade Arts and Humanities class. Several moans came from the half-awake adolescents as they slowly zipped open backpacks and rummaged through binders for their notes. "Who wants to begin?"

"No taxation without representation." Luckily, I could always count on the positive energy of Mike to start off class on the right foot.

"Excellent!" I exclaimed as I wrote Mike's response on the board. "Can anyone explain what that means?"

"Well, it's kinda like the "no break" policy for this class." A deep grumble came from the back of the room as Will stretched out of his catatonic state.

"What do you mean?" I responded, a little defensively.

"Well, we only have five minutes for break in this class, compared to ten minutes in MST {Math, Science and Technology}. You and Lisa {my team teacher} made up that rule yourselves. You never asked us what we thought." Will smiled at the others at his table. "Maybe you are a tyrant like that King George!"

From across the room, Jenna spoke up. "We may have ten minute break in MST, but we have to stay in the room. I'd rather have five minutes and be able to see friends in other classes. How come teachers have different rules and we don't have a say in how breaks are done?"

Trying to re-focus the group on to the day's lesson, I suggested, "Why don't you write a proposal for the Community Congress (CC)?"

"All you need to do is give a proposal to your CC representative or get at least 30 students to sign it as a petition," explained Rob, our resident expert on both the US and Parker School Constitutions.

Shouts of "Yah!" and "Alright!" burst from across the room and Jenna volunteered to be the scribe for the class. Mike jumped up to facilitate the discussion, and hands flew up throughout the room as everyone wanted to share their two cents on what the "Break Policy" proposal should look like.

We eventually returned to our review of the causes of the Revolution, but everyone, myself included, was already learning a more important lesson. I was realizing that students were very aware of who wields power in their lives and that if they were given a voice in developing the "rules" by which they were being asked to live, they would be much more accepting and respectful of those rules. The students were developing an understanding of what it meant to be a part of a democratic system, and they were learning how they could exercise their powers as citizens in that democratic community. They saw that in order to make a difference, they had to become active participants in the decision-making process, rather than trying to subvert or elude it.

I think the staff at most schools have struggled with the issue of how to incorporate students into the operation and governance of a school. They wonder how they can provide students with an authentic voice in important decisions and how they can help students experience what it means to be a citizen in a democratic community. They are troubled by the fact that the adults and the adolescents in the building seem to be separate camps, and they speculate about how the two factions could instead work together as allies. They constantly have to deal with student buy-in on decision-making and wish they didn't have to face student apathy or opposition to new policies. At the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School, we have tried to address these concerns by providing students with an authentic voice in the governance of the community and by using their experiences to teach them how to be active, responsible citizens in a democratic system.

The concept of democratic schooling has its roots in the philosophy of John Dewey. In his 1914 book Democracy and Education, Dewey argued that democratic citizenry depends on all students having the equal opportunity to develop the citizen in public schools. More recently, the Coalition of Essential Schools has championed the cause of democratic practices in schools. As Ted Sizer, the Coalition's founder, explained, "If democracy is about responsible freedom, it depends on a citizenry which sees the world clearly, which is respectful of past ideas but never their prisoner--a citizenry not easily gulled by specious arguments, which can imagine something new in the familiar, which has the courage always to ask the questions why and what if?" (1998)

Numerous schools have created student-faculty legislatures complete with constitutions and judicial systems that provide students with a powerful voice in decision-making and policy-setting. Bronxville High School, Scarsdale Alternative School, Ithaca's Alternative Community School, and University Heights High School are examples of schools incorporating the "just community" model of Harvard University's Lawrence Kohlberg. Souhegan High School in Amherst, New Hampshire, Boston's Fenway Middle College High School and Indiana's Harmony High School are other schools that have representative systems for their student bodies. According to Bob McCarthy, Director of the Coalition of Essential Schools, "when students experience real practice in the democratic process, school becomes a political laboratory for democracy, not a benevolent dictatorship" (Cushman 1994). Despite the successes of these schools, developing structures for authentic student participation is not a simple process. As the authors of Preparing for Citizenship: How to Teach Youth to Live Democratically contend, "School democracy is a learning process. Confusing democracy with short-term, efficient management can heighten the frustrations of both students and educators" (Mosher et al. 1994).

At the Parker School, we used some of the models mentioned above as guides as we embarked on our quest to create a democratic community. The Parker School is located in Devens, MA and has approximately 360 students in grades 7 to 12, and 55 staff members. Students are organized into three Divisions (Division 1 includes 7th and 8th graders, Division 2 includes 9th and 10th graders and Division 3 includes 11th and 12th graders), and every student is a member of an advisory. Advisories are by Division and usually have 10-12 students and one advisor. In our first year, we had 120 Division 1 students and 10 faculty members. Over the past five years, we added approximately 60 7th graders each year; we graduated our first class last June.

The Parker School is a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, and one of the fundamental principles in our state charter is that we "should model democratic practices that involve all who are directly affected by the school" (The Coalition of Essential Schools). There are several reasons we have this goal. The first is our attempt to create a true "community." In our vision of community, all members should have a voice in how we are governed. If some members of the population feel silenced or oppressed, then they are not going to contribute positively to the community. Allowing everyone to participate in decision-making creates a sense of unity and breaks down "us" versus "them" divisions. It also provides people with a greater sense of ownership over and pride in the community. Secondly, we believe that the best way to prepare students for the American system of democracy is to allow them to participate in a democracy. By experiencing what it is like to be a democratic citizen, students will be better prepared to be active, engaged citizens when they graduate from high school. A third purpose is to help students become more responsible. When people are told what to do, they do not gain a sense of responsibility for their own actions. They do something simply because they are told to or because they fear punishment. We believe that responsibility is attained through experience. People must have the opportunity to be involved in making decisions, and they must experience the consequences (positive and negative) of those decisions in order to understand what it means to be responsible.

The School Governance System at Parker

Students were involved in the birth of Parker's governance system when, during the first month of the school's existence, students and faculty members created the Parker Constitution. Through a long process of class discussions, small committee work, and a two-day Constitutional Convention, a Constitution was drafted and signed. The process of creating the Constitution, not to mention the completed document, provided the students with an intense sense of ownership of the school. The Constitution created an executive branch (the Co-Advisors), a legislative branch (the Community Congress) and a judicial branch (the Justice Committee). Over the past five years, the Constitution has undergone multiple revisions, and parts have been superseded by a new decision-making model (initiated during summer planning in 1998 and formally adopted during the fall of 1998; see appendix A and B for the Parker Constitution and the decision-making model). Despite this, the Parker Constitution still serves as the basis of much of the governance system and is proudly referred to by students.

Two Co-Advisors are elected by the student body and provide the student voice in the "executive" branch of our community. The Co-Advisors work with our Principal and Associate Principal in deciding how decisions affecting the school will be made. Any individual or group can send a proposal to the Principals and Co-Advisors and this group decides which "path" to send the proposal down. (See appendix B for further explanation of the decision-making process). Co-Advisors write a column in the Friday Announcements (a newsletter which is distributed to the entire community on a weekly basis) and occasionally address the student community at all-school forums. Along with a faculty member they chair the Community Congress and help create the agendas and facilitate meetings. Co-Advisors also fulfill some of the ceremonial and leadership roles of traditional class presidents, but those are minor compared to their more significant position in decision-making.

Two students are elected to the Board of Trustees, which is composed of founders of the school, elected faculty and parent representatives; the Board acts as the school's alternative to a school committee. It is the highest authority in our decision-making structure, and it is primarily involved with issues that are considered fundamental to the mission or charter of the school. The student body and faculty members elect the two student representatives and the students serve one-year terms. These students do not have voting power (state law dictates that voting members must be at least 18 years old), and they do not attend "executive sessions," in which items like teachers' salaries are discussed. However, they attend the Board's monthly meetings and share their thoughts and opinions on matters under discussion.

Students also have a voice through two elected, representative bodies, the Community Congress (CC) and the Justice Committee (JC). Each advisory elects one student to represent it in the CC and one on the JC. The CC serves as the legislative branch and is one of the "paths" in our decision-making model. Faculty members elect representatives to the CC, and in weekly meetings these representatives work with the students to develop, debate, revise and vote on proposals. The CC meets every Wednesday for one hour and schedules additional meetings (usually for subcommittees working on specific proposals) on an "as needed" basis. The Co-advisors and a faculty representative chair the CC, primarily by setting agendas, facilitating meetings and communicating the results of meetings to the wider community. Under our decision-making model, the CC has voting jurisdiction over "issues of student life," which have included matters ranging from guidelines on appropriate speech, to policies on homework and vandalism. The CC also serves an advisory role on proposals that have been sent down different paths; by communicating with advisories (to receive the ideas and responses of a larger audience) it provides feedback and input.

The JC is the judicial branch of our community. It serves two main purposes: to mediate disputes between individuals/groups and to hold disciplinary hearings when school norms or rules are broken. The JC has weekly meetings and holds mediations and disciplinary hearing on an "as needed" basis. Hearings and mediations include three or four student JC members and one faculty JC member and are scheduled during school hours. Mediation can be requested by any member of the school community, and the other party must agree to participate. The goal of mediation is to open communication between the different parties and suggest ways in which their conflict(s) could be resolved. In addition, any member of the community can request a disciplinary hearing through the Principals or JC members. In a disciplinary hearing, both sides of a dispute provide their perspective on the problem, and the JC members ask follow-up questions. After dismissing the disputants, the JC members discuss the case and determine if there should be any consequences for the individuals involved. The JC has the power to assign a wide range of consequences and to recommend that a student be suspended or expelled. Only the Principals have the authority to suspend or expel a student. All JC decisions are confidential; the names of students involved are never made public. The JC releases a biannual report that summarizes the types of cases it heard and the types of consequences it assigned.

The rest of the student body participates in the governance of the community through three avenues: discussions within advisories, community-wide or division-wide forums and all-school referendums (one of the decision-making "paths"). As mentioned previously, Parker school is organized around advisories of 10-12 students and one advisor. Advisories meet for 15 minutes at the beginning of each day, for 15 minutes at the end of each day, and for one hour every Wednesday. Advisories have numerous goals, one of which is to serve as a forum for school governance. Each advisory elects one representative to the CC and one to the JC, and these representatives are responsible for communicating the proceedings of their respective bodies to their peers. Advisories discuss specific proposals or general issues facing the school and the representatives report back and/or vote based on the ideas and opinions of their advisory mates.

When Parker was a new school and had only 120 students and 10 faculty members, we met as an entire community for one hour every week. As the school grew, we held all-community meetings less frequently. Now, assemblies are held four or five times a year (primarily to celebrate students' academic, artistic and athletic successes and to watch student performances) and on a "as needed" basis. Division-wide meetings are similarly held on an ad hoc basis, primarily when there is an important, pressing issue to discuss. The goal of these meetings is to inform the community about an issue, answer questions, and initiate discussion. Sometimes the discussion is continued with an entire group, but more commonly we break into advisories or paired advisory groups. In addition, we occasionally use the weekly advisory period to address issues (using role-plays, fishbowl discussions, chalk talks and other protocols) and involve the community in important matters. For example, past discussions have focused on how to structure the two hours of our Wednesday afternoon schedule and how to improve the level of respect and courtesy that people show each other in the school.

All-school referendums are held under two conditions: when the Principals and Co-advisors send a proposal down the referendum path on the decision-making model and when there is a proposed amendment to the Parker Constitution. The details of the referendum are communicated through CC representatives and advisors, and advisories have the opportunity to discuss the proposals before voting.

Results of the Parker School Governance System

There are many obstacles to our school governance system functioning smoothly and to it reaching its full potential. There is the issue of time and efficiency, as the wheels of a democracy sometimes move slowly. Is the school willing to allow the democratic process to move at its own pace? What happens when there is a need to make a decision NOW, and not when the CC meets next week? There is also the matter of trust between the adults and the students. Can the faculty trust the students to make good decisions? Do the students trust that their voices will really get heard and that their decisions will be accepted and upheld by the adults? There are logistical problems. When do all these groups (advisory, CC, JC, Co-Advisors and Principals) meet? Will academic time be sacrificed? Finally, there are issues of communication. How do we ensure that representatives are truly representing their constituencies? How do the different "branches" communicate with each other? While it would be far-fetched to say we have fully achieved our vision of being an ideal community or a true democracy at Parker, there is evidence that we are moving towards our goals.

Sense of Ownership and Pride in School. The sense of community at Parker is extremely strong and it is communicated in many ways. There are physical expressions of pride in the school, such as the prevalence of green Parker hats, sweatshirts and soccer uniforms. There are special events that celebrate the successes of individuals, such as "CafÈ Wednesday" (a monthly open-mike night where community members recite original literary works, play music, perform comedy routines and share art creations) and the emotional gateway ceremonies (Parker's "graduation" to the next level of education). There are annual occurrences that bring people together for the benefit of the entire community, such as when hundreds of volunteers helping make the Parker Classic Road Race and the Parker Essential Fund Silent Auction tremendous fund-raising successes.

More significant, however, is the feeling of pride and ownership communicated when students and faculty members speak about Parker. They use the words "we" and "us," and not "the school" when they talk about Parker. Students speak eloquently about Parker when they host visitors to the school and when they represent the community at conferences and on trips. They refer to how much ownership they have over their education. They speak about the freedom they have in choosing texts, shaping individual projects, and creating Personal Learning Plans. And they talk about being able to debate school policies in advisory, serve on disciplinary hearings as a JC member, and vote on proposals in the CC. The student authors of the Parker Student Handbook (2000-2001) wrote the following in the document's introduction:

A major aspect of Parker that kids find to be really unique about our school is the sense of freedom and responsibility that is given to the students. Be prepared to be asked to give your input on all things ranging from the curriculum to school government to when the next dance should be held . . . these opportunities create a newer sense of pride and ownership of your education.

This sense of community is created by numerous factors, including Parker's small size and student-centered curriculum, but especially by the role of students in the governance of the school. One "pioneer" student who attended Parker during its initial year commented that, "I helped build Parker by helping write our Constitution." Students who joined the community in subsequent years continue to feel as if they help shape the school. In 1997-98, over 40 students met for one hour on a weekly basis in order to review the Parker Constitution and draft several amendment proposals. Last year, over 95% of the student body voted in elections for Co-Advisors and all-school CC representatives. When the CC makes decisions, the students look at issues from a community perspective, rather than from a personal one. For example, CC members developed an all-school clean-up policy last year. They kept the needs of the community as their top priority and did not complain about the fact that the policy would mean that they would have to do extra cleaning every Friday. According to a Division 2 student, "In my old school, I was told what I could do and not do, but here I have a say in setting the rules. That makes me feel more connected to the school and makes me more likely to follow those rules."

Student-Adult Relationships. Because of our governance system, relationships between students and adults at Parker have become less confrontational and more cooperative. At first, faculty members worried about providing students with too much power. They feared that students would not make wise decisions and would not use their authority responsibly. Over time, most adults have become more trusting of the students and their ability to make responsible decisions. This is especially true of faculty members who have served on the CC and JC and who have worked with students, discussing and creating school norms and rules. Many adults were surprised to find that when it came to matters of discipline and setting limits on behavior, students were often more conservative than adults.

While adolescents are notorious for their skepticism of adults and opposition to authority, students at Parker have become more trusting of the adults there. They have learned that faculty members are concerned about the perspectives and desires of students and that they are serious about wanting to honor and incorporate students' ideas and opinions. Again, this increased trust is especially true of students who have served on the JC or CC or as Co-Advisors. According to one of the current Co-Advisors, "By meeting with the Principals and working with the CC, I have gotten a better understanding of how hard it is to run a school. Sometimes students think that the teachers and principals don't care about them, but I have seen that the adults in the school are very concerned about the ideas and opinions of the students." A teacher who has worked with the CC agreed, saying:

Some relationships seem much better because of that work together. Both CC and JC bring students and teachers together to work through important school issues. We know that decisions and solutions affect us all and we collaborate and commit to one another because of that common goal. When I talk with certain students about school matters, I completely respect what they have to say and I do feel their trust and understanding in what I have to say.

Admittedly, the relationships between non-CC and JC members and the faculty are not as collaborative. As a next step, in order to improve relationships throughout the entire community, we would like to increase the level of interaction between all students and all adult community members.

Democratic Citizenship. The quality and intensity of discussion in advisories is impressive. Students know about and talk about important issues of the school. Arts and Humanities classes for both Division 1 and 2 have utilized the Parker Constitution in their curriculum, using it as a comparison to the United States Constitution and to other forms of government. Classes, individual students, and groups of students have submitted proposals to the Principals and Co-advisors, and the CC worked on two student-created proposals last year (one on guidelines for appropriate speech and one on guidelines for appropriate dress). Participation rates in elections, especially for Co-Advisors and the Board of Trustees, are high. This past year, we had six pairs of candidates run for Co-Advisor and six students run for the Board of Trustees. On average, we have held one all-school referendum each year. This past spring, students and faculty debated a proposed amendment to the Constitution and close to 90% of the students voted on the measure.

Responsibility. Most students are initially challenged by the increased freedoms they receive at Parker. They are surprised that there are fewer "rules" and that the process for dealing with some disciplinary issues includes students. Some individuals try to take advantage of these perceived "loopholes." Many students are baffled when they are asked their opinion on a matter of school governance and just shrug their shoulders and say, "I don't know," when their CC representative asks the advisory how she should vote on a proposal. Over time, however, students learn that with the increased opportunities and freedoms come increased responsibilities. They feel that the shared norms created by the community are more significant than rules handed down from an administration of adults. They understand that their ability to voice their opinions or vote on school issues works only if they speak up and express their ideas. They realize that to be a citizen of the Parker community, they must respect the community's norms and be active participants in the functioning of the whole.

Lessons Learned and Keys to Implementing Parker's System (or portions of it)

At the Parker school, we have learned many lessons in our attempts to increase student voice and create a more democratic community, and we have identified five major issues that are critical to the success of our goals: time, structure, communication, patience and trust. While these five areas are intertwined and are equally important, it can be helpful for a school to address each of them individually as it tries to change how it functions. If a school is going to commit to a democratic decision-making model, it must dedicate time and space to allow the processes of democracy to evolve. First, it is important to have regular, extended meeting times for advisories, for groups like the CC and JC, and for student leaders like the Co-Advisors to confer with the school's adult leaders. At Parker, we have experimented with numerous schedule formats. We learned that when the CC and JC were "in competition" with other activities (scheduled to meet during the same block as student electives or scheduled during lunch periods or after school, for example) participation in these governing bodies declined. We also found that having an hour-long period for advisory every week was important, because without a regularly scheduled block of time, advisories were less likely to discuss matters of school governance.

Structure is important at a variety of levels. On a school-wide level, it is essential to create forums like advisory, class meetings or all-school meetings where people can learn about the issues confronting the community and share their ideas and opinions. In larger schools, where a representational form of governance is preferable, smaller constituencies must be created and time must be scheduled for representatives to report back to and educate the group, for debates to occur and for representatives to feel they can adequately represent their advisory. Within these different forums, it is important to create certain protocols to help keep meetings efficient and focused (see Appendix C for CC protocols). At Parker, we have learned that without effective guidelines and facilitation, even the best-intended plans falter.

Communication is vital in any community, but especially for one that is too large for messages to be sent to the entire group at one time. A school attempting to create a democratic community must invest a significant amount of time and energy to assure that all members of the community have the opportunity to learn about and provide input on proposals, and to understand the decisions that have been made. At the same time, it is easy become inundated with documents and announcements, making it impossible to know what needs to be communicated most and to which people. To improve communication at Parker, we have used vehicles such as all-school and all-division meetings, morning announcements (which are read aloud and/or posted in advisory), a weekly publication called Friday Announcements (which is sent home with the students) and the school newspaper (which is printed approximately every month). The most effective mode of communication has been morning announcements or special announcements sent to all the advisors. Morning announcements are read in advisory on a regular basis, which ensures that the information is communicated and allows for advisories to discuss the announcement.

Having a public place for school governance news also is important. At Parker, we placed a bulletin board for the JC and CC in the lobby area, and the two groups post important information, such as proposals to be voted on, proposals which have been passed, up-coming JC hearings, etc. By looking at these boards community members can easily learn what the JC and CC have been working on by looking at these boards. There is also the potential for technology to improve how we communicate as a community. Every student has her/his own e-mail account (through the school), and messages could be sent to these accounts; the school's web site could also provide a link to school governance news. While we have made progress in the area of communication, more work is still needed, as having an educated, knowledgeable citizenry is fundamental to the success of a democratic system.

As a decision-making process is opened to more participants, the process is inevitably going to take longer. Thus, there is an increased need for members of the community to be patient with the process and with each other. If the school could collect a nickel for every time someone has complained about how long it takes for decisions to be made at Parker, we would have quite an endowment fund! The slow pace of movement can be especially frustrating for students. A fair number of students are involved in school governance during their first years at Parker, but some become disenchanted because they see how difficult it can be to make significant changes. Some older students are skeptical about the Co-advisors and CC, and they do not participate in elections or advisory discussions on governance issues. From my experience as the faculty advisor of the CC, I have learned how important it is to produce tangible results that show students how they can be involved in making decisions. I've also discovered that people easily forget what has occurred in the past and that it is helpful to remind students about how they have influenced previous decisions. Finally, it is important to create structures and protocols to keep the process as efficient as possible. The efficiency of the CC at Parker improved considerably after a new set of protocols (see Appendix C) became common practice.

Connected to this need for patience is the need for trust. In order for the community to function democratically, people need to trust the system and each other. At Parker, we have learned that the best way to create trust is to involve people in the process and to allow people to work with each other. Individuals gain trust in the decision-making process when they see it operate successfully. During the first week of our school year, we show the students how the decision-making process functions by discussing and voting on a proposed policy. This introduces the process to new students and sets the tone for the rest of the year. We continue to work on building trust among individuals, and especially between the students and the adults in the school. We made a significant improvement last year when we rearranged the schedule so faculty CC members could meet with student CC members for one hour every week. Prior to that, the two "houses" worked separately, and very little collaboration occurred. Last year, students and staff members worked side-by-side and came to realize that they had much in common. They began to see each other as compatriots, rather than obstacles or adversaries. A similar phenomenon occurs in advisory as advisors and advisees engage in discussion about school governance. While these gradual increases in understanding and trust have been occurring, we know we must continue to facilitate interactions among the different constituencies of our community.

Creating a democratic community is not easy, but it's an important goal. At the Parker school, we have taken steps towards that goal. We have developed a governance system that has increased our sense of community, improved relationships between adults and students, and encouraged students to be more active in the community and more responsible for their actions. It has been a gradual journey with some challenging periods, but it has been extremely rewarding for all who have been a part of it.

Cushman, Kathleen (1998, January). Democracy and Equity: CES's Tenth Common Principle. HORACE 14 (3), p. 5.

__________ (1994, September). Empowering Students: Essential Schools' Missing Link. HORACE 11(1), p. 2.

Mosher, Ralph et al. (1994). Preparing for Citizenship: How to Teach Youth to Live Democratically. New York: Praeger.

The Coalition of Essential Schools. Ten Common Principles.

A Note of Introduction:

During the first month of the operation at our school, the students met together to create a school constitution. Their task was to create a document that would describe how the students, teachers and parents would work together to make a fair, democratic, and safe school. The students were divided into four committees: the executive, legislative, judicial, and preamble committee. Each group spent two to three days writing the document that would bring the students together as a community. In 1997-98, the constitution was looked over and amended. Most of it remained the same, but a list of Rights and Responsibilities was added and the Judicial branch was modified. In 1998-99, the Constitution was amended to include a "Decision Making Process." The current Parker Constitution reads as follows:

PREAMBLE

We, the members of the Parker community, in order to form an outstanding learning environment, hereby write this Constitution to establish equality, to encourage educational and verbal freedom, and to make this school a safe place where members feel respected. As a whole, we maintain the balance between order and freedom and grant each individual their own respect, rights and responsibility, in order to attain this exceptional environment we call the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School.

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Community Congress of the Parker Charter Essential School is the legislative branch of the government. Its main purpose is the welfare and productiveness of the Parker community. To that end, the Community Congress meets weekly to debate and create issues of law that concern the community.

I. Membership

A. The CC shall be composed of one Representative from each advisory, one School representative for each 60 students and one Teacher Representative for every three advisories.

 

B. The CC shall meet once every school week. Every other week, students will be allowed to come to the meetings.

 

C. Representatives shall be elected into office by manner of secret ballot. Every student and teacher will allowed one vote each. Elections will take place at the beginning and half-year mark of the year.

 

D. The Representatives' terms will be half a year where they can run both at the beginning of year and half-year mark.

II. Legislative Process

A. A bill may be proposed by any of the following with the appropriate amount of signatures:

1. An advisory Representative from his/her advisory with all of the signatures of 2/3 or more of the advisory members.
2. The CC if there is interest it.
3. A member of the school with a petition with at least 25% of the students' and teachers' signatures.

B. Once the CC receives an eligible bill, they take a poll (through advisories) of what people in the school want.

 

C. After the CC receives the poll, they vote on the bill, taking in and considering the results of the poll. A 2/3 majority from the CC is needed to pass the bill on to the Chief Advisor.

 

D. After the Chief Advisor receives the bill, he/she may pass or veto it.

1. If the Chief Advisor passes it, it becomes a law.
2. If the Chief Advisor vetoes it, then it is passed back to the CC and a 4/5 majority is needed to override it. If the veto is overridden, the bill becomes a law. If the veto is not overridden, then the bill does not become a law.

III. Impeachment

A. Reasons for Impeachment:

1. If a member of the Community Congress fails to attend meetings regularly and has a regular number of unexcused absences, that person may be requested to resign or be impeached by a majority vote of the CC.
2. If a member of the CC is found to be committing a crime, that person may be impeached by the CC.
3. If a member of the CC is found to be repeatedly rude, disrespectful of their position on the CC and is found to be uncommitted to the welfare of the Parker community and the government, that person may be impeached by the CC.

B. Impeachment Process

1. A person of the Parker Charter School charges a member of the CC with one of the items listed above, at which point the CC may vote or hold a ballot to decide the merit of the complaint.
2. If the merit of the complaint is agreed upon by a majority vote by the CC, the complaint is then passed to the Justice Committee for a final decision.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

I. Chief Advisor

Heretofore there will be one Chief Advisor and one Vice Advisor as his/her running mate. They will be elected at the beginning of each school year and then again halfway through the school year. The Chief Advisor has the power to veto laws passed by the CC. His/her signature is required to pass a bill into law. He/she will advise each branch. He/she may also carry out any ceremonial duties of the Chief Advisor.

II. Cabinet

The Chief Advisor will have a cabinet consisting of the Chief Advisor, the Vice Advisor and four heads of organizations, which will be chosen 2 weeks after the general elections by the whole school community. Two people not involved with any organization will also be elected to the cabinet during the elections.

III. Enforcement of Laws

Everyone will be expected to enforce the laws in that if the government or any other people or person commits or attempts to commit an injustice against you, you will file a report and follow judicial procedure. If it is observed that a person or people are breaking a school law, then a report of this should be reported to a person involved in the executive branch because the executive branch may take a person or people to court for violating the rights of the school in whole or in part.

THE JUSTICE COMMITTEE

A. The Justice Committee

1. The Justice Committee (hereafter, JC) will consist of both students and faculty members.
2. Every advisory will be represented by a JC member (with the school at its maximum size there will be about 30 students on the JC).
3. There will be at least two, and no more than three teachers on the JC, as well as the guidance counseling staff.
4. The JC is responsible for resolving all violations of Parker rules and community norms of safety and respect. The JC is also responsible for mediating issues when they have been requested to do so.
5. The JC does not have jurisdiction in certain designated areas (e.g. weapons, sexual harassment and controlled substances). All other cases must be heard by the JC, unless the Principal deems that a situation is dangerous and requires an immediate response. (For details, see JC Handbook)
6. The JC does not have the authority to suspend or expel students. However, if they decide that a student has committed a suspendable or expellable offense, they may recommend that consequence to the Principal for a suspension/expulsion hearing (for a list of suspendable and expellable offenses, see Suspension and Expulsion Policy for the Parker School).
7. Students have the right to have two JC members present at a suspension/expulsion hearing.
8. The JC is responsible for interpreting the Constitution when there is a disagreement over the meaning of a part of the Constitution.
9. The JC is responsible for ensuring that the Constitution is upheld at all times.
10. The JC is responsible for administering all school-wide elections.
11. The JC will provide written reports to ensure that the Parker community is kept informed of JC decisions and business. To ensure that confidentiality is maintained, this report will not contain the names of any offenders.

B. Hearings/Mediation

1. The JC will have hearings where a member(s) of the Parker community can bring another member(s) of the Parker community to have a case heard in front of a group of JC students and a faculty member.
2. Members will include all students, teachers, faculty members and chaperones.
3. There will be no more than four, and no less than two student JC representatives sitting on a case. There will be one faculty JC member per case.
4. All JC members will be trained in mediation and counsel hearings.
5. All JC members will take an oath of confidentiality.
6. The accuser and the accused must be present at the hearing. Any other parties/witnesses will be determined by the JC on a case to case basis.
7. Individual students participating in JC hearings have the right to bring another person to the hearing or mediation with them as a witness to the proceedings. This person may be any faculty member or JC representative of their choosing. (For details, see JC Handbook)
8. Consequences will be determined on a case to case basis.
9. Attendance at JC hearings are mandatory.
10. All parties must agree to mediation.
11. Each mediation will be done on a case to case basis. Community members involved in the mediation may decide whether they require JC members and/or the guidance counseling staff.

C. Elections

1. Elections for the JC will be on the first Friday in October.
2. JC terms will last from the day they are elected until the first Friday of the following October.
3. The JC will meet at least twice a month (once a week if the schedule permits).
4. Each advisory must select a representative, by voting for one of the members of the advisory who wants to be on the JC. Student representatives are responsible for communicating relevant information back to their advisory.
5. The election must be done by secret ballot.
6. The faculty will select 2-3 teachers interested in serving on the JC in any way that they choose.
7. In the case of an advisory having no interested students serving on JC, another student (appointed by the counseling staff) will become the representative of that advisory. That representative will be a full JC member and will be responsible for reporting back to that advisory.

D. Impeachment

1. Any member of the Parker Community may recommend the impeachment of a JC member.
2. Reasons for impeachment recommendations:

a. a member breaks his/her oath of confidentiality;

b. a member breaks the Parker community norms;

c. three-fourths of the members in an advisory vote to have their member replaced.

1. Members of the JC may be impeached if a majority of the Justice Committee finds a violation of the standards listed in the above section.
2. Impeachment votes must be done by secret ballot.
3. If an advisory has its JC member impeached, or if that member wishes to resign, the advisory may elect a different JC member to serve for the remainder of the term.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

A. General Rights and Responsibilities

At the beginning of each school year, all members of the Parker community are asked to sign the Parker Community Contract of Rights and Responsibilities. This document is meant to serve as a compilation of norms by which Parker community members agree to abide. It is also contained in the Parker Community Constitution and is intended as "guidelines" for behavior, not as "rules" for which punitive consequences exist.

1. Every member of the Parker community has the right to be treated with courtesy by all members of the community and the responsibility to treat all faculty, parents, visitors and students with courtesy.
2. Every member of the Parker community has the right to think what he/she wants to think and the responsibility to employ thoughtful habits of mind/learning.
3. Every member of the Parker community has the right to express a concern and the responsibility to do so using an appropriate time, place, tone and attitude.
4. Every member of the Parker community has the right to expect that no one will use his/her personal belongings without his/her permission and the responsibility to give others the same courtesy.
5. Every member of the Parker community has the right to enjoy and participate in the Parker community and the responsibility not to disrupt the enjoyment and participation of others.
6. Every member of the Parker community has the right to be supported in his/her learning style and the responsibility to do his/her own work well, ask for help, and give help.
7. Every member of the Parker community has the right to use materials in the classroom and resources at Parker and the responsibility to use them wisely and return them in the same condition in which they were found.
8. Every member of the Parker community has the right to have his/her voice heard and the responsibility to listen to others.

B. Classroom Responsibilities

1. Students have the responsibility to turn in assignments when due and teachers have the responsibility to return assessed work within a reasonable period of time. If assessed student work is not returned in a reasonable time, additional time for revision of work should be provided to students.
2. Both students and teachers should show effort to participate fully in class.
3. Both students and teachers should show sufficient effort to be on time for class.
4. A reasonable break time should be provided to both students and teachers during longer class blocks.

BILL OF RIGHTS

Preamble: We, the Bill of Rights committee, establish the Bill of Rights to ensure students and teachers understand their rights and recognize that they are equal.

Student and Teacher Rights:

1. The Legislative branch can't make laws against rights of free speech, religion and others, such as respect, fairness and equal treatment.
2. People have the right to defend themselves in court and on school grounds; the difference between defensive action and offensive action shall be decided in a student court.
3. People can't be searched and belongings can't be taken without them without reasonable proof.
4. People have the right not to answer questions that incriminate them or put them in danger.
5. People have the right to have their case be heard by the Justice Committee.
6. People have the right to defend themselves in court with a trial by jury and judge.
7. No punishment may be given that is cruel or unreasonable.
8. People have the right to a safe learning environment.
9. People have a right to vote on all schoolwide elections.
10. Students have a right to learn at their own pace.

Parent Rights

1. A right to give any type of input.
2. A right to take kids out of school.
   

Here is our system for making decisions as a community. Some decisions we will make all together, and some will be made by specific groups. It relies completely on people making proposals. The entire community needs to share their good ideas in the form of written proposals submitted to the principals who along with the co-advisors will find a path for them. Not all proposals will be approved, but we will follow this process for deciding which ones will.

How a Proposal Becomes a Decision:

1. Anyone in the community raises an issue in the form of a proposal or simply a description of the problem.
2. The principal, associate principal, and the student co-advisors pick a path for the decision.
3. The selected decision-making body discusses and decides, or it creates a process, or it forms a task force.
4. If a task force or committee then creates a proposal, it goes back to the path-picking step (#2).
5. Whatever decision-making body gets selected, that body has full authority to make the decision.
   ***Decisions will stand for at least 3 months before changes can be proposed.

What a Proposal Should Include:

1. A description of the problem or issue.
2. The specifics of what is proposed.
3. Possible advantages and disadvantages of the proposal.
4. Suggested pathway.
   

The Pathways

	Decision-Making Body	Jurisdiction
#1	The Board of Trustees	State law, the Charter, hiring, the decision-making process, core program issues.
#2	The Principal or designate	Day to day nitty gritties, immediate discipline, state mandates, things that just need to be done.
#3	Domains or Divisions	Elements of the instructional program that require professional design and do not have substantial impact on other domains or divisions.
#4	Staff (2/3 majority)	Elements of the instructional program that require professional design and affect the whole school.
#5	Representative Body (majority by constituency)	Whole school issues around student life and setting normsnot a huge, core, whole community issue.
#6	Divisions (not yet approved)	Issues around student life and setting norms that can be different for the different divisions.
#7	Referendum (2/3 majority by constituency)	Big issues that affect core aspects of school life or the school programneeds whole community consensus.
#8	Committee with Power	Involves design after whole group instructions have been given; trust and authority given to the small group.

Appendix C: Community Congress Protocols

Meetings are held every Wednesday. Meeting times will rotate between the first hour of the day (8:50 - 9:45) and second hour of the day (9:50 - 10:45).

The Co-Advisors and a faculty member facilitate meetings.

All CC members are expected to attend the meetings and to be on time. If you have to be absent or late, please let the Co-Advisors and the faculty facilitator know and let them know the reason for your absence and/or lateness.

In order to get on the agenda of a meeting, you must talk to or write a note to the Co-Advisors or the faculty facilitator before lunchtime on Monday.

The structure of meetings is as follows:

1. Announcements
2. Old Business -- includes voting; discussing old proposals (Facilitators will set a time limit for discussion on each proposal and will create a speakers' list ñ facilitators may ask individuals to cede the floor if they seem to be dominating the allotted time for discussion.)
3. New Business -- introducing new proposals (Proposals are introduced by the sponsor(s) and CC members can then ask clarifying questions. Facilitators can decide to open the proposal to discussion (following the above guidelines used with discussing old proposals) or to create a Committee to work on the proposal.)
4. Committee Work
5. Check-in -- Committees report back to the entire group before the period ends
   
   

Draft proposals can be brought to the CC for input and feedback. You must give the draft proposal to the Co-Advisors and the faculty facilitator by lunch on Monday for it to be considered during the Wednesday meeting.

Formal proposals must be written in the correct format and put in the boxes of the Principals and the Co-Advisors. The Principles and Co-Advisors will decide which path to send the proposal down.

Committees are formed on an "as needed" basis. When issues come up, Committees to deal with them will be created. Every CC member needs to be a part of a Committee.