Just What is a School Advisory Council?

The School Advisory Council (SAC) is a team of individuals from various segments of the community - parents, teachers, students, administrators, support staff, business/industry people and other interested community members. The sole purpose of the SAC is to "assist in the preparation and evaluation of the school improvement plan. " [Florida Statute 229.58]

It is the responsibility of the School Advisory Council to help increase student success. In the process of developing the school improvement plan, the SAC conducts a needs assessment that identifies impacts on the school from both outside and within the school. Then, working with the information revealed by the needs analysis, the SAC assists in clarifying the vision for the school and establishing indicators of student success. The SAC focuses on the needs of students, including what they need to know (curriculum content) and be able to do (performance application). The plan also should reflect any special interests and needs of the students and community served by the school. Another primary task of the SAC is to regularly communicate with other parents, educators, students and community about the school improvement plan. Other key responsibilities of the School Advisory Council include:

working as a team
holding well-publicized, open meetings
encouraging innovation
involving other members of the school community in the school improvement process

Each school in the State of Florida now must have an SAC. While the Orange County Public School district always has encouraged parent and teacher participation in the strategic planning process at both the district and school levels, now Florida law absolutely requires it. Also by law, each School Advisory Council must be composed of the principal and an "appropriately balanced" number of stakeholders. These individuals must be representative of the ethnic, racial, and economic makeup of the community served by the school. High schools and vocational-technical centers must have students on their SACs. Middle schools mayor may not include students. Elementary schools are not required to have students on their SACs. In any event, the majority of SAC members (over 50 percent) must be non-school employees.

How many people are we talking about? There is no magic number. A small elementary school may need a small group. A diverse high school might need a very large group. The small group may work on everything together. The large group may use subcommittees for specific tasks. However, either group will involve other members of the school community in their work. Balance is the key because, in the end, everyone needs to feel ownership. The important thing to remember is that SACs will be creating plans for improving the learning of students. This is an awesome responsibility that requires the cooperation of everyone.

SAC Members

2007-2008 SAC Meeting Dates

9/24/07, 10/22/07, 11/26/07, 12/17/07
1/28/08, 2/25/08, 3/24/08, 4/28/08, 5/19/08