ISACS recommends that schools consider carefully the advantages of structuring their organizations and especially their governing bodies in such a way so that effectiveness is maximized and overlapping responsibilities avoided. Towards that end, ISACS holds that the board of trustees, the administration of the school, and the parents association should be considered separate bodies with separate responsibilities:
* The board of trustees should be self-perpetuating (the average day school board being 50% current parents, the average boarding school board having even fewer current parents): its primary functions are setting the mission and general policies for the school, financing the operation (through setting of adequate tuition and significant fund-raising), the hiring and support of the head of school, evaluating the performance of the school and its leadership, and strategic planning for the future. The board should conceive itself as holding the school "in trust": i.e., as responsible for not their own children's school but for the school of their children's children, focusing their efforts on the future of the school.
* The head of school and administration should be seen as primarily entrusted with day to day operations, executing the mission and policies of the school (as set by the board), communicating frequently to the board and to the parents association and serving as the medium between the two for suggestions and criticisms and for planning the events of the school year that bind the community together.
* The parents association should be the organization for parental voice and support of the school, seeing its mission both as developing a positive and welcoming climate for all parents and as working closely with the school in meeting its current needs. A representative from the parents association is often appointed to the board by the board and serves as the board's communicating link back to the parents association. Any fund-raising by the parents association must be coordinated by the development office of the school and approved by the board so as to remain focused on the primary needs of the school and so as not to interfere with normal annual giving and other fund-raising events. The parents association should exist at the pleasure of the Board and report to the board; the board should send a board member to the parents association meetings. Since the parents association exists at the pleasure of the board and since the parents association raises funds in the name of the school (using the school's tax ID for charitable fund-raising purposes), any monies raised and accumulated by the parents association should be recorded and tracked on the school's books (by the school's business officer). Both fund-raising projects and expenditures of funds (over some minimal level, such as $250) should be authorized by the school prior to any announcements by the parents association of goals and plans.
There are two key principles that can be best manifested by such a clear understanding of mutual responsibilities of each of the three groups:
* Independent schools seek a partnership with parents, and the role of the parents association is to work with the administration to build that partnership: adversarial relationships have no place in independent schools.
* Independent schools typically eschew the notion of "representative democracy," since the schools are corporate, not public entities; history has shown that independent governance is best executed when there is a board that is broadly constituted with strong community leaders who are focused on the future, a strong administration that is the court of last resort to resolve any problems or conflicts (with no "appeals" to the board), and a parent association committed to their specific role of advancing the cause of the school and contributing to a positive school climate.
Toward the end of institutionalizing this structure and these relationships, ISACS counsels its schools to develop a parents association mission statement and set of by-laws, in conjunction with the school administration and approved by the board of trustees. A regular newsletter from the PA is also advised to keep all parents abreast of events and developments. Sponsoring regular parent's forums, with invited speakers, is another strategy to make the PA strong and its services to the parent body effective. Sample documents are available from ISACS as models.
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Author: Patrick F. Bassett, 5/19/97
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