One of the most important ways you can make a meaningful difference in the lives of CBE students is by participating on school councils. By connecting students, schools and your community, school councils help nurture and inspire students to achieve their full potential.
The Role of School Council
Established in 1995 under the School Act, Alberta Education defines school councils as a collective association of parents, secondary students, principal, teachers, and community representative(s) whose purpose is to advise the principal and the Board of Trustees respecting matters related to the school. School councils have legislated advisory and decision-making authority defined within the School Act and the School Councils Regulation 113/2007.
They are different from Parent Societies & Associations, whose main function is to raise funds for the school.
What You Need to Know
For school councils to be well represented in school decision-making, they need to know how things work. This is all explained in the School Councils Regulation 113/2007, the Alberta School Council Resource Manual, the CBE Comprehensive School Council Handbook and AR5001 – School Councils and School/Parent Societies.
Meetings - Council of School Councils (COSC)
The Council of School Councils (COSC) is comprised of school council chairs (or an appropriate designate), members of the Board of Trustees and other CBE leaders. Its purpose is for CBE leaders and parents to have an opportunity to work together, to share information, discuss concerns and plan for the future.
We value the contribution of parent leadership and have formalized a program to keep the lines of communication open between the CBE as a public education system and parent leadership in individual school communities.
View the meeting schedules and information in Meetings.
ASCA Memberships for CBE School Councils
The Board of Trustees will pay the cost of Alberta School Councils' Association (ASCA) memberships for any CBE school councils who are interested in this opportunity. Memberships need to be renewed on an annual basis. Membership terms run from July 1 to June 30.
ASCA provides valuable support and services to school councils across the province. To learn more about ASCA, please visit their website.
To obtain a membership for the 2016-17 school year, just fill out this form. Once the form has been filled out, you are able to take advantage of ASCA's resources and services for the rest of the school year.
COSC Online Forum
School councils can connect with one another outside of COSC meetings through the COSC Online Forum. The forum provides an opportunity for CBE school councils to share best practices, ideas and information. It also provides the CBE with a place to gather input and feedback from school council members.
Join the forum
System News for School Councils
The Key Communiqué e-newsletter is e-mailed to school council contacts twice a month. Find out what they include and how to subscribe in Key Communiqués.
Sometimes there is news and information that cannot wait two weeks. The best way for school councils to stay up to date with the most current news and information is to subscribe to the CBE’s RSS feed. It will send you the latest news directly to your in-box within 24 hours. This information is also sent to school websites immediately, appearing on the sites as “System News.”