CCE
Small Schools Network:
Autonomies
Five CCESSN Areas of Autonomy
1. Staffing:
CCESSN schools have the freedom to hire and excess their staff
in order to create a unified school community. This includes:
§
Deciding
on staffing patterns which best meet the academic, social, and emotional
needs of students
§
Hiring
staff that best fit the needs of the school, regardless of their current
status (member of the district or not, although every teacher hired
becomes a member of the local teachers union)
§
Excessing
staff (into the district pool) that do not fulfill the needs of the
school
2.
Budget:
CCESSN schools have a lump sum per pupil budget in which the school has
total discretion to spend in the manner that provides the best programs
and services to students and their families. This includes:
§
A
lump sum per pupil budget, the sum of which is equal to other district
schools within that grade span
§
An
agreement that the district moves toward itemizing all central office
costs, and allowing CCESSN schools to choose to purchase identified discretionary
district services or to not purchase them and include them in the school’s
lump sum per pupil budget
3.
Curriculum
and Assessment: CCESSN schools have the freedom
to structure their curriculum and assessment practices to best meet students’
learning needs. While acknowledging that all CCESSN schools are expected
to administer any state- and district-required test, these schools are
given the flexibility to best determine the school-based curriculum and
assessment practices that will prepare students for state and district
assessments. Thus::
§
Schools
are freed from local district curriculum requirements
§
Graduation
requirements are set by the school, not by the district, with an emphasis
on competency-based, performance-based assessment.
4.
Governance and Policies:
CCESSN schools have the freedom to create their own governance structure
that has increased decision making powers over budget approval, principal
selection and firing, and programs and policies, while being mindful of
state requirements on school councils. Thus:
§
The
school’s site council takes on increased governing responsibilities,
including the following: principal selection, supervision, and firing,
with final approval by the superintendent in all cases; budget approval;
and setting of school policies
§
The school has flexibility to be freed from all district
policies, and to set its own policies that the school community feels
will best help students to be successful. This includes policies related
to promotion, graduation, attendance, and discipline
5.
School
Calendar: CCESSN schools should have the freedom
to set longer school days and calendar years for both students and faculty.
In particular, research supports a correlation between faculty planning
time spent on teaching and learning and increased student achievement.
Scheduling which allows for summer and school year faculty planning time
contributes to a more unified school community and educational program.
This includes:
§
Increasing
planning and professional development time for faculty
§
Increasing
learning time for students
§
Organizing
the school schedule in ways that maximize learning time for students
and planning time for faculty (e.g., longer days Monday through Thursday
in order to have half-days for students on Fridays, enabling faculty
to have a significant planning and professional development block every
Friday afternoon).
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