January 2007

Procedures
Dirksen School Instructional Leadership Team is a representative group of staff and parents with the responsibility of working collaboratively to improve the quality of education, to improve the school climate, and to shape the future direction of Dirksen School. Our members have been empowered by staff and parents of Dirksen School to make decisions for the school. SILT has the responsibility for implementing both the District Strategic Plan and Dirksen School’s Strategic Plan. SILT’s group processes and decisions must fall within the district parameters established by the District Instructional Leadership Team (DILT) and approved by the Board of Education and the EAP.

A. SILT discusses issues that are brought to their attention. They decide how each issue should be addressed. Staff input is gathered by representative members of each learning community. Staff is also invited and encouraged to attend SILT meetings (fourth Wednesday of each month.) Discussion and decisions are documented in the summary statement of each SILT meeting. Decisions are then revisited to assess their effectiveness.

• SILT empowers each grade level or representative group to make recommendations about instructional programs that parallel district curriculum guidelines.
• A process to assign students to class lists will be developed after discussion by staff.
• SILT members approve the budget of Dirksen School.

B. At the time a decision is made, SILT will determine who will be responsible for carrying out that decision.

C. Developing the agenda is a collaborative process. All staff members and parents have input into the agenda for SILT meetings. Agenda items may be given to any SILT member. The agenda is distributed to all SILT members prior to the meeting and posted for other staff members.

D. SILT meets the fourth Wednesday of each month at 3:30 PM. Additional meetings can be scheduled as needed. All meetings are open to all staff and parents. SILT meetings are facilitated by a facilitator, timekeeper, and summary writer. All members serve as a facilitator, timekeeper, and summary writer on a rotational basis. A summary statement will be published as soon as possible. All members will receive a copy, and one will be posted for others.

E. Each representative group at Dirksen School will decide who the SILT representative from that group shall be. Dirksen School’s SILT is comprised of faculty, administration, parents, and noncertified staff. The length of term is 2 years but can be extended if appropriate.

F. The facilitator is chosen from the present members of the SILT.

G. Representatives for the District Instructional Leadership Team, District Staff Development Committee, and the District Discipline Committee are chosen from volunteers.