School Councils

Every school must have a school council—a committee of elected parents/guardians, community representatives, staff and sometimes students. School councils have an advisory role. They help to provide the community voice and parent/guardian perspective on important school topics.

 

Why join school council?

Serving on school council is a way to have a direct and positive impact on your child's educational experience. Research shows that when parents/guardians are involved in their child's education, the level of student achievement increases.

 

How do I get involved?

School council meetings are open to the public, so anyone can attend meetings without being an elected member of school council.

School council elections take place each fall.  

For more information about joining school council, speak to your principal or a current school council member. Attending meetings is a great way to learn about the work of school council before running for election.


Boost your school council's effectiveness

School council members are elected to represent the school community. School council meetings are not the place to address individual concerns. School councils discuss broader topics, such as the School Action Plan, new programs or initiatives, student well-being, student achievement and school-wide fundraising activities.

Learn more to improve your effectiveness

The Parent Involvement Committee runs an annual orientation event for school council members. This is a chance to get to know your Parent Involvement Committee representative, meet other school council members, gather important information and ask questions.

 

Parents Reaching Out Grants

Ontario's Parents Reaching Out (PRO) grants encourage parent/guardian engagement at the local, regional and provincial levels. School councils can apply for PRO grants for school projects, events and parent/guardian organizations, Parent Involvement Committees (PICs), school boards, non-profit organizations and post secondary institutions can apply for PRO grants for regional/provincial projects. 

Resources

 

The Ministry of Education School Council Guide has tips and tools to help you run effective meetings and support student success through parent/guardian involvement. 


The SCDSB Fundraising Resource Guide was developed to support fundraising. It includes information and ideas regarding fundraising opportunities, details on policies that apply to school fundraising activities and ideas to promote healthy fundraising.

Policy 4310 - School Councils 

APM 7200 - School Council

Planning Parent Engagement: A Guidebook for Parents and Schools
This guidebook, produced by the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE), provides examples of useful exercises and techniques to help increase parent/guardian engagement and support.

Parent Tool Kit: What parents can do to help their child succeed in school
This tool kit, also produced by CODE, provides ideas for families to use as they support learning at school and at home.

Log in to your council chair email

Every school council chair has a SCDSB email address

Board staff and the Parent Involvement Committee share information and opportunities for school councils through the @scdsb.on.ca school council email addresses.

Using the board-provided email address makes it easy to archive school council communication and activities, since the account is passed to the next chairperson.

If you are a school council chair and you don't know your @scdsb.on.ca school council email address or are having trouble accessing it, please speak to your principal.

View a list of School Council Chair email addresses

View our instruction sheet for setting up your email on your iPhone or iPad.