Draft 2004 December 23
The primary governing body of the QSI will be the School Leadership Team, which will set school policy, handle staffing issues, oversee the development and implementation of the curriculum, and coordinate the school development process.
There will also be an advisory board consisting of distinguished community members, representatives from CBO’s, parents, and other interested parties, which will make recommendations to the Leadership Team and meet with the Team annually.
The School Leadership Team will have subcommittees for hiring, curriculum, student life (Advisory, and student government), faculty development, and budget and facilities.
The Leadership Team will consist of the Principal, the UFT chair, an Early College Initiative representative, a DOE Region 4 representative, a Queens College faculty member, a Queens College administrator, and a teacher at the QSI.
There will also be 7 parents on the Team, one of whom will be the president of the PTA. When the first students enter Grade 9, the high school portion of the QSI, one student from the high school grades and one additional parent will join the Team,
A majority of the members of the Team constitutes a quorum and decisions will be made by sufficient consensus.
The role of the principal is to serve as instructional leader, executor of SLT decisions, and active administrator with a focus on solving problems. Teachers will play a full role in school governance. Faculty ownership of professional development, for example, is both expected and provided for. It will be site-based, driven by student data and designed to improve pedagogical practice, especially in deepening teaching strategies for students with special needs, Eglish Language Learners and struggling students. In addition, all faculty will initiate and maintain welcoming, working relationships with both the students and their families. We expect parents to be full partners in their children’s education.
Creating a democratic, equitable, socially concerned and engaged community is one of the core values of the Queens School of Inquiry.