Franklin Site Governance Council

Welcome to another great year at Franklin School! We invite you to become involved in our school community through the Site Governance Council (SGC).

The SGC is composed of the Principal, Assistant Principal, and representative teachers, classified personnel and parents. Parent representatives are elected annually by the Franklin parent body and hold two-year (staggered) terms. Our committees include Budget, Facilities, Beautification/Green, Legislative/Advocacy/Outreach/Communication (FLAG), Curricular Support, and Technology. One of the SGC’s primary functions is to revise and update our School Site Plan each year. The School Site Plan outlines Franklin’s academic, enrichment and technology goals.

The SGC committees are open to all members of the Franklin community. Please come and contribute your views and expertise to these important policy-making groups. Site Governance Council meetings are also open to the Franklin community. Meetings are usually held on the fourth Monday of every month at 3:15 p.m. in Room 3. Posted below are the schedules for the SGC and Budget meeting schedules for the 2011-2012 school year. The meeting schedules are also posted on the bulletin board outside of Room 3, and are published in the Almanack.

We wish you and your family a great year at Franklin!

Our 2012-2013 Site Governance Committees are:

Franklin Leadership Action Group (FLAG)/Communications/Outreach Committee
FLAG spearheads Franklin’s efforts to respond to district, state, and national issues affecting our school. FLAG provides awareness and mobilizes parent activity for national, state, and local PTA-endorsed proposals or ballot issues. Its initiatives may include keeping the parent body briefed on relevant policy issues, and organizing attendance at Board of Education or Santa Monica City Council meetings, letter/e-mail writing campaigns, circulating petitions, phone banking, and precinct walking. The Communications and Outreach group was formed to enhance communication among constituents of the Franklin community, including teachers, administration, staff, parents, guardians, and students. Enthusiastic and concerned volunteers are welcomed.

Facilities Committee
This committee determines campus needs and funding required to enable facilities upgrades. Members present plans as appropriate to school governing bodies. Public bonds for capital improvements will appear on future ballots, which will require input from this committee. Professionals with architecture or space planning backgrounds are particularly welcome.

Budget Committee
This group includes the principal, PTA presidents and Treasurer, and Site Governance Council representatives to determine the budgeting and spending priorities for PTA and School Site Improvement funds. This group annually creates a joint PTA and Site Governance Council budget and spending plan, which is then adopted by the PTA membership for the following school year.

Curricular Support Committee
This collaborative committee works with the school administration, faculty, and teachers to recommend and implement improvements in classroom instruction and support. This group reviews curriculum planning and implementation, and provides input to the School Site Plan.

Green/Beautification Committee
This committee has a dual focus. Its mandate is to beautify Franklin's campus and buildings by adhering to green principles.  Franklin has had much success in the trash-less lunch program, cutting paper usage by up to 50%, purchasing tables with umbrellas for the big yard and planning a huge campus-wide tree planting (27 trees!) in conjunction with the Tree People organization.  Be a part of making Franklin lovely and green.

Technology Committee
This committee focuses on technology resource allocation at Franklin and the development and implementation of the school’s technology strategic plan. Committee personnel work closely with district personnel to ensure that Franklin’s technology resources and performance are aligned with district standards.