Policy #15: Community Engagement

The Board will develop and implement strategies to enhance the Board’s communication and engagement with communities, ratepayers and the citizens of Sunrise School Division. These strategies will include:  

 

15.1 Formal connections with the community, with government, and with other relevant agencies

        and organizations in order to support the achievement of Board goals for the division.

        The Board will share information, proactively identify issues of importance, work

        collaboratively and build relationships. 

 

15.2 The Board believes that all reasonable efforts should be made to identify the desires of the

        community and to be responsive, through its actions, to those desires.  There are two major

        ways in which the will of the community shall influence the development of Board policies. 

1. The people of the Division are responsible for electing Board members to represent their ward. 
2. All citizens of the Division will be encouraged to express ideas, concerns, and opinions about the schools through such means as: 

1. written suggestions or proposals; 
2. presentations at hearings or at Board meetings; 
3. responses to surveys made regarding education;  
4. attendance at open meetings of the Board; and  
5. active involvement with the school's Parent Council 

15.3 Keeping the public informed of the Board's and division challenges, deliberations, policies,

        and actions by encouraging the public and media to attend meetings either in person or

        through electronic  means, with the exception of in-camera meetings. All supporting

        documentation of regular board meetings will be provided to the public no later than the

        start time of each regular board meeting. 

 

15.4 Designating a Board spokesperson who will endeavour to be current on all matters of Board

        governance and policy. In most cases this will be the Board Chair or the Chair's designate.  

 

 15.5 The Superintendent or his/her designate will act as the primary spokesperson for operational

         or  administrative matters.  

  

References: 

Policy 1 – Vision, Values and Mission 

Policy 3 – Role of the Board 

Policy 5 – Board Operations 

 

Date Adopted: February 2017 

Date Amended: January 2019; October 2019