Dec 2025
Working Group Finalizes Recommendation
- Post summary of WG’s recommendation by December 19
School Board Advisory Committee Working Group
- Jonathan Turrisi, Director of Accountability, Evaluation & Strategic Planning
- Jenny Roahen Rizzo, Chair
- Lida Anestidou, Vice-Chair
Timeline — December 2025–May 2026
Jan 2026
Public Comment
- SB proposed policy shared publicly
- Begin 30 day public comment
- WG full report released
Feb 2026
Policy Revisions & PIP Development
- SB to review feedback and consider changes
- Draft Policy Implementation Procedures (PIP)
March 2026
School Board Info & Action
- Proposed policy presented to School Board as Information item (3/12) and Action (3/26)
April 2026
PIP Revision & Charge Development
- School Board Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting to develop charges
May 2026
Application & Formation of Councils
- Launch of application
Norms of Collaboration/Working Agreements
- Presume Positive Intentions
- Respect Each Other
- One Person Speaks at a Time
- Everyone Participates
- Enable Equity of Voice
- Paraphrase
- Pose Questions
- Stay on Task in alignment with Charge
- Use full names instead of acronyms
- Start and Stop on Time
- Schedule Appropriate Breaks
- Evaluate at End of Meeting
- Cell Phones on Silent or Vibrate
Inclusion Activity
Step 1 (Full Group) — What do you most look forward to doing during Winter Break?
Meeting #12 — Objectives
- Review feedback from School Board & other stakeholders since November 18
- Voting Items
- English Learners
- Advanced Academics
- SWD, EL, Advanced Academic Reps vs. liaisons
- Voting Requirements
- Discussion & feedback Items
- English, Math, Social Studies, Science
- Budget reps
- Title I reps
- School Board Charge
- CTE
- Working Groups vs. Subcommittees
Purpose & Value
Purpose
To advise the School Board on division policies, strategies, and initiatives that support implementation of the Strategic Plan and progress toward the outcomes defined in the relevant Strategic Plan priority, with a division-wide lens.
Value
- Recommendations are aligned with the APS Strategic Plan 2024-2030
- Councils will be flexible to respond to the most pressing priorities and needs of the School Board
- Recommendations developed by parents, students, community members, and educators in conversation with each other
- Recommendations take district-wide needs, constraints, and impacts into account
- School Board receives input on specific topics that reflect a broad range of perspectives
Role & Desired Outcomes
Role
Provide the School Board with actionable & relevant recommendations on specific topics (identified through the Charges) that result from the collaborative work of parents, students, community members, and educators considering the topic in the context of the district-wide needs, constraints, and impacts.
Desired Outcomes
- Advisory Councils that comprise diverse stakeholders, with a mix of experienced and new voices
- Council structure and work that builds member knowledge of the division and of available research
- Recommendations that fulfill the School Board Charge and result from informed consideration of the needs of diverse students, the perspectives of diverse stakeholders, and the resources of the division
School Board Feedback
School Board Feedback at November 18, 2025 Work Session — Key Takeaways
- Support for aligning the work of Councils with the Strategic Plan
- Support for School Board delivering a Charge to guide the work of Councils
- School Board member attendance at Council meetings is important and needs to be prioritized by the board liaison
- Board considering a .5 position to support School Board Advisory Committee structure (Recruitment, management, etc.)
- Potential to have multiple staff liaisons on the Academics Advisory Council
- Questions around multiple meetings for reps (Virtual vs. in-person, frequency of meetings)
- Concerns about whether there will enough volunteers to have SWD, EL, Budget, etc. reps across Councils
- Suggested adjustments to proposal
- Multiple board members expressed interest in elevating English Learners as a Council based on needs
- 1 board member asked Working Group to re-consider Academic Advisory Council having some standing committees with an emphasis on retaining the core (English, Math, Science, Social Studies)
- 1 board member discussed Academic Advisory Council receiving a charge that includes topics that cut across content areas while simultaneously delivering separate charges to standing or ad-hoc subcommittees that are specific to those content areas.
- CTE as Supt. Advisory Council vs. SB Advisory Council
Current APS School Board Advisory Councils
| Council | Membership Composition — # seats available (based on PIP) | Total Maximum Seats per PIP | Actual Members (2023-24) | Actual Members (2024-25) | Actual Members (2025-26) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASEAC | 12-20 | 20 | 21 | 10 | 13 |
| ACTL | Up to 56 parents + remaining for community | 70 | 36 | 32 | 31 |
| ACTL Subcommittees | 5-25 per subcommittee x 13 subcommittees | 325 | 138 | 132 | 135 |
| FAC | 9-15 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 14 |
| BAC | Up to 15 | 15 | 10 | 16 | 16 |
| SHAB | 8-20 | 20 | 16 | 18 | 16 |
| Total | 465 | 232 | 219 | 225 |
APS School Board Advisory Councils 2.0
| Council Category | Parent Reps | Community Reps | Student Reps | Staff Reps | Subject Matter Experts | Total (Max) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASEAC | 10-16 | 0-4 | 2-4 | 3-5 | 2-4 | 33 |
| Academics | Up to 40 | 0-6 | 2-6 | 6-10 | 1-4 | 66 |
| Student Health & Well-Being | 8-14 | 0-4 | 2-4 | 4-6 | 1-4 | 32 |
| Personnel | 6-10 | 0-3 | 0-4 | 14-26 | 0-3 | 46 |
| Operations | 6-11 | 0-4 | 0-4 | 3-9 | 1-4 | 32 |
| CTE | 4-8 | 5-10 | 2-6 | 7-10 | 5-10 | 44 |
| Total (Max) | 99 | 31 | 28 | 66 | 29 | 253* |