Ensuring a stronger voice for School Advisory Councils is an important part of improving education in Nova Scotia. Starting this school year, local School Advisory Councils will have a bigger role to play.
School Advisory Councils are made up of the school principal, teachers, students, parents, and community members. Each school in the province—or family of schools within smaller communities—can have a School Advisory Council.
We know that each school community has unique needs, so having a local voice is important. That’s why we consulted with School Advisory Council chairpersons and principals about what they would like to see as part of their enhanced role.
Starting this school year, School Advisory Committees will:
- be allocated $5,000 (plus $1 per student) to be used to support student success
- have a stronger voice in policy development with two-way communication between the councils and the department and Regional Centres for Education
- be provided more opportunities to learn, network, and engage with other councils
- have more flexibility in the composition of councils to ensure they reflect the diversity of the school community
These changes are our way of ensuring that more, diverse voices are included in decision-making.