Pine Hill Waldorf School
Parent Handbook

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IV. Organization of the School

The life of the school is managed by three official bodies: the Faculty, the Board of Trustees and the Pine Hill Association. The Faculty is responsible for pedagogical affairs, the Board for legal and financial matters and the PHA for parent initiatives such as fund raising, adult education, publications, festivals and social events.

The Faculty of the school consists of kindergarten teachers, class teachers, specialist teachers and teaching assistants. It meets Thursday afternoons to study the educational works of Rudolf Steiner and others, to practice the various arts taught in the school, and to discuss the children and their progress through the curriculum. A part of each meeting is also given over to administrative work.

Faculty Mandate Groups

All full time and some part-time teachers belong to a 'mandate group' which has a specific administrative function in the school. Each of these groups has the mandate from the whole faculty to develop and implement policies in their own areas of concern. In this way, most teachers at Pine Hill play an active part in running the school. The mandate groups are:

1. Pedagogical - works on issues concerning the curriculum, festivals, faculty development and study.
2. Building and Safety - oversees the use and appearance of our facilities and ensures that school safety policies are being followed.
3. Child Care - plans for and provides remedial help to children in need of it; arranges child studies.
4. Community Relations - arranges for and oversees enrollment outreach activities like open houses, publications like this handbook, faculty professional days, and works with the PHA in cultivating parent-teacher relations and workshops on Waldorf education.

The Faculty and Board of Trustees appoint an Administrator to represent the school, manage the school office, work with parents on school issues, and coordinate the work of the Faculty Mandate Groups, the Board and Parent Council. The Administrator has regular office hours, and parents should feel free to speak with him or her about issues of concern to them. (see page 25) S/he is available most mornings from 8-10 am and at other times by appointment.

Executive Committee

The Administrator works with an Executive Committee of two teachers to guide the day to day life of the school, to plan agendas for faculty meetings, and to deal with personnel management issues and parent concerns.

College of Teachers

The College of Teachers includes teachers who have been at the school for at least one year; all teachers may join the College at that point and will be accepted if they are able to commit to the extra work that membership requires. The College concerns itself with the study of Anthroposophy and is the body in the school responsible for curriculum development, the admission and dismissal of students, and the hiring, evaluation and dismissal of teachers. It meets every Tuesday after school and chooses a chairperson to plan its agendas.

Evaluation of Teachers

New teachers are evaluated each year for three years. They are assigned a mentor who meets with them weekly and reports to the College of Teachers on their work. All other teachers are evaluated every three years. If concerns are raised in the interval, an earlier evaluation may occur. The regular evaluation procedure involves a time of observation by an experienced teacher from another school, a written report based on that observation, a self-evaluation report, and a discussion in the College of Teachers resulting in written recommendations to the teacher. If serious concerns are raised, a further evaluation will occur involving a second outside observer, observations by a member of the College, regular reports to the College and a decision whether or not to rehire reached within six months.

The Board of Trustees is legally responsible for the assets, finances, long range planning and administration of the school. It has a maximum of 15 members, the majority of whom are parents or friends of the school. Four teachers serve on the Board. The Administrator, Business Manager and Development Officer are ex officio members.

The Board elects its own President, Vice-President, and Clerk. It usually meets once a month, and the dates and times are posted in the Tuesday. The Board hears reports from its committees and votes on their proposals. Parents are welcome to attend meetings and may submit agenda items by contacting the Board President or Administrator.

Board Committees

Finance

crafts annual and long range budgets; keeps track of finances and works with the school's Business Manager.

Tuition Aid

allocates tuition aid each year.

Development

is in charge of community relations and fund raising and works with the school's Development Director.

Long Range Planning

oversees the master plan for the school.

Building and Grounds

oversees maintenance and improvements to the physical plant.

Personnel

a joint Board-College committee which oversees personnel policies and the administration of the school.

The PHA includes all parents of children attending Pine Hill. Its governing body is the Parent Council, which consists of one representative and one alternate elected annually from each kindergarten class and each grade. A Board member and representative from the College of Teachers serve as ex officio members of the Council.

Through the Parent Council and its committees the PHA serves the Pine Hill community in the following ways:

1. by fostering communication within the school community,
2. by providing a forum for discussion of school wide issues,
3. by providing direction for fund raising events,
4. by organizing opportunities for parent education, and
5. by initiating or supporting events that enrich the life of the school community.

The Parent Council meets monthly at the discretion of the President (times announced in the Tuesday) and all parents are welcome to attend. The minutes of its meetings are published in the Tuesday. The Bylaws of the PHA are available in the office and on the Parent Table outside the office. (See PARENT TABLE, p. 23)

Two parent coordinators are chosen by the kindergarten and class teachers each year. Their job is to assist the teacher, where necessary, in planning class events and trips and in organizing the class phone tree to be used when special notices need to go out to all class parents.

Coordinators are also responsible for organizing their class parents to provide refreshments at the following school functions:

Rose Ceremony Reception	2nd grade parents
Tea for New Kindergarten Parents	1st grade parents
All School Meetings	5th grade parents
Kindergarten Open House	Kindergarten parents
Spring Open House	3rd/4th grade parents
8th Grade Play	6th grade parents
8th Grade Graduation	7th grade parents

The coordinators from all the classes choose one of their number to serve as Head of Coordinators each year. Her/his job is to chair meetings of the Coordinators as needed through the year and to initiate the school phone tree (see below, page 21).

Accountability

In the normal carrying out of their duties, the Administrator and Executive Committee are accountable to the Personnel Committee of the Board and College, the office and maintenance staff are accountable to the Administrator, faculty members are accountable to the Executive Committee, and the Business Manager and Development Director are accountable to the Board Finance and Development Committees.

In legal matters, all school personnel are accountable to the Board.

In extraordinary circumstances, when immediate action is called for, the Executive Committee is empowered to act without recourse to normal channels.

III. The Curriculum       Table of Contents       V. School Procedures and Policies