By-Laws
To promote school spirit and foster the school community by building relationships between students, teachers, parents and staff.
The Objectives of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
Organize events to engage and strengthen the Al-Bayan Bilingual School (BBS) community
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Host PTA workshops and meetings on topics relevant to supporting the BBS community
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Welcome new BBS parents and staff and involve them in community building activities
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Raise funds for the school and the PTA
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Assist the different school stakeholders to effectively communicate amongst each other
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Create an annual plan outlining the PTA’s goals and an evaluation system to measure its success
The PTA’s objectives will not involve
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Individual complaints
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School administrative tasks
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Curriculum development
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Running activities without the consultation of relevant school administrative parties
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Portraying the school, its staff, its management or students in a negative manner
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Composition: The PTA shall be composed of 15 elected members, 2 parents and 1 staff member from each school (Preschool, Middle School, High School), and 4 parents and 2 staff members from Elementary. Elected members are expected to attend all PTA meetings and community meetings with parents and staff members for one term, which is equivalent to three academic years.
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The PTA will commence on September 1st or the first day of the academic year, whichever comes first, and end on June 30th of the third academic year.
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Term limits for PTA members shall be a total of 2 terms. If willing, a candidate who has served the maximum number of terms may be elected to serve an additional term provided no other interested candidate is nominated.
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Meetings: Regularly scheduled meetings of the PTA shall be held monthly at a minimum, September through June, on an agreed upon day and time of every month in person on school premises.
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The order of business at the meetings, unless changed by the executive committee, shall be:
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Call to Order
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Reading and approval of the previous meeting minutes
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President’s report
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Treasurer’s report
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Committee reports
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Old business
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Adjournment
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Voting: Each member of the PTA shall be entitled to one vote. In case of a tie in the voting process during a meeting, the president’s vote will count as 2 votes
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Quorum: 8 members of the PTA shall constitute a quorum, allowing for official business to be transacted. A meeting cannot be held without either the president or the vice president.
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All meetings must have minutes taken by the PTA secretary. The president or the vice president must sign minutes if he or she chaired the meeting. The minutes should be sent to all PTA members and the School Director after each meeting. In the absence of the PTA secretary, an alternate PTA executive committee member will be assigned to take the minutes.
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The PTA will draft the annual plan in September. The plan will include projects related to building the school’s community, fund raising, improving communication with parents…etc. The plan will include timelines and proposed budgets for each.
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Each PTA member will lead at least two projects during their term.
ections for the PTA shall take place by April 30th. The Director should be notified of the date and time of the triennial election no later than April 1st.
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Parents of students attending Al-Bayan Bilingual School as well as staff members are entitled to a number of votes corresponding to the required PTA positions. For example, Elementary school parent or staff member is entitled to 4 votes for the parent position and 2 votes for the staff position. Parents are eligible to vote for the respective grades of their children. Staff members are eligible to vote for the respective grade where they teach/work only, even if they happen to be parents of children in other grades.
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Before the election process, parents and staff members receive a letter to inform them of their voting rights.
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The members elected for the PTA should consist of 15 members, 2 parent and 1 staff member from Preschool, Middle School, and High School, and 4 parents and 2 staff members from Elementary School. All members running for PTA positions must have completed two full academic years with BBS as a prerequisite for nomination (except in Preschool).
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The BBS administration will manage the election process by assigning one or two volunteers from the current BBS staff members to manage the nomination and election process. BBS administration are not eligible to run for the PTA but can vote as parents of BBS students. Duties include the following:
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Preparing and distributing notices pertaining to the nomination and election process
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Ensuring that all parent and staff members have an opportunity for nomination
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Gathering a list of the nominees and their bios
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Verifying the eligibility of all interested candidates prior to the election with the assistance of the Registration and Human Resources offices
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Managing the elections within each of the four schools online.
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Setting up an online account to conduct each school election electronically
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Scheduling the election at a time that ensures maximum participation
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Ensuring that only eligible members receive a ballot or code for voting.
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If no candidate for PTA position is nominated, the administration notifies the school community ahead of nomination deadline and may solicit candidates.
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Once elected, the new members of the PTA will have to read the By-Laws and sign each page.
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A transition period commences within 10 days of announcing election results where the existing PTA coordinates with elected PTA.
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Participation guidelines/ Attendance commitment:
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Any member who fails to attend 3 consecutive regular PTA monthly meetings in a year without a valid reason shall be removed by recommendation. The officer shall be given the opportunity to submit in writing an explanation showing good reason for not attending these meetings for the executive committee’s consideration. The result of the motion must be submitted in writing to the BBS Director
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Members may be asked to resign by the BBS Director in the following cases:
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Failure to abide by the PTA objectives outlined in Article II
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Undisclosed self-dealing or any conduct of private business or personal services between a PTA member and the school community
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Exercising individual authority over the school in the name of the PTA
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A terminated or resigned member will be replaced with the next runner up in the respective school and in case no one is available, an election will be held for that vacancy.
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The elected executive committee of the PTA shall consist of president, vice president, treasurer and secretary.
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The members of the PTA will elect the members of the executive committee. The nominated president must be a parent, while the vice president, treasurer, and secretary positions are open for parents or staff members.
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The members shall elect an executive committee during their first meeting. Should an executive committee position be vacant for any reason, members shall elect a replacement within the PTA.
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Duties of Officers
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The PTA President will:
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Ensure that all PTA By-Laws are fully implemented
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Preside at all meetings of the PTA and shall be an ex-officio member of all committees except the nominating committee
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Schedule meetings and chair them
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Specify the agenda for meetings
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Review and approve minutes of meetings by signing them
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Monitor sub-committees’ work progress
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Delegate responsibilities to other association members
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Encourage meaningful participation in all parent and school activities
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Review, approve, and sign all internal and external PTA correspondences
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Work with Treasurer to insure PTA funds are adequately managed
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Assist with the June transfer of PTA records to the incoming PTA
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Present PTA plan to the School Board and attend meetings of the board upon invitation
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Point of contact between the PTA and the school management
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The PTA Vice-President will:
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Collaborate with the president to achieve PTA objectives and targets
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Assume the president’s duties in his/her absence
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Assist with the June transfer of PTA records to the incoming PTA executive committee
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Coordinate with PTA secretary on all administrative matters
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The PTA treasurer will:
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Manage all financial affairs and funds of the PTA in coordination with FAWSEC Ed. Co.
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Maintain copies of updated records of all income and expenditures on school premises
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Present interim and annual financial reports
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Provide the auditors with the necessary documentation upon request
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Assist with the June transfer of PTA records to the incoming PTA executive committee
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Maintain financial records in electronic/cloud storage in coordination with PTA secretary
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The PTA secretary will:
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Set meeting agendas and dates and times with president and inform members
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Write minutes of meetings, including attendance, editing them, and circulate them to members after approval and signature of the president
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File all data related to PTA
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Assist with the June transfer of PTA records to the incoming PTA executive committee
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Maintain school administered electronic/cloud storage of all PTA pertaining records including financial records in coordination with PTA treasurer.
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The PTA is allowed to create sub-committees within the PTA structure, which are aligned to the PTA goals.
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Ad-hoc committees shall be established by PTA approval.
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The standing sub-committees of the PTA are the following:
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Communications: The communications committee shall be responsible for encouraging parent participation, and outreach. This includes:
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Assisting the different school stakeholders to effectively communicate amongst each other
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Coordinating their outreach efforts and strategies with the school’s administration
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Preparing a newsletter to the school community which contains, at a minimum, messages from the Director, PTA president, list of members of PTA, all association meeting dates, student and parent events, school policies, and any other material deemed appropriate by the PTA
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Maintaining a current list of PTA members
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Promoting events and activities
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Reaching out to parents and teachers to nominate themselves whenever a PTA election is held and ensure that nominated representatives of both staff and parents are available for each school
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This committee will need to receive approval from the Director prior to sending any communication to the public, such as letters to parents, general announcements, fliers...etc.
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Events and Activities: The events and activities committee shall coordinate details of PTA events and activities. This includes:
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Planning events and activities that are in line with the PTA’s objectives and annual plan
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Monitoring timelines and ensure deadlines are met
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Working with the communications committee to design and distribute promotional materials
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Ensuring adherence to the PTA budget
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Collecting data necessary to demonstrate community participation and engagement after an activity or event ends to be presented at the next meeting or community meeting
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Audit: The audit committee shall conduct an internal audit of all financial affairs of the organization at the end of the term. The treasurer, in coordination with FAWSEC Ed. Co., shall make all books and records available to the audit committee. The audit committee shall prepare a written report to be presented to the executive committee and may be presented during the final community meeting upon completion of their review.
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Participation in sub-committees:
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At least one member needs to participate in each sub-committee and present the PTA with the committee plan and activities for approval
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Opportunities to volunteer for the PTA sub-committees will be communicated to the parent, teacher and staff community at BBS at large.
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The PTA members will then form the sub-committees using the pool of volunteers.
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Once formed, the committees need to elect a head amongst them.
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Sub-committees may seek the assistance of non-member parents, staff, and students for events and activities.
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Non-members assisting sub-committees are considered volunteers for a specific event and/or activity and their role ends when that event and/or activity ends.
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The community meetings of the association shall be held at least once every semester with the dates determined by the executive committee. Written notice of each community meeting shall be distributed in Arabic and English. Notice must be sent at least ten calendar days prior to the scheduled meeting.
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All meetings, including committee and executive committee meetings must be held on the BBS campus. Under no circumstances are association meetings to be held in private residences or commercial venues (e.g. restaurants).
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All parents of current students and current staff may attend and participate in community meetings.
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The community meetings may involve the following:
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Encourage and select parent and staff volunteers for events that build the school community
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Present the approved PTA annual plan to parents and staff
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Communicate dates of planned PTA events
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Communicate initiatives by the school that involve parents
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Receive parent feedback through surveys
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The quorum for a community meeting must consist of representation by at least 15 parents and staff, including a minimum of 5 PTA members and 10 parents and staff in order to conduct official association business.
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Minutes of the previous community meeting shall be available in written form by the PTA secretary and read at every community meeting. The minutes of any community meeting must be made available to any member upon request.
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The fiscal year of the association shall run from September 1st, through August 31st.
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Budget Process: The PTA shall be responsible for the development of the budget. The incoming PTA must create the proposed annual budget by October 1st and present it during the first general meeting in semester 1 along with the annual plan. At the end of the term, the outgoing PTA must review the budget versus actual expenditures.
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Handling Finances:
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All funds collected by the PTA have to be deposited with FAWSEC ED. CO. (with the supporting documents attached) in an account designated for the PTA. The treasurer will receive a deposit slip for that same amount. The PTA has complete access to its funds at any point in time.
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Payments from the PTA account by FAWSEC ED. CO. require a letter signed jointly by the PTA president and Treasurer and addressed to the Accounts Manager at FAWSEC ED. CO. . The vice president may sign in place of the president if the latter is unavailable. In case the Treasurer is unavailable, the president and the vice president may sign jointly. Supporting documentation (invoices, quotations…etc.) are to be presented with the letter.
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Documentation related to every transaction must be maintained at FAWSEC ED. CO. (e.g., deposit receipts, purchase orders, association minutes related to the financial transactions, etc.)
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The Treasurer will be responsible for keeping copies of all the financial records of the PTA (ledgers, invoices, receipts, FAWSEC ED. CO. account etc…) and accounts with FAWSEC ED. CO. . These copies are handed over to the incoming PTA in June. The copies can also be presented to the audit committee for their review.
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Financial Reporting:
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The treasurer shall prepare the Interim PTA Financial Report by January 31st and the Annual PTA Financial Report by the June meeting, including all income, expenditures, and other transactions.
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These reports shall be presented to the PTA and may be communicated during community meetings as well. Copies of these reports shall be provided to the Director.
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Audit:
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The president shall request volunteers to form an audit committee of 3 to 5 persons. The majority of the committee shall be comprised of general members.
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The audit committee shall conduct an audit of all financial affairs of the association with the help of the treasurer who shall make all books and records available to them.
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Additional duties of the audit committee may include examining all relevant financial statements and records of disbursements, verifying all association equipment and ensuring compliance with bylaw provisions for the transaction of funds.
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The audit committee shall prepare a written audit report annually to be presented to the PTA and may be communicated during the final community meeting upon completion of their review . Those reports shall be included for review and discussion during the June transfer of records.
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Purchases:
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The PTA shall select their product and service providers as they see fit.
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The PTA can utilize the FAWSEC ED. CO. purchasing department to get supplier quotes when needed.
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Should the PTA enter into a contractual agreement with a product or service provider that refers to Al-Bayan Bilingual School then the Director has to review such a contract prior to the agreement.
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The purchase of goods or services from a business in which a PTA member has a financial interest, or may directly benefit from such purchase, is a potential conflict of interest. Such situations should be disclosed to the school’s Director for review prior to the purchase.
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The Director’s written consent is required when a fundraising activity is held during school hours or on school property.
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The earnings of the PTA will only be used to further the PTA objectives. Any funds at the end of a term will roll over to the next PTA association. No part of the net earnings of the association shall be used to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, committees, officers or other private persons.
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The Director has a right to dissolve the PTA for reasons that it deems necessary such as in adherence to the PTA objectives and By-Laws.
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A notice will be sent out to all members about the dissolution of the PTA.
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A meeting will be held between the administration and the PTA to agree on the hand over procedures.
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The PTA may request to amend the PTA By-Laws by writing a letter with the suggested amendment clause/s and submitting it to the Director and School Board who will review the request and decide whether or not to include the amendment.