Advisory Council

Prescott Charter School Advisory Council
Background Information
Prescott Elementary, an Expeditionary Learning School for the Arts, located at 1151 White Street, Dubuque, Iowa, officially became one of Iowa’s first ten authorized charter schools in August, 2006.
As a charter school, there are certain guidelines and procedures that are mandated by Iowa’s charter school legislation (Iowa Public Charter School Law, Chapter 1124) and/or were outlined in Prescott’s Charter School Status Grant Application that was approved by the Dubuque Community School District (DCSD) Board and the Iowa Department of Education’s School Board in the spring of 2006. The Iowa Public Charter School Program Assurances that outline the major components of these responsibilities are attached to this document. Prescott’s Charter School Status Grant Application also identifies guidelines that are pertinent to these bi-laws.

Bi-laws that are impacted by the legislation or charter application should not be revised unless the legislation has changed or approval has been granted by both the DCSD Board of Education and the Iowa Department of Education’s Board of Education. These items have been identified within this document through the use of italics. Any non-identified material contained in this document was created by Prescott School’s first Charter School Advisory Council and were officially adopted into practice on May 22, 2007, and may be revised as needed.

Roles of the Advisory Council
The following roles of the Advisory Council were identified in the Charter School Grant Application.
• Determines the mission, vision, and goals for the school and oversees the progress toward their accomplishment
• Directs, monitors, coordinates and evaluates the work of the action teams
• Establishes school policy
• Fosters positive relationships with parents, DCSD Board of Education, DCSD staff, neighborhood and community
• Assures that the school operates within the requirements of the federal and state charter school legislation and guidelines

Mission Statement
The mission of Prescott Elementary, an Expeditionary Learning Charter School for the Arts, is to empower each child to achieve his/her highest potential and to become a strong contributing member of the community.
Advisory Council Membership
As pursuant to Iowa Charter School Law, the following requirements must be met:
• The Dubuque Community School Board may appoint a Board member to the Charter School Advisory Council.
• The Advisory Council must have staff, parental and community representation.
• The Advisory Council must have no more than nine members (As accepted in our Charter School Application)

The Dubuque Community School Board also required that the following members be two of those nine members of the Advisory Council:
• The DSCD Director of Staff Development and School Improvement
• The DCSD Director of the Visual and Performing Arts