Governance plan

Governance

CSCS will be operating in a delicate political climate, due to the long-standing tensions that exist between Columbia University and the West Harlem community. Although the school will be temporarily housed in PS36, the permanent site for the school will be housed in the first building erected on Columbia’s new Manhattanville campus. Columbia’s expansion plans into Manhattanville are being met with neighborhood resistance, and CSCS will be an ambassador of sorts for Columbia in its new space.  In this political role, CSCS will attempt to serve as a bridge community, providing a space for Columbia affiliates and West Harlem residents to engage in meaningful interaction. Our governance plan attempts to provide a forum for bringing these two groups together, with an equal number of seats on the Board of Directors for West Harlem community members and Columbia University affiliates.  Our seats reserved for community members include 2 parent slots and 1 community business leader slot.  Our seats reserved for Columbia University affiliates include  1 seat for a Columbia administrator, 1 seat for a member of the Math, Science, or Engineering faculty, and 1 seat for an administrator from Teachers College.  The remaining  4 seats on the board are reserved for 2 teachers,  1 lawyer, and 1 person with a background in finance /accounting.  CSCS also plans to have two smaller advisory committees,  a School Advisory Council (SAC) and a Parent Advisory Council (PAC), which will both provide an additional forum for parental input and community involvement on matters of school operations, curriculum, and instruction.  Our full board will meet every other month, and our smaller advisory committees will meet every other week.  Our goal is transparency in all we do with the maximum level of input possible.