WISPA Structure

WISPA serves as an umbrella organization for all parent volunteer activities throughout both campuses and all three schools or divisions. The structure of the organization is as follows:

The WISPA Board is elected annually and its officers are broadly responsible for the following:

President: coordinates and oversees the business of the Parent Association
Vice-President: assists the President and is the President-Elect
Secretary: publishes the minutes of WISPA meetings and facilitates communication
Treasurer: oversees the finances of WISPA
Division Representatives: key communication links between the divisions (Primary, Middle
and Upper School) and the school as a whole and work closely with the homeroom
coordinator network
Past Presidents: provide continuity to WISPA business

Each school or division has a three-tiered structure for volunteer activities and to help facilitate communication from the school to parents and vice versa. Each class/homeroom has one Homeroom Coordinator. Each grade has a Grade Coordinator and each school or division has a Class Parent Coordinator. All these positions can be shared. All parents are class parents.

HOMEROOM COORDINATORS:

  • Work with teachers on homeroom class events, parties, field trips, etc.
  • Solicit help for above activities from other class parents.
  • Work with teachers to get parent volunteers for classroom readers, help teachers with special projects.
  • Distribute information to class parents in their class.
  • Attend monthly class parent meetings.

GRADE COORDINATORS:

  • Communicate with staff grade coordinators regarding events and projects for their grade.
  • Distribute information to homeroom coordinators.
  • Attend monthly class parent meetings.

CLASS PARENT COORDINATORS:

  • Organize and take minutes at the monthly Class Parent Meetings, where all coordinators and class parents meet with the division principal.
  • Coordinate the activities and events involving the classes in their division.
  • Meet with the division principal before the monthly class parent meeting to set an agenda
  • Pass information on to the grade coordinators, who can pass it on to homeroom coordinators.
  • Initiate phone tree.

From time to time WISPA may create topic-focused Task Forces and Councils to accomplish special initiatives:

The Primary School Council is a special WISPA committee formed to address appropriate Primary School concerns and issues. It is a collaborative effort of parents, administration, and faculty. Council members include parent volunteers (chair, co-chair, and representatives from each grade), the Primary School principal and assistant principal, and faculty. The Council’s task is to articulate issues in a concise way that represents widely held parent concerns and to discuss them with the administration and faculty.

Task Forces (school wide and division levels) convened in past years included the Nutrition
Task Force, the Communication Task Force, and the Transition Task Force. WISPA also
have a representative on the school-wide Environment and Sustainability Committee.

WHERE CAN A PARENT GO WITH ISSUES OF CONCERN?
Issues concerning an individual student should be taken to that student’s teacher, homeroom teacher or advisor, or division principal. Issues of general concern should be taken to the school’s administration. Additionally, in the Middle and Upper Schools, issues can be brought to WISPA through WISPA division representatives, class parent coordinators, or any officer who will confer with the administration. In the Primary School, issues can also be taken to the Primary School Council. Most issues will be solved or clarified in a straightforward manner by these individuals or in these meetings. Others may be referred by the head of school or division principal to a council or task force for further discussion.

WIS Parents Association