The School Corridor Tatler

Today the School Governing Bodies in the Retreat-Steenberg-Lavender Hill belt established their historic SGB Forum. The SGB forum was a seed that was planted about three years ago by Noel Isaacs, the principal of Floreat Primary School. At the time four of our school principals headed the School Governing Training and Development Programme that was offered to the SGBs in our circuit. Then, this year, after our circuit had taken our newly-elected SGBs on an overnight training camp, one of the parent governors at Lourier Primary School, Basil Williams, approached Noel to set the ball in motion.  The rest as they say, is history. Today the parent governors with their school principals, agreed unanimously that an SGB Forum will be a powerful support structure for their schools. Most of the representatives of the schools' SGBs showed up at the meeting that was held at Delta Primary School. SGB members discussing the rationale for an SGB Forum. The governors agreed on the...

SGBs are a rich, untapped resource at poor schools. School Governing Bodies of poor schools are an untapped resource to help our schools become high performers.  I know there are many valid reasons why SGBs cannot perform their duties effectively; there is ample research and anecdotal evidence to support this. However, I believe that if we view the capacity-building of school governors as a key deliverable, we will be amazed at the profound richness that SGBs will bring to schools. I  work closely with School Governing Bodies when I have to act as the resource person during the filling of School Principal or Deputy Principal posts. If you are a regular reader of the School Corridor Tatler blog, you will know that I serve schools in poor, depressed communities in the Lavender Hill-Steenberg belt. The parents who serve on the SGBs of these schools are mainly unemployed folk who have not completed their high school education. Negative attitude towards SGBs may be biggest...

It is Friday afternoon. We are hosting an SGB Development and Training 2-day workshop for our school governors. The topics we are covering are: Emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, negotiation skills and how to conduct disciplinary hearings. Our delegates include two principals - Jean Human from Simonstown School and Michael Tyali from Ukhanyo Primary School, a few teachers, many parents and four RCL members. The four learners are from Muizenberg and Sibelius High schools. It is not easy serving on the SGB. The SGB has a huge responsibility to ensure that the school runs smoothly and efficiently. There is a challenge finding parents-especially those from the poor communities - to make themselves available to serve on the SGB. Those parents who are eventually elected to serve on the school governing body in these poorer schools, find themselves in a difficult position. Many of them lack the skills, competencies and insights to carry out their responsibilities effectively. A snap...

Women Staff at Prince George Primary School receives five-star treatment from their School Governing Body I was in awe of the Women's Day Celebrations that the School Governing Body (SGB) of Prince George Primary hosted in honour of  all the women at Prince George Primary - the educators, support staff, admin staff, parent volunteers at the school - EVERYBODY. Adele Campbell, the chairperson, was the brain behind this auspicious event.The event was fit for dignitaries of our communities - the bedrock of growing healthy communities - Women! Strike a woman, you strike a rock, says Prince George Primary SGB The programme was two-fold. The first part consisted of us honouring all South African women, present and past, who have helped to shape our future. Adele, a proud alumnus of the school, peppered her talk with humorous anecdotes of the women who have influenced her, a few of her teachers being teased endlessly for their contributions.  She says she is still a child of Lavender...

My Saturday is a paradox of sorts - I am a victim of crime just before going to two community peace-building events Waking up to news of a burglary... When I heard our car had been burgled during the early hours of this morning, I lost my temper. Yes, I ranted, the burglary was an act waiting to happen because we are too careless. We should learn to remove the car radio and valuables from the car and park the vehicle in the garage where it belongs. I suppose I could be forgiven for the outburst under the circumstances.  Getting my egg down... Once all the pent-up emotions subsided, sanity kicked in. We should not be too surprised when we become victims of theft, especially when we are surrounded by poverty-stricken communities where 40% of employable youth can’t find work and where family heads struggle to put bread on the table.  This is the reality. But this is just the start of my day... At Lavender Hill High School Lavender Hill from the parking area of th...