Aspire Public Schools encourages all stakeholders to participate in and take responsibility for the educational process and educational results. Each school has an Advisory School Council (ASC), which holds the school accountable for the performance of its students. The Council also conducts a lottery if enrollment exceeds capacity, addresses school safety issues, reviews parental concerns and sets policies that are unique to the school. The ASC consists of the principal, two teachers, two parents, one member of the chartering district’s Board, and one community member at large. Each ASC complies with the Brown Act (Open Meeting Requirement). The principal is responsible for communicating all ASC policy decisions to the Aspire Board of Directors. An Ombudsman serves as an objective, third party resource for parents or community members who wish to express a grievance to the Aspire organization about a particular charter school. Each Aspire charter chooses its Ombudsman, a respected community leader from each school’s local community. The Ombudsman uses his/her discretion to ameliorate specific parental concerns, and may choose to discuss the problem with the Aspire Board of Directors in serious cases.
