Visual Map of Sociocracy Circles

On a desktop or laptop: Use your mouse to drag and zoom.

On your phone or tablet: Use two fingers to drag and zoom.

Text Version

Note: Other sub-circles of the Membership that are presently partially-formed but which need more official status are not included. E.g. COVID Workgroup; Mutual Aid; Facilities (“Cleaning Party”). Departmental sub-circles (E.g. “Advisors” as a sub-circle of “Learning & Teaching”) may also not be included in this overview.

Membership

Aim: 

Govern our School as a participatory democracy

Domain:  

• Create, modify, and/or delete all operational procedures and administrative regulations
• Final decision regarding continued or non-continuation of employment for all staff
• Elect a Governance Board
• “Call out” the Board’s decision-making when necessary
• Evaluate teaching staff
• Adjust the yearly calendar when needed
• Plan and approve special events

Members: 

• All enrolled students
• All guardians, parents, and direct care-givers of enrolled students
• All staff
• Community Stakeholders who apply for membership

---

Governance Board

Aim:

• Raise the profile of the School
• Raise funds for the School
• Provide oversight for all other governing bodies of the School

Domain: 

• All School Policies – adopt, revise, delete
• Review all decisions made by Membership, Design Team, School Meeting, and EC for compliance with law, contracts, and values
• Legal and fiduciary responsibility for the School

Members:

Elected by School membership, to include at least 3 students, 2 staff, and 2 community stakeholders

---

School Meeting

Aim:

• Make all day-to-day governance decisions not directly in conflict with the School Plan
• Make recommendations and provide input to the Design Team, EC, and Board

Domain: 

Create, modify, and/or delete all operational procedures and administrative regulations

Members:

• All enrolled students
• All staff

---

Design Team

Aim:

Formally study, evaluate, and revise the School Plan to ensure the School is meeting its purpose, worldview, and values

Domain: 

Edit, modify, and re-write the School Plan

Members:

• Between 13 and 17 members, made up of:
• Between 9 and 15 students
• Up to 3 staff
• 1 guardian / parent / caregiver

Selected at random from a list of volunteers

---

EC Leadership

Aim:

Deliver the experience described in the School Plan, by:

• Holding the Learning, Operations, and Culture circles accountable and supporting their functioning
• Ensuring the flow of information between EC circles
• Deciding who decides: assigning new issues to the EC circles, and/or exploring and making decisions that concern the aims/domains of more than one EC circle
• Responding to questions and concerns from the School community, accountability partners, and community stakeholders that concern the aims of more than one EC circle (or when a question/concern is not satisfactorily addressed by an EC circle)

Domain: 

Create, modify, and/or delete all Operational Procedures and Administrative Regulations that concern the aims/domains of more than one EC circle

Members:

• Director of Learning & Teaching
• Delegate from Learning & Teaching Circle
• Director of Operations
• Delegate from Operations & Governance Circle
• Director of School Culture & Climate
• Delegate from Culture & Climate Circle

---

Learning and Teaching

Aim:

Use relevant, real-life experiences & problems for, differentiated, one-student-at-a-time, hands-on learning

Domain: 

• All operational procedures and administrative regulations derived from the following sections of the School Plan:
• Learning Program: Experiences – Goals – Assessments

Members:

• Director of Learning and Teaching
• Community Learning Coordinator
• Reading and Dyslexia Instruction Expert
• Leader of Advisors Circle
• Delegate from Advisors Circle
• Delegate from Special Education Circle

---

Operations and Governance

Aim:

Govern and manage the school in a way that includes students, teachers, and staff, to meet all operational obligations with outside entities

Domain: 

All operational procedures and administrative regulations derived from the following sections of the School Plan:

Governance – Facilities – Food – Staffing Pattern – Calendar & Schedules – Budget

Members:

• Director of Operations
• School Finance Manager
• Health, Wellness, & Safety Coordinator
• Facilities Manager
• Food Services Manager
• IT Coordinator

---

Culture and Climate

Aim:

Be accessible & welcoming to all, regardless of income, race, ethnicity, gender expression, culture, identity, age, neurodiversity, social-emotional-mental wellbeing, or dis/ability, while building agency & power for equity, inclusion, and justice

Domain: 

All operational procedures and administrative regulations derived from the following sections of the School Plan:

Worldview & Values – Services, Care, Climate, & Culture – Justice

Members:

• Director of Culture & Climate
• Justice Coordinator