FA Class Representative Guidelines

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The Family Association Class Representatives serve as a channel of communication between Friends Select’s families, the FA officers, and the administration and staff. The Lower School Reps work with their children’s classroom teacher. The Middle School Reps work with their children’s advisors. The Upper School Reps work with the grade dean.

As a Class Representative, you should be conversant with the Handbook for Lower School students & families  or the Handbook for Middle and Upper School students & families, as well as with the school’s philosophy. You should be familiar with the processes and procedures of the school, and be prepared to help families identify the appropriate person to contact if they have questions. Reading school communications is important so that you are aware of what’s going on in the school.

Over the course of the year, the Class Representative may receive information from divisional vice-presidents which should be disseminated to your class. The Class Reps determine the best way to do this, i.e. phone calls or e-mail. Likewise, Class Reps bring to the attention of the divisional vice-presidents or FA board any important information or feed-back from families.

Things to do:

1. Introduce yourself to the classroom teacher, advisor, or grade dean. Discuss ways in which you can work together and have parents contribute to the program for the class throughout the year.

2. Call or email new families in your class to see how they and their children are settling into Friends Select, and to answer any questions. If there are any concerns, please contact Molly Mullahy, Director of Parent Programs (ext. 3139 or mollymu@friends-select.org).

3. Create an email list to pass information quickly to all families. Keep this list confidential and use the bcc line so as not to compromise individual’s privacy. Sometimes you will need to share this information, use your discretion.

4. Attend family evenings and coffees for your division so you can be available as a resource for other families.

5. Remind families of our continuing need for volunteers at various activities and events.

6. Plan an off-campus social event for your class, with or without children, so that families can get acquainted. Check the school calendar and coordinate with Molly Mullahy in order to avoid conflict with other activities. Advise the FA divisional vice-presidents and the FA co-presidents of your plans.

7. In your role as Class Representative, try not to speculate about why something may or may not have happened. There are answers for every question. Molly Mullahy can be an excellent source of information or can help guide you to the answer.
8. Assist the auction chairs with their efforts by coordinating a class/grade basket and/or project.

Remember:

1. Any time an event is planned under FA auspices, please notify Molly Mullahy, Director of Parent Programs (ext. 3139 or mollymu@friends-select.org).

2. Events planned during the school day must be cleared with the appropriate school division head.

3. Announcements which you would like to be included in the Parent Portal must be submitted to Molly Mullahy (ext. 3139, mollymu@friends-select.org) for potential use at least a week in advance.

4. All fund-raising activities at the school need to be coordinated through the Development office. Please contact Molly Mullahy (ext. 3139, mollymu@friends-select.org)

Thanks in advance for help. We truly appreciate your time and dedication. Please feel free to call any FA board member if you need additional information or assistance.