Winder-Barrow High School Governance Team Packet Summary — August 18, 2026
Key Items on the Agenda
The Winder-Barrow High School Governance Team is scheduled to begin its school-year governance work with organizational action items, annual training, and reviews of the Barrow County School System's strategic framework and the school's own vision, mission, and beliefs.
- Elect chair and vice chair: The agenda calls for the SGT to elect its chair and vice chair at this meeting. The attached bylaws provide for those officers to be elected annually at the August meeting and state that the principal may not serve as chair.
- Set the year's meeting calendar: The team is scheduled to select meeting dates for the full school year. The agenda says the SGT must meet monthly, with November and December allowed to be covered by one combined meeting; the attached bylaws also provide that the SGT does not meet during June and July.
- Approve the conduct and confidentiality agreement: The agenda recommends approval of the Appropriate Conduct and Confidentiality Agreement and calls for each SGT member to sign it, with a copy kept on file at the school.
- Review the district strategic plan and charter framework: The SGT is expected to review the Barrow County School System 2026–2031 Strategic Plan and the attached School Governance Team bylaws.
- Review the school's vision, mission, and beliefs: This is presented as an information item rather than an immediate approval. If changes are needed, the packet calls for a school-community process over the following weeks or months, with any proposed changes returning on a future agenda for SGT action.
Strategic Plan Review
The packet includes the Barrow County School System's 2026–2031 Strategic Plan, which organizes district priorities around five areas: Student Growth and Success; Quality Workforce; Operational Effectiveness; Community, Connection, and Commitment; and Positive Culture and Safety.
Among the plan's stated priorities are improving mastery of academic standards, increasing literacy proficiency, strengthening college, career and life readiness, recruiting and retaining effective staff, maintaining fiscal responsibility, expanding family and community involvement, and sustaining safe and welcoming schools.
Specific initiatives identified in the plan include:
- Strengthening K–12 curriculum and assessment alignment and districtwide Multi-Tiered Support System processes.
- Expanding real-world learning through service learning, job shadowing, internships, apprenticeships and work-based learning.
- Maintaining a five-year facilities plan tied to enrollment, program needs and infrastructure requirements.
- Conducting a districtwide facility-utilization and classroom-capacity audit.
- Integrating strategic-plan priorities into annual budget development and providing districtwide training on zero-based and needs-based budgeting.
- Strengthening cybersecurity, communications and family engagement.
- Incorporating Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management requirements into school safety plans and continuing work on weapons-detection measures.
- Evaluating the current Character Strong social-emotional learning program while researching other programs.
School Vision, Mission and Beliefs
The agenda asks the SGT to review the school's existing vision, mission and beliefs and determine whether changes may be needed. The packet specifically says any revision process should involve the school community and may take place over the next several weeks or months.
No change is presented in the packet as already approved. Instead, the agenda states that an "Adopt School Vision, Mission, and Beliefs" item would need to be placed on a future meeting agenda before the SGT could act on proposed revisions. Any changes are also expected to align with the BCSS strategic plan.
Governance, Training and Member Responsibilities
Annual SGT training and orientation is included as an information item. The packet assigns two Charter Foundation videos covering meeting best practices and member roles and responsibilities, totaling about 35 minutes, and suggests members may watch them before the meeting so meeting time can focus on questions and discussion.
The attached governance materials describe the SGT as a school-level body intended to make decisions and provide input supporting continuous school improvement. Its work is expected to align with school-improvement priorities, budget and resource-allocation priorities, the needs of the overall student and staff population, school climate, communication and stakeholder involvement.
The conduct agreement requires members to participate in training, attend meetings regularly, represent all students, seek information about matters before the SGT and work collaboratively. It also restricts access to confidential information about individual students and employee performance or personnel actions.
Meeting Procedures and Public Participation
The packet includes a simplified guide to Robert's Rules of Order covering motions, amendments, debate, postponement, committee referrals, reconsideration and other meeting procedures. The SGT bylaws state that meetings are to be conducted under Robert's Rules of Order or an adaptation approved by the team.
The agenda also provides an opportunity for requests to appear before the School Governance Team and includes public-participation materials in English and Spanish. The attached request form provides space for a citizen to describe a concern, request a verbal presentation or submit a written statement, and propose a resolution.
The packet contains differing submission deadlines in its supporting materials. The request form says it must be submitted to the principal's office by noon at least two business days before the meeting, while the attached SGT bylaws state that citizens must submit the form five school business days before the meeting. Both materials provide for a three-minute verbal presentation, with additional time possible at the chair's discretion.
What to Watch at the Meeting
The most immediate scheduled actions involve establishing the SGT's leadership and operating structure for the school year: electing a chair and vice chair, setting meeting dates, and addressing the required conduct and confidentiality agreement.
The broader discussion items could shape later governance work rather than produce immediate decisions. In particular, the strategic-plan review establishes district priorities for 2026–2031, while the vision, mission and beliefs review could begin a longer school-community process if the team identifies changes it wants to pursue. Any proposed revisions to those school statements would need to return for action on a future SGT agenda.
