Communications

One of the School Council’s main roles is to share information with parents/caregivers and the community and to seek their ideas and views about matters under consideration by the council.

Communication can happen through a variety of formats. Your Principal can help you access board translation services to provide information in the languages your families speak at home. A combination of electronic and print formats is most effective for reaching all families in a school’s community. Examples include:

• • School Council Meetings (councils must have at least four meetings per school year) (O. Reg 612)

  • Online resources such as a School Council or school website

  • Email distribution list and School Messenger (PDF, 184 KB) broadcast

  • Virtual discussion forums

  • Social Media

  • Surveys - either online or print versions

  • Flyers (sent home with students) and posters

  • Notice boards, school calendar

  • Telephone notices (using the school's alert system)

All School Councils/council Chairs are entitled to one TDSB email account. This account address always stays the same, and transfers to the new Chair as your members change, so your community will always know where to contact your council. Through this account, you will have access to:

• notices and updates from the school board, Trustees, and advisory groups

• TDSB resources and files that require a log-in (including posted grant opportunities)

• School Messenger digital communication platform

• Microsoft Teams virtual meeting platform

• a non-personal account to manage communication with your school community

• protection under the TDSB Acceptable Use of Information Technology Policy P.088 (PDF, 129 KB)

Your Principal activates your council's TDSB email account annually, as well as submits School Council technical support requests to the TDSB Service IT portal. Consult the detailed set-up instructions.

School Messenger is a web-based communication tool that provides the School Council Chair(s) with the ability to send one-way communications to the parents/caregivers of their school community using the same database that Principals use to broadcast to the school community.  Chairs have access to School Messenger through their TDSB School Council email account.  As an official TDSB School Messenger user, council communications must adhere to the applicable TDSB policies and procedures and be CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation) compliant.  See the TDSB School Messenger protocol for full details.

School Councils may choose to set up a website of their own, however, all School Councils have a section on their school’s TDSB website.  Your Principal can arrange for School Council information like events, minutes, Annual Reports and council contact details to be posted on the school website.

School Board Consultations

​School Councils play a crucial role in generating awareness for school board initiatives by sharing information with their parent communities. The TDSB consults the parent community on a variety of issues including policy development, new initiatives, and census surveys. 

Share opportunities for consultation with parent/caregiver communities.

• PIAC - Consultations

• TDSB Public Consultations

• TDSB Policies and Procedures 

• Ministry of Ontario Public Consultations

Community Advisory Committees (CACs)

There are a number of parent and community committees that play an advisory role to the TDSB that School Councils may advertise and encourage their parents to attend. CAC meetings are open to the public. Consult the TDSB website for a comprehensive list of committees and more information on how to get involved. ​