What's it like to serve on an LSAT?

[Anonymous]

For anyone who has served on your school's LSAT as a parent:

What's the time commitment like?
How stressful is it?
What value do parents ideally bring to this role?What kind of input or say do parents have?

[Anonymous]

My spouse was on one a few years ago. It was very well-controlled by the principal and the committee stayed in its lane, and then some. My spouse complained about the meetings, which were pretty touchy feely and unproductive, with a lot of naming issues but not resolving them.

[Anonymous]

I've served on 3 LSATs (ES, MS and HS) and the experience has varied significantly.
-Our ES principal used us not just for budgeting but also as an advisory panel for other school needs (for example we met to choose a new aftercare provider and provide feedback on other plans she had).
-Our MS met 1/mo but many meetings were about getting feedback on how things were running to prepare goals for budget season and then we met less after budgets were finished.
-Our HS met just a few times before budgets and then when the budget came out there was minimal discussion about changes since we were budget netutral so kept everything as it was (to the agreement of all the teachers, who I typically take my cues from in this area).

Overall, I've served on about 8 LSATS and budget season is the busiest (multiple meetings during the process) but with a good principal and teachers who can provide honest and productive feedback, it is a great experience in how the school works, what its needs are and parent feedback (IME) has been very well received.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've served on 3 LSATs (ES, MS and HS) and the experience has varied significantly.
-Our ES principal used us not just for budgeting but also as an advisory panel for other school needs (for example we met to choose a new aftercare provider and provide feedback on other plans she had).
-Our MS met 1/mo but many meetings were about getting feedback on how things were running to prepare goals for budget season and then we met less after budgets were finished.
-Our HS met just a few times before budgets and then when the budget came out there was minimal discussion about changes since we were budget netutral so kept everything as it was (to the agreement of all the teachers, who I typically take my cues from in this area).

Overall, I've served on about 8 LSATS and budget season is the busiest (multiple meetings during the process) but with a good principal and teachers who can provide honest and productive feedback, it is a great experience in how the school works, what its needs are and parent feedback (IME) has been very well received.

Sorry, reading back I see how this may feel misleading. I've been on LSAT 8 yrs for 3 different schools. I hope that clears up any confusion.

[Anonymous]

I've also been on LSATs at ES, MS, and HS, and echo a lot of PP's experience. In talking to LSAT reps from other schools, it sounds like some schools (particularly WOTP) do significant parent outreach/feedback solicitation, while at the EOTP schools I've been at, basically no one outside the LSAT knew it existed.

I don't find it to be too time consuming and it can be interesting to learn more of the behind the scenes operations of the school.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have experience with a principal that is resistant to parent feedback and general school community engagement? I’m trying to figure out if that makes the LSAT more valuable/ worth my time because it’s otherwise hard to figure out what is going on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have experience with a principal that is resistant to parent feedback and general school community engagement? I’m trying to figure out if that makes the LSAT more valuable/ worth my time because it’s otherwise hard to figure out what is going on.

The principal has the final say. As a teacher I have been the LSAT chair for 5 years. Ultimately it is if your principal cares about the feedback.

So if yours doesn’t…well…yea.

[Anonymous]

One thing to know is that it’s very likely the meetings will be in the early afternoon on weekdays. For the teachers and administrators, this is the best time because it’s after dismissal but before they go home for the day. But it can be really tough for a working parent. I volunteered for my kids’ LSAT and I could never make the meetings. They were always at the very end of the workday at like 430, and inevitably I’d get caught with work issues just as I was trying to wrap up the day and get to aftercare pickup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing to know is that it’s very likely the meetings will be in the early afternoon on weekdays. For the teachers and administrators, this is the best time because it’s after dismissal but before they go home for the day. But it can be really tough for a working parent. I volunteered for my kids’ LSAT and I could never make the meetings. They were always at the very end of the workday at like 430, and inevitably I’d get caught with work issues just as I was trying to wrap up the day and get to aftercare pickup.

I think this is likely a school-by-school thing. Our meetings have always been in the evening and are now in the evening and on Teams (aside from the first meeting, which is in-person and in the evening).

[Anonymous]

What is an LSAT and what does it do? Is it like the PTA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is an LSAT and what does it do? Is it like the PTA?

No, they're two separate organizations. DCPS schools are required to have an LSAT with consistent rules and the like (https://dcps.dc.gov/page/local-school-advisory-teams-lsat). The PTA tends to be its own organization, with its own budget. I was on the LSAT and couldn't stand it, but maybe I'm just a curmudgeon. School principal at the time was awesome and it was interesting to see how the budget worked, but the LSAT has basically no power and felt like an exercise in futility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is an LSAT and what does it do? Is it like the PTA?

No, they're two separate organizations. DCPS schools are required to have an LSAT with consistent rules and the like (https://dcps.dc.gov/page/local-school-advisory-teams-lsat). The PTA tends to be its own organization, with its own budget. I was on the LSAT and couldn't stand it, but maybe I'm just a curmudgeon. School principal at the time was awesome and it was interesting to see how the budget worked, but the LSAT has basically no power and felt like an exercise in futility.

I had a similar experience. I served for 3 years and this is how I felt:

Year 1: Wow, this is really interesting. I'm really getting a peek behind the curtain and better understand administrative decisions and what goes into them.

Year 2: Huh this is repetitive and it feels like the principal is just pretending to listen to the parent concerns we raise. I'm starting to recognize how administration placates parents in order to end discussion and never really addresses concerns.

Year 3: These meetings take up too much of my time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is an LSAT and what does it do? Is it like the PTA?

No, they're two separate organizations. DCPS schools are required to have an LSAT with consistent rules and the like (https://dcps.dc.gov/page/local-school-advisory-teams-lsat). The PTA tends to be its own organization, with its own budget. I was on the LSAT and couldn't stand it, but maybe I'm just a curmudgeon. School principal at the time was awesome and it was interesting to see how the budget worked, but the LSAT has basically no power and felt like an exercise in futility.

I had a similar experience. I served for 3 years and this is how I felt:

Year 1: Wow, this is really interesting. I'm really getting a peek behind the curtain and better understand administrative decisions and what goes into them.

Year 2: Huh this is repetitive and it feels like the principal is just pretending to listen to the parent concerns we raise. I'm starting to recognize how administration placates parents in order to end discussion and never really addresses concerns.

Year 3: These meetings take up too much of my time.

Like others have said, this varies by school. I was on an ES LSAT years ago and we helped the principal choose a new aftercare provider who is still being used by the school today. I felt that was a meaninful contribution we were able to make

[Anonymous]

I think LSATs can be effective in forcing administrations to deal with problems if utilized correctly. Our school has an LSAT Co-Chair who makes the slides in a way that memorializes the concerns that are raised so that the principal is incentivized into taking them seriously. When she doesn’t, parents can point to the LSAT notes in escalating concerns. When the principal does deal with concerns adequately, she makes sure to document that in the following meeting’s slides so there’s a clear benefit to the principal too.