Constitution of the Milton Academy Self‑Governing Association

We, the students of the Milton Academy Upper School, under the grant of power given to us by the faculty and administration of this School for the purpose of self-representation, discipline and responsibility, do hereby endorse this constitution of the Self-Governing Association of Milton Academy Upper School students.

I. Name

The name of this association shall be the Self-Governing Association (S.G.A.) of Milton Academy Upper School Students.

II. Membership

Upon entrance to Milton Academy Upper School, students shall become members of the S.G.A, and this membership shall be formalized in the Book Signing Ceremony. Membership to S.G.A. shall express an awareness of the individual and collective obligations of all students for upholding the school standards of self-discipline and responsibility. No student is exempt from these responsibilities. The privileges of membership in the S.G.A. shall include the right to cast a single vote for all Council officer elections, as well as the right to attend all meetings of the S.G.A. Council, and also, but not exclusively, the right to representation in any faculty, administration, or trustee committee upon invitation. Membership on the S.G.A. Council is held by those members of S.G.A. elected by their peers as mentioned in Article V of this document.

III. Rights of Self-Government

  1. The right of student self-government is granted by the administration of Milton Academy, provided that the S.G.A. maintains the standards of the Academy.
  2. Each member of the Self-Governing Association is entitled to self-representation before a Discipline Committee.
  3. The conclusions of Discipline Committees will be announced before all members of the S.G.A. in morning assemblies.

IV. Composition of the Council

The S.G.A. Council shall be a representative body comprising  the officers, mentioned in Article V, elected by the members of the S.G.A. The council shall be led by the co-head monitors.

V. Officers and Duties

The officers listed below are considered members of the S.G.A. Council and are required to attend weekly S.G.A. meetings to represent the interests of their respective constituencies as well as lead their respective elections for the following year.

Two Upper School students who identify as different genders, both Co-Head Monitors: members of Class I, elected by the members of the S.G.A., shall be the leaders of the Council. They shall call and run meetings of the Council and of the Association, work closely with the co-day monitors, co-boarding monitors and administration, as well as serve on the Discipline Committee. The co-head monitors shall serve as liaisons between students, faculty, and administration and shall attend weekly meetings with the S.G.A. faculty advisors and the dean of students. At the discretion of the co-head monitors, a student shall be appointed as secretary to record the happenings during S.G.A. council meetings.

By Memorial Day of their Class II year, the Head Monitors will submit a Statement of Values and Principles to be ratified by the S.G.A. Council. This statement will consist of a list of the primary values or concepts most important to the Association in the given school year. The document will reflect the needs of the community and the objectives of the Association. Throughout the year, the Statement of Values and Principles will be used to guide S.G.A.’s decisions and actions. Upon ratification by a two-thirds majority of the S.G.A. officers, the Statement of Values and Principles must be signed by the head monitors, the S.G.A. advisors, the dean of students, Upper School principal, and the head of school. Copies of the document will be posted on the S.G.A. board in the Student Center, and in the head monitors’ office.

Co-Boarding Monitors: One girl, one boy, both boarding students of Class I, elected by the boarding student members of the S.G.A., shall call and run meetings of the Boarding Council in conjunction with the associate dean of students. Boarding monitors are encouraged to run in the new election of the co-head monitor position should that position become vacant.

Co-Day Monitors: Two Upper School students who identify as different genders, both day students of Class I, elected by the day student members of the S.G.A., shall call and run meetings of the Day Council in conjunction with the associate dean of students.

Class Councilors: Two Upper School students who identify as different genders, shall be elected by each class to run class meetings, work closely with the class deans and represent the interests of their class to the S.G.A. Council. The councilors of Class I are encouraged to run in the new election of the co-head monitor position should that position become vacant. Two additional representatives, one girl and one boy, also known as half-year reps, can be voted in on a semester basis at the discretion of the class councilors and class deans.

Faculty Advisors: Two members of the faculty shall be chosen by the Council to guide the Council, to attend weekly meetings with the co-head monitors and the dean of students, and to oversee spring elections. In addition, the advisors shall represent the best interest of the S.G.A. in School meetings at which Council members are not present.

VI. Boarding and Day Councils

Boarding Council

The Boarding Council shall be composed of the co-boarding monitors and the house monitor of each house. The Council will meet at least once every two weeks to discuss issues pertaining to residential life, write and present proposals to the administration, and plan events for boarding students.

The house monitor will be elected through a student centered, but house-specific, process. House monitors will preside over the House Council. The house monitors shall be a liaison between students and faculty of their house and between their house and the broader residential community. In the event that a house monitor loses their position or resigns, the position will be filled through a house-specific process.

House Council: Each house shall have a house Council composed of the house monitor and at least one representative from each Class.

House Council meetings shall be held at least once a month and will be led by the house monitor. The House Council shall plan house events, work with the house community to resolve house issues and respond to student and faculty concerns.

Day Council

The Day Council shall be composed of the co-day monitors and two representatives, two Upper School students who identify as different genders, from each of the Classes II–IV. The Council shall meet at least once every two weeks to discuss issues pertaining to the day student community as well as to write and present proposals to the administration. In the event that a Day Council member loses their position or resigns, a replacement shall be elected by a new election within that Class.

VII. Elections

Elections

All candidates for positions on the Council shall nominate themselves at a designated time in the early spring and shall complete the nomination form. Before voting, all candidates will individually reveal, in confidentiality, their gender identity to a counselor appointed by the current head monitors. The options for gender identity would be: boy, girl, non-binary and gender non-conforming. All candidates would run in the same pool. After voting concludes, the candidates will be ranked by number of votes. The appointed candidates will be: the individual with the most votes overall, and the individual of a different gender identity with the most votes. The gender identities of each candidate will not be explicitly revealed to the student body.

Elections for the co-head monitors shall be held before the entire Upper School and run by the standing co-head monitors. Elections for co-boarding monitors shall be held before the boarding community and run by the standing co-boarding monitors, and elections for the co-day monitors shall be held before the day community and run by standing co-day monitors.

Voting

  1. Voting will consist of a single transferable ballot, or assigning numbers of preference to the candidates in descending order (i.e., 1 is your most preferred choice).
  2. The ballot will include the following choices:
    a. the name of each nominated candidate
    b. an opportunity to abstain from voting in that particular election

VIII. Meetings

Meetings of the Association shall be called by either of the co-head monitors at their discretion. A quorum, for voting purposes, shall consist of a majority of the association in attendance on any school day.

Meetings of the Council shall be called by either co-head monitor and at their discretion. A quorum, for voting purposes, shall consist of both co-head monitors and two thirds of the remaining Council members. The Council may go into executive (closed) session.

IX. Amendments and Discipline

Amendments

Any member of the Association may submit to the Council a proposal for an amendment to this constitution. If changes to this constitution are necessary, revision and ratification must ensue. The amendment must be ratified by two-thirds majority vote of the S.G.A. Council and a majority vote of the association. With the ratification and enactment of this constitution, all previous constitutions of the S.G.A. will be rendered null and void. The newly ratified constitution will be signed by the co-head monitors, the faculty advisors, the dean of students, and the head of school. The date of ratification will be recorded above the signatures.

Discipline

Three unexcused absences from S.G.A. meetings per semester will result in disciplinary action within the Council. A breach of any School regulation that results in a Discipline Committee or administrative action shall result in loss of position. Once a Council member loses his or her position, he or she may not run in the re-election for that position or in any election that occurs in the 12 weeks following his or her Discipline Committee meeting, in accordance with the Upper School Student Handbook.

Vacancies

If, for any reason, an officer’s seat becomes vacant, the position shall be filled by the following procedure:

  1. A co-head monitor will be replaced by a Class I student in an election voted on by the S.G.A. The replacement candidate must be of a different gender than the remaining head monitor.
  2. A co-boarding monitor will be replaced by a Class I boarding student of the same gender. Should the vacancy occur in the time period between spring elections and the first interim grading period, the position will be filled through an election voted on by the boarding student body.

    Should the vacancy occur after the first interim grading period but before the start of the second semester, the position will be filled by a self-nominated Class I boarding student of the same gender through a selection process conducted by the full Boarding Council, the results of which confirmed by a majority vote of the boarding student body.

    Should the vacancy occur after the start of the second semester, the position shall remain vacant for the remainder of the term.

  1. A co-day monitor will be replaced by a runner up of the previous election. The replacement candidate must be of a different gender than the remaining day monitor.
  2. A class councilor will be replaced by a student of the same Class in an election voted on by that Class. The replacement candidate must be of a different gender than the remaining class councilor.
  3. When any position listed in Article V. (Officers and Duties) is vacated due to reasons stated in Article IX: Discipline, or for any other reason, an election to fill the position must be held within 20 school days after the position is vacated. This election must be identical to the election originally held to fill the position (as outlined in Article V and Article VII).

X. Presence of Constitution

All copies ever ratified of the S.G.A constitution will be available in the school library. The most recently ratified S.G.A. constitution shall not only be available in the school library, but shall be printed in the Upper School Student Handbook, added to the Milton Academy website, and framed (with signatures) in the office of the dean of students. The appropriate excerpts shall be read at each election for officers, and Article II shall be read during the Book Signing Ceremony at the beginning of the school year.

XI. Ratification

The Constitution shall be reviewed during the first month of each academic year by the S.G.A. Council, the faculty advisors to the Council, and the dean of students.

The signatures of you and your child on the Student Handbook Acknowledgment form, which you may print from your myMilton page, indicate that you have read and understand the contents of this Handbook