Week 7 Discussion - Meeting Attendance

Meeting Attendance

Monday, December 2, 2019, 4:09 PM

 

What do you tell her?

 I would remind this teacher that meeting dates were set and shared at the start of the school year, and all staff were notified of the expectation of attending all meetings unless an emergency arises. I would remind her that staff meetings provide a chance for crucial information to be shared, discussions to occur, and decisions to be made. This is why the attendance of all staff is mandatory.

When is it permissible to allow one of your staff to miss staff meetings? 

I believe that it is permissible to allow a staff member to miss a meeting when a true emergency arises, as emergencies are unavoidable and warrant immediate attention.

Should teachers know the rules in advance, or will you consider these kinds of requests on a case-by-case basis? 

I think it is critical for staff to know the expectations and dates of meetings in advance. It is not fair to expect staff members to be at after school meetings if they are not given proper notice, as many teachers have other responsibilities and obligations that will need to be taken into account on meeting dates such as arranging child care or avoiding appointments. At my school, the dates of all staff meetings, SIP meetings, PLT meetings, and Leadership Team Meetings are given at the beginning of the year. Along with the schedule for these meetings, our staff handbook includes the expectation that all staff are required to attend all staff and PLT meetings. The same expectation is provided for all SIP and Leadership Team members about ensuring they make arrangements, so they are able to attention all scheduled meetings. I think addressing requests to miss meetings on a case by case basis can lead to questions about trust and fairness that could be very detrimental to overall staff morale. 

 

Will allowing this teacher to keep her hair appointment set precedent for future meetings in your building?

 I do think that letting this teacher miss the meeting for a hair appointment could send the message that staff meetings are not important. Additionally, it could set a precedent that even though the meetings are required, staff can come to me with individual requests to miss meetings. This would show that I am not consistent with upholding my own expectations and could lead to negative feelings amongst other staff members.

Is that sending a message that the meeting really isn't important? Or are you showing that teacher that you can be flexible and sensitive to personal needs?

I believe this is sending the message to this individual and other staff members that the meeting isn’t important. We all know that news travels fast within a school. I think it is important to think about the message this sends to other teachers who are sitting in the meeting when they know I have let another teacher miss it for a hair appointment. If the meeting dates where given in advance and all teachers know staff meetings are mandatory, I think I need to show the whole staff that I value their time and meetings are crucial by holding all staff accountable for attending, barring emergencies.