Week 5 Discussion - Handling Conflict

Handling Conflict

M

onday, February 3, 2020, 7:26 PM

At leadership team meetings, team leaders always have an opportunity to

share

celebrations and concerns from their team. Sometimes this is done on a poster as team

leaders arrive, other times it has been as a group discussion or an online form. One

concern that was brought up on a celebrations and concerns poster at a recent

leadership team meeting was a concern about guidance support for students. One team

leader wrote that the school guidance counselors were not meeting with students in

accordance to plans that had previously been set such as student x meeting with

guidance

once every week. The teachers had raised these concerns with the

counselors, but they expressed that the problem continued.

From here, we spoke with our guidance counselors to share these concerns. At first this

conversation was very tense and was met with

a great deal of defensiveness. To

refocus the conversion, it was stated that this concern was raised in advocating for

students and ensuring their needs were being met. Our goal was to problem solve

together to make improvements. Upon further conversation

, the guidance counselors

expressed that they felt they did not have enough time to meet with all the students they

needed to meet with in a week. This led to a conversation that included looking at their

schedules to see the time they spend teaching guida

nce classes and the time that is set

aside for serving students and other responsibilities. The additional roles and

responsibilities that they fill were reviewed, and we reflected on how other staff could

support them with some of these roles to help prot

ect time for counseling students,

while others are specific to their job as guidance counselors. The conversation ended

on a positive note with a fresh reminder of the integral role that the guidance counselors

play in our school.

I believe that this conf

lict was handled well, but I would add on by asking the guidance

counselors to check in with each grade level about student concerns. I think

communication is critical to resolving this conflict. This would allow the guidance

counselors to verify plans for

on

-

going counseling for specific students, and make sure

they are aware of any additional students that teachers feel are in need of counseling

support. I would also encourage the counselors to document when they are meeting

with students, to help hold th

emselves accountable and also to utilize if questions arise

from teachers or parents about how regularly they are working with a particular student

or small group. Lastly, I would follow up after a few weeks with both guidance

counselors and the team that

raised the concern to ensure that we are back on track.

This conflict resolution reminded me of the importance of establishing ways that

teachers or teams can express concerns and advocate for the needs of their students. It

also showed the power of havin

g an open conversation, ensuring that all voices are

heard, and problem solving together to find solutions.

Handling Conflict

Monday, February 3, 2020, 7:26 PM

At leadership team meetings, team leaders always have an opportunity to share

celebrations and concerns from their team. Sometimes this is done on a poster as team

leaders arrive, other times it has been as a group discussion or an online form. One

concern that was brought up on a celebrations and concerns poster at a recent

leadership team meeting was a concern about guidance support for students. One team

leader wrote that the school guidance counselors were not meeting with students in

accordance to plans that had previously been set such as student x meeting with

guidance once every week. The teachers had raised these concerns with the

counselors, but they expressed that the problem continued.

From here, we spoke with our guidance counselors to share these concerns. At first this

conversation was very tense and was met with a great deal of defensiveness. To

refocus the conversion, it was stated that this concern was raised in advocating for

students and ensuring their needs were being met. Our goal was to problem solve

together to make improvements. Upon further conversation, the guidance counselors

expressed that they felt they did not have enough time to meet with all the students they

needed to meet with in a week. This led to a conversation that included looking at their

schedules to see the time they spend teaching guidance classes and the time that is set

aside for serving students and other responsibilities. The additional roles and

responsibilities that they fill were reviewed, and we reflected on how other staff could

support them with some of these roles to help protect time for counseling students,

while others are specific to their job as guidance counselors. The conversation ended

on a positive note with a fresh reminder of the integral role that the guidance counselors

play in our school.

I believe that this conflict was handled well, but I would add on by asking the guidance

counselors to check in with each grade level about student concerns. I think

communication is critical to resolving this conflict. This would allow the guidance

counselors to verify plans for on-going counseling for specific students, and make sure

they are aware of any additional students that teachers feel are in need of counseling

support. I would also encourage the counselors to document when they are meeting

with students, to help hold themselves accountable and also to utilize if questions arise

from teachers or parents about how regularly they are working with a particular student

or small group. Lastly, I would follow up after a few weeks with both guidance

counselors and the team that raised the concern to ensure that we are back on track.

This conflict resolution reminded me of the importance of establishing ways that

teachers or teams can express concerns and advocate for the needs of their students. It

also showed the power of having an open conversation, ensuring that all voices are

heard, and problem solving together to find solutions.