proposal_page

=**MEETINGS COMMITTEE PROPOSAL PAGE**= Meetings Committee Faculty Meetings Final Proposal 30 May 2012

Based on our research of other schools and on our assessment of need, as well as the strong feelings of committee members and many faculty, the Meetings Committee proposes that the administration schedule two regular meetings per month, on easily named days (e.g. 1st and 3rd Fridays), when students would be released at or near 1 PM. Giving a half an hour to clear students out of the building, meetings would start at 1:30 PM and not finish until 3 PM. This 1 1/2 hour block of time could be broken into two 45 minutes halves and thereby serve multiple purposes.

This time could be used as needed for the following purposes:

1st Meeting day:
 * all-faculty/staff meetings and information sessions -- to anticipate upcoming calendar events, to celebrate birthdays and baby showers, to discuss issues that emerge (e.g. I.D.'s, dress code, discipline, etc.), to explain and/or reinforce policies and decision-making, to engage in future planning, to hear committee/task force reports, etc. We would want to have a routine cycle for announcements: administrative/athletic/academic/ clubs & extra-curriculars/miscellaneous. After these announcements, a faculty/staff monthly calendar would be established (or a PushPage sent from the webpage, and/or post on a faculty/staff portal page on webpage), and items would be posted to the Outlook Web app calendar. This meeting would also include a statement about expectations for any monthly or coming events (e.g. what events are faculty/staff required to attend that month?).
 * any time remaining (if any) could be used for committee meetings and/or department meetings.

2nd Meeting day:
 * department meetings
 * committee/task force meetings
 * inter-departmental or grade-level meetings
 * "learning community" discussion sessions
 * outside speakers/workshops
 * iPad initiative: time to process
 * professional development in technology or other topics
 * NEASC follow-up reporting
 * curriculum development/standards integration

Some suggested guidelines for meetings and process:
 * meetings will begin with prayer and end on time
 * requested agenda items will be submitted to administration no later than one week before the meeting
 * an agenda (with projected times for each item) will be distributed three days before the meeting
 * a time-keeper will monitor time spent on each item during the meeting