John Muir Parent Teacher Collective

Meeting Protocol and Agreements

January 2009

Meeting Structure

1) The Parent Teacher Collective is made up of members of the John Muir Community including parents and staff members.

2) Meetings will be open to the public. Any member of the John Muir community can participate in decision-making.

3) The Parent Teacher Collective Officers include President, Treasurer, Secretary, Staff Liaison and Site Council Liaison.

a) President,Treasurer and Secretary are elected each September.

b) Site Council and Staff Liaisons are appointed by the Site Council and Staff respectively.

c) The President is responsible for setting the agenda, convening meetings and establishing committees.

d) The Treasurer is responsible for keeping the books, writing checks and reporting to the PTC membership at monthly meetings.

e) The Secretary will keep all records of the organization; take, record and post meeting minutes; and send out notices of meetings.

f) Ad Hoc committees will be appointed as needed.

4) An agenda for the next meeting will be posted on the bulletin board in the “Parent Corner” and on the Parent Teacher Collective website.

a) Agenda items will be listed in one of three categories:

Announcements-Information dispersal without discussion only clarifying questions.

Discussion-Items that need to be discussed without the direct intention of a decision.

Decisions-Items that need action.

5) The next to last item on the agenda will be the establishment of the next meeting agenda. There will be a short debriefing at the end of each meeting.

6) Meetings will be held at 3:00 on the second Tuesday of each month in the John Muir Community Room. The will last for 60mto 90 minutes.

7) A summary of minutes will be posted on the John Muir website by a staff member.

Deciding Meeting Agenda Items

Here are some ideas about how to order agenda items and how to manage them during the meeting:

1) Prioritize the agenda by urgency, how well defined the issues and their objectives are, and the degree of input that is required. The greater each attribute, the higher the priority. An exception would be a guest speaker who cannot or does not wish to stick around for part/all of the meeting.

2) If a discussion reaches the allocated time limit, it can be deferred to the next meeting or to committee, unless the group decides that the urgency of the issue require an extension of the time limit, at the expense of other discussions.

3) Open-ended discussions or proposals that are less complete or well-formed can be made during the meeting but should be deferred quickly and easily when the time limit is reached, to allow for further development outside the meeting.

4) Any informational items that are not discussed can be submitted in writing to the secretaries by the presenters for inclusion in the minutes.

5) Non-urgent, strictly informational items can intentionally be put at the end of the agenda, and the entire time for the meeting can be allocated to the most urgent and/or interactive discussions.

Interpersonal Interactions

1) The goal of discussion is to understand the perspectives of all members and take all opinions into account in the final decision. Members strive to create an atmosphere of open and honest communication. Comments need to be balanced between decision expediency and respectful interaction.

a) Each person will take responsibility for expressing their opinion directly to the group, listening to others and maintaining the objective of creating the best outcome for the Collective and John Muir School.

i) Members will listen to the opinions of others, ask clarification questions and, when appropriate, paraphrase ideas and concerns raised by individuals.

ii) Members will discuss issues and make decisions in a way that preserves integrity, develops mutual trust, and promotes mutual respect.

iii) If a person is dissatisfied with the discussion, that person will report the reasons directly to the group.

2) It is the responsibility of each member at any time to remind the group about specific agreements.

a) Outside the meeting, members can report on or answer questions concerning committee decisions; however, opinions will not be indexed to individuals.

Decision-Making

1) The group will use consensus in decision-making processes. Consensus differs from unanimity in that it may not be all participants’ first choice. Rather, consensus means that all participants have decided that they can at least accept and go forward with the decision.. If consensus cannot be reached, a vote will be taken.

a) The person responsible for the decision agenda item will state in the item with a question and share a brief background and explanation.

i) Members will ask clarifying questions and state opinions.

2) When it appears that the group is near consensus, any member can call for survey. The purpose of a survey is to “check” the opinions of members of the group. The member calling for the survey provides a statement regarding the agenda item-either a consent of the original request or an alternate proposal.

a) Each member briefly states agreement or disagreement with the decision item or altered proposal.

3) If it appears that the groups consents to the question, any member may suggests a consensus statement. This statement reflects the groups consent. Another member may wish to paraphrase the statement.

4) The convener will call the question. Can everybody accept this decision?

a) If a member cannot accept the decision, he or she is responsible for restating the statement in a comprehensive way that includes the opinion of dissenting member.

i) Clarification and a short discussion follows.

b) The process repeats.

5) If after three attempts, no consensus is reached, and the issue is contentious, then the discussion will either be deferred to a later meeting or to a committee. If the issue is not contentious, but the group is indecisive, any member may call for a vote requiring a simple majority.

6) The group will decide whether to include a larger forum, based on the scope and impact of the decision and its potential consequences. This forum may ultimately include all parents at the school.

a) If a larger forum is deemed appropriate, then the proper media (e-mail, phone calls, hardcopy postings, website postings, handouts, etc.) will be used to do what is necessary, e.g., take a vote, conduct a survey, or collect information or comments.