Effective School Council Meetings School Council Forums 2009

Setting the context Think of a meeting that you attended that was not an effective meeting. Share with the group why?

Framework for Effective meetings Develop the agenda Distribute the agenda Opening meetings Establish group norms for meetings Evaluate each meeting Closing meetings

Well designed agendas lead to effective meetings

Developing the agenda Develop the agenda with the participants that will be attending the meeting In developing an agenda, identify the outcomes for the meeting Organize your agenda items carefully - next to each major topic, include the type of action needed and the type of output expected (decision, action assigned to someone, recommendation, etc.) Make sure that a time limit is allotted for each item

Distribute the agenda Distribute the agenda at least 3 days prior to the meeting Make sure you note the time and place for the meeting on the agenda Revisit the agenda at the beginning of the meeting

Opening meetings Start and end on time Make sure all the participants are present and ready to listen to you Begin by stating your purpose for the meeting Make an opening statement which includes –Welcome attendees and thank them for their time –Your purpose for having the meeting –Your agenda with time allotments for each point –A request to have each person support the agenda before moving forward with the meeting –Review status of actions from last meeting –Review group norms

Group norms.. Guidelines to ensure a cooperative and supportive climate Norms ensure that participants know and agree with what is expected of them at the meeting Norms should be developed with the participants Targeted norms may be established to deal with conflict or unproductive behaviour

Sample set of norms Agenda is set by members and circulated in advance Meetings begin and end on time Consensus decision making All speakers and opinions are respected Individual students, parents and staff are not discussed Be open-minded and objective Refer parent or student issues to the teacher or principal

Setting Group Norms Each person identifies what is important for them to be effective in the meeting Share ideas with the whole group and look for common themes Rank the ideas presented and get agreement on those most important List your group norms on the agenda and keep them posted at all times

Evaluate the meeting During Conduct a 5 minute “satisfaction check” halfway through the meeting – ask the question - How is the meeting going? At the end Leave 5 minutes at the end to evaluate the meeting Strategy: rank Key questions: What did you like about the meeting? What could we do differently to make the meeting better? How did we do on our group norms?

Closing meetings End on time Acknowledge the group’s work Review actions and assignments Highlight items for the next meeting Set the time for the next meeting Clarify that meeting minutes or actions will be reported back before the next meeting

How to have Effective meetings - Resource Meeting Process Recommendations ground/pdf/more_effective_meetings.pdfhttp://extension.ucdavis.edu/unit/common_ ground/pdf/more_effective_meetings.pdf