During an October school board meeting, under the "Communications" agenda item, a member of the board asks for an update on how the teacher evaluations are progressing this year. In particular he wants to know if the fourth grade teachers are on the list. Given that there are only two grade four teachers in the school and that the board member’s child is assigned to one of those classrooms, a brief but uncomfortable "moment of silence" is obvious in the meeting.
The board chair reminds the member that the policy on staff evaluation is new this year and is being implemented with a pilot group of staff volunteers. The superintendent offers to bring a brief update on the implementation to the next meeting. Another board member acknowledges the importance of the work and that the board’s interest in the topic supports meaningful supervision and evaluation of all members of the instructional staff.
Before the group moves on, the chair asks the group to pause and think about why the question seemed to create an uncomfortable moment for the group. After pausing to consider the question, another board member answered that "the topic was uncomfortable because it was personal and came close to naming an individual staff member."
The member who asked the question acknowledged the personal nature of the question and committed to keeping personal issues off the board table in the future. The superintendent thanked the group for their thoughtful response and continued focus on the policy work of the board.
The board member’s question was personal and caused an awkward moment. The fact that the group acknowledged the discomfort made it clear that they knew it to be incorrect to bring a personal concern into a board meeting.
Has this ever happened at your school board table?
How could this conversation in the board room impact the principal of the school?
What does the response tell you about the leadership climate on this team?
What impact could this kind of question have on the implementation of a new policy?
What policies do you have in place that would guide the response to this kind of topic?