Ongoing District and Union Partnership Meetings

Overview

Every week, central office staff at Meriden Public Schools meets together to plan, reflect, and provide feedback on work being done within the district. They noted that an important voice was needed for these regular conversations — their teacher and administrative union. To better embed voices of the union, teachers, and school leaders, they invited union leader representatives and the union president to their team meetings once a month.

Approach

During these monthly central office staff team meetings, there is no set agenda, and the union president along with other union representatives attend and are invited to address any topic they’d like to discuss. This process helps to ensure that teacher and school leader voices are heard as the union representatives meet with their members frequently to solicit feedback on how things are going in the district. This shared meeting time has surfaced different issues that the staff has experienced, allowing the central office team to address and solve such challenges alongside the union. For example, teachers shared with union representatives that they wanted a tool to allow students to fill things in online, such as answer worksheets, to support remote learning. In response, central office staff investigated different tools that could be used and purchased one to support remote teaching and learning. These meetings often serve as a space for district and union leaders to brainstorm new and creative initiatives that help to keep their school system running smoothly.

This strategy is a part of TLA's Hop, Skip, Leapfrog release, which explores the concrete ways in which schools and systems pursued student-centered innovation during COVID-19. Explore the full guide to find additional strategies, insights, and resources.