The discussion focused on the latest iteration of the decision-making process that was drafted at the end of last school year, implementing a Rep. Council as the first point of contact for any "issue" that needs examination. The Rep Council, consisting of an elected representative from each Cluster Group, will meet at least once a month to discuss school functioning and determine the pathway for examination of any particular issue brought to the Council. The pathway might be through Ed Council, Site Council, Cluster Groups, Staff Meeting, Departments, Counselors, Administration, or any combination of these. Appropriate "stake holders" would then examine the issue and make a recommendation, followed by a vote of all involved. Once made, the decision would be conveyed to staff at large in a timely and appropriate fashion (e.g. e-mail, flyer, or announcement), and implemented accordingly.
We continued to discuss the need for a "paper trail" through this process, looking at various possibilities for tracking the decision process as well as the follow-up after implementation. It was agreed that Robin's "Decision-Making Planning Worksheet" would be a good start for this part of the process.
The importance of all staff knowing where they can bring up issues was stressed, especially with new faculty. We will make this clear in the upcoming Staff meeting, with visual aids and a handout.
It was also recommended that whenever we have Cluster Groups meet, we have a large group staff meeting immediately following in order for Cluster Groups to report in on their findings/suggestions-- this helps to build consensus and community.
Lastly, we agreed that we simply need to keep using this current process model-- for any issue that arises-- in order to see how it works and how it might need fine-tuning. Suggestions from other staff are always welcome.

August 23, 2002

The Decision Making Task Force met again in August to move forward on issues regarding the process for making and implementing decisions of all kinds here at Jordan. We reviewed the work done in the Spring, and continued to analyze the ways in which Jordan's process succeeds or fails to meet the needs of its constituents. The tentatively proposed model of three "Councils" was discussed, and it was agreed that other options need to be explored as well. We identified three immediate areas of concern to be examined by subcommittees, whose reports will be returned to the large group at our next meeting. These areas are: 1) What kinds of decisions are made, by whom, how, and when? 2) What might our end product look like? and 3) Ed. Council: what's wrong?

.updated by Leslie Goldman 9-25-2003