Meetings are meant to be an engine of productivity in the workplace, but let’s face it—you must have been in one of these meeting situations at least once:
Meetings constitute a large part of our work and an essential part of the work of educators as they come together to make decisions that in most cases impact students’ life and future. And to be honest and realistic, nobody wants to sit in boring, unproductive, and poorly facilitated meetings—your time as a professional and, most notably, as an educator is way too valuable for that!
Meetings facts: While there isn’t a standardized way to count this, this estimate is based upon some data and extrapolation, and these statistics are staggering:
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School and district teams need to take a systematic approach to run team meetings as in the business world.
So let’s unpack meetings, their best practices, and how to apply them in the MTSS context.
There are only three phases of any meeting’s lifecycle:
Meeting norms can be subjective and vary from one organization to another and from one team to another, but the foundations remain the same.
At Branching Minds, we crafted our meeting expectations from input provided by the entire team after participating in a survey assessing our meeting culture and a series of workshops on how to make our meetings better. Those meeting norms are designed to help us achieve greater productivity while allowing us to live our values best.
Our meetings at Branching Minds are expected to be:
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Here is the comprehensive list of norms for showing up in meetings to consider:
Before the meeting: |
During the meeting: |
After the meeting: |
If you are the meeting caller and/or facilitator:
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If you are the meeting caller and/or facilitator:
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If you are the meeting caller and/or facilitator:
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*Ostentatious listening is when team members demonstrate they are actively listening by repeating what has just been said, and making eye contact. Watch this video by Charles Duhigg, starting 01:28, about the characteristics of perfect teams.
While the initial perception is that adopting an MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Support) practice adds additional meetings, it actually refocuses meetings—we don’t meet just for the sake of meeting; we meet with a clear structure. As MTSS meets the needs of the entire student body, these processes ensure that no student “falls through the cracks.”
➡️ Related Resource: Communication Planning for MTSS
In an effective MTSS or RTI model, there are different meeting processes, structures and objectives that allow effective problem-solving at the school, grade/content team, and individual student level. These meetings have different functions and agendas, as follow:
This meeting is conducted three times a year, similar to a universal screener. The goal of this meeting is to understand the school-wide health and wellness around MTSS. The School Leadership team reviews school-level data (assessment scores, tier demographic distributions, tier movement and referral rates, etc.) to answer the question, "Is this a healthy school?"
This meeting happens monthly, during a dedicated grade team meeting time. This meeting aims to discuss and problem-solve for students the teachers are concerned about because they aren't making sufficient progress, typically students' recieving Tier 2 support, and to check in on students' receiving Tier 3 support. Grade/Content teams create/review these students' intervention plans and refer students for a Student Check-in Meeting if needed.
This meeting provides the time and space for individualized deep dive problem-solving for students not making sufficient progress when supported by the Grade/Content Team Community Meeting.
➡️ Related Resource: MTSS Resources for School Leadership
MEETING TYPE |
SCHOOL-LEVEL MTSS MEETING |
GRADE/CONTENT TEAM MTSS MEETING |
INDIVIDUAL PROBLEM-SOLVING MTSS MEETING |
GOAL |
Evaluate school-wide health and wellness of MTSS practice |
Monitor progress of students' receiving Tier 2 support and look for trends in support needs at the system, teacher, or student level |
Deeper dive problem-solving for students not making sufficient progress, and to create/revise Intervention Plans |
DURATION/ FREQUENCY |
1 hour, 3x per year (post-universal screeners) |
1 planning period a month |
Weekly or bi-weekly ½ or full-day meetings (depending on the number of students needing Tier 3 support) |
ATTENDANCE |
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AGENDA |
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First meeting after screener
Follow-up meetings
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**Should avg 4-5 students in a ½ day, or 8-10 students in a full day |
Before the meeting |
During the meeting |
After the meeting |
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After the meeting, the facilitator will follow up on the next steps identified during the meeting. The next steps are as follows:
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Meetings are critical for educators to get together and collaborate to help students succeed, and many people spend most of their time in them. However, at the same time, many feel that the meetings they attend are ineffective and a waste of their time because of lack of structure, unclear purpose, poor facilitation, absence of data and lack of preparation, etc. Creating effective meetings by utilizing agendas, meeting roles, and many of the norms and tactics we listed above can ensure that something frequently done can also bring significant value.
Sources:
The National Center on Intensive Intervention - Intensive Intervention Meeting Facilitator's Guide
The National Center on Intensive Intervention - Implementation & Intervention Data Teaming Tools
The New York Times - What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team
For many educators the acronym MTSS is new, but for most, the work of MTSS is actually quite familiar. Most educators can agree that:
These commitments have been part of almost every school district’s mission, goals, and plan in some form across the country for decades. MTSS, or multi-tiered system of support, may be a rebranding of these commitments and best practices in education, but what it comprises is in no way a new initiative.
Today March 26th, 2021 is International #SELDay. International SEL Day represents an opportunity to celebrate the importance of social-emotional learning, and leveraging the power of it as we prepare to reopen our schools and renew our communities.
To celebrate International SEL Day, our team curated a list of some of the most popular and useful resources. We hope you’ll find insights and practicable ideas.
No, it's not 'teacher appreciation week,' but it is the season of love. ❤️
Teachers have a tremendous impact on their students' learning and lives. Although showing them love and appreciation for all the fantastic work they do should not be limited to a season or a day of celebration, it is still worth the spotlight in February when the topic is ever present.