VCS Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) Meetings

1. VCS Parent Advisory Committee (PAC)Meetings The VCS PAC meets on the second Thursday of each month from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm in Room 15. Childcare is provided Refreshments are provided

2. Who Attends? • There are 35 parents signed up for the PAC committee this year. We ask that parents who sign up for the committee attend regularly. • Other parents are welcome and attend if they are interested in the agenda. • Most meetings average about 25 parents. • Two teachers • Director of Education • Director of Operations

3. Meeting Norms agreed to by group • Start on time and end on time. • Regularly attend meetings—be prepared and on time. • Cell phones off or on vibrate. Take phone conversations outside the room. • Actively listen and participate. • Be open to new ideas by respecting others’ opinions. • Treat each other with respect. • Be concise so everyone gets a chance to talk. • Only one person talks at a time. • Don’t make assumptions—assume good will and intentions. • No disruptive side conversations.

4. Meeting Roles/REsponsibilities • Meeting Roles in Interaction Method • Facilitator: operationally neutral servant of the group and does not evaluate or contribute ideas; responsible to help the group focus its energies on a task by suggesting methods and procedures, protecting all members of the group from attack, and making sure that everyone has an opportunity to participate; responsible for meeting logistics. • Recorder: operationally neutral, nonevaluating servant of the group; responsible for writing down basic ideas in front of participants; does not edit or paraphrase, but uses words of each speaker; objective not to write down everything said but to capture enough so that ideas can be preserved and recalled at any time. The record is called the group memory. • Group Member: active participant in meeting; responsible to keep facilitator and recorder in their neutral roles and to make sure ideas are recorded accurately; determines the course of the meeting; devotes his/her total energies to the task. • Manager/Chairperson/Director: does not run the meeting but is an active participant; makes all final decisions has the power to set constraints and regain control if not satisfied by the progress of the meeting; argues actively for his/her points of view.

5. Who Decides Topics? • Agenda topics generated at each meeting for the following meeting. • Topics related to school organization and/or culture are generated by parents. • Topics also can be reports by administrators of survey results, test results, or debriefing school events. • Administrators also bring proposed policy revisions to PAC or ask PAC to suggest revisions to policies. PAC does not vote on policies but consensus is reached on feedback/input to inform staff and board decisions on policies.

6. Do the same topics get discussed over and over? • If a parent brings a topic that has previously been discussed at PAC, the parent is provided with the notes from the previous meeting(s) where it was discussed. • If the parent still wants to bring the topic back for discussion, the group decides whether or not they will discuss it again. • Some topics such as Snack have been discussed in consecutive years.

7. How do the notes get written and approved? • Meeting Notes are taken on an overhead screen during the meeting so all participants can see (and approve) the notes in real time and make additions and edits as the meeting progresses. • These notes are then emailed to all committee members separately as well as posted on the website afterwards.

8. Questions????