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Appendix K: Group Agreements | |
1. Decision making: For a decision to be made a consensus must be reached. This means that each person must agree to the decision or be willing to abide by the decision without sabotaging the decision. Consensus is operationally defined as follows: a. All participants contribute resources, encourage the use of one another’s resources and opinions, and view differences as helpful rather than as a hindrance. b. Everyone understands the issue and is able to paraphrase it. c. Consensus does not mean that the decision gives everyone his or her choice; rather, consensus means that members are sufficiently in favor of the decision that no one will become an obstacle to carrying it out (no one will sabotage the decision). d. All share in the final decision; if consensus is not reached, the discussion is automatically recycled for more information. Note 1: The essential vehicle for testing for consensus is the survey -- a non-binding opportunity for individuals to convey their thoughts, feelings, and impressions. A survey may be called at any time by any member. The person asking for the survey states what he or she would like other members to respond to (and the convener may ask someone else in the group to paraphrase the request, if necessary, for clarity’s sake). Other members in the group then relate their responses in one or two short sentences. Note 2: If consensus cannot be reached on a proposal or recommendation and there is insufficient time to reach consensus, group members will be surveyed to determine who is in favor and who opposes the proposal/recommendation. That information will be noted for the record. 2. Revisiting of an issue: Members will limit revisiting an issue once consensus is reached. An issue can be re-raised when there is consensus that subsequent events or discussions warrant re-examination of the issue. 3. Confidentiality: All information/issues discussed by the committee are public and can be discussed outside of the group, unless a group member requests confidentiality. Names of specific individuals will not be attributed to information/issues when discussed outside of the group. Discussion of personalities is off-limits. 4. Directness and Openness: It is OK for members to say that the behavior of an individual is helpful or not helpful. It is never fair to talk about people; it is only fair to talk about ideas. Ideas belong to the group. 5. Survey: It is OK for any group member to initiate a survey. Members can pass when a survey is taken. 6. Ownership and Commitment to group decisions and actions: Once an agreement is made all members own that decision. Each person is responsible for how the group behaves. 7. Attendance: Each member is expected to attend all committee meetings; due to the complexity of our task, members may not send alternates. If you are unable to attend a meeting, you will call/e-mail the convener as far in advance as possible. 8. Assessment techniques: It is OK at any time for anyone to bring to the attention of the group how it is interacting and to make suggestions on how it might instead proceed. Members should remind each other to stay on track. 9. Debrief: Each session will be debriefed at the end of the meeting.
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Eugene School District 4J