The Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District is implementing a chain of command as a way to alert parents what steps to take if there is an issue that arises.
Superintendent Teresa Jackson said the suggestion of putting the district’s chain of command on paper was suggested by a teacher.
“I know we have one, but I never thought about putting it on paper,” she said.
The district chain of command starts with the teacher. If there is no resolve with the bus driver or teacher, then it goes to the assistant principal, then the principal, then to the administration before it comes to her and before the board.
“Mrs. [Nora] Dunn asked a really good question in the Google Classroom about the time frame,” Jackson said. She said Dunn asked how long should a parent wait if the person they spoke with does not act. The board unanimously decided – after discussion – that two school or business days would be an appropriate amount of time.
“So, if a parent talks to a teacher on Monday at 1:45 p.m., by Thursday at 1:45 p.m., they should have an answer,” Trustee Chase DeNoon asked. Jackson said that is the belief.
“What if the person that they spoke with does nothing?” Dunn asked. Jackson said they should then go to the next up and there should be some sort of documentation on part of the parent and the person the parent spoke with whether it’s a teacher, bus driver, whoever, that the meeting did occur.
“If whoever they talked to does nothing, then there should be some sort of consequence,” Jackson said.
The board also suggested putting in the student handbook how and when to come before the board and the proper procedures to do so.
Jackson said it’s hard when she gets calls about an issue and she asks if the parent has spoken with a teacher and they tell her no.
“So, now I have to go back down the chain of command to investigate what’s going on,” she said.
She said the handbook will also have numbers of who to contact, but it won’t have names because those can change.
Trustee Dr. Katherine Hughes asked if the chain of command could be tabled to give the board time to consider, however; Jackson said it needed to be approved Tuesday night so that she could have time to train staff at the beginning of the second semester when it will be implemented.
The measured passed 4-1 with Hughes voting against.
