Policy Review

I found the policy review discussion particularly interesting. The assignment itself made me delve into our district policies which is something I shamefully had never really done. I found it curious that our policies, for the most part, had not been changed or amended since their adoption. And the ones that had been amended were all done at the same time during a negotiations period. Our union consistently negotiates for a three-year period, sometimes more, so any amendments are very spaced apart. Another discovery for me was how vastly different other district's policies are from my own district. Having never taught for another district (26 years in Moline), my world and concern has been very narrow, resulting in my thinking that we did things as every one else did. Another aha arose with the discovery of Moline referring to the MEA or MESPA contracts for quite a lot of policies. I suppose this makes it easier for any revisions that might arise through negotiations. My ultimate take will be not to ignore what is so easily accessible through technogy (available on our district website) and be more aware.