In this resource, you will find questions to guide your planning meeting so that you can gather necessary information about the students and build collaborative and respectful relationships with all of the Classroom Professionals. These guidelines are ideal for a 45 to 90 minute meeting, with tips at the end for shorter meetings or less preparation time.

Preparing for the Planning Meeting

Preparing for your planning meeting with the following recommendations can help set you up for success.

Who to Invite to the Meeting

Ideally, all adults who will be in the room during the residency should participate in the planning meeting. Invite all the adults to attend, and then plan for ways to document your conversation in case anyone is missing. Depending on where you work, this may be a job for an administrator from your organization, in which case you should request that they invite the following people:

• Classroom Professionals—General Education Teacher (Gen Ed), Special Education Teacher (Special Ed), Paraprofessionals (Paras);
• Related Service Providers (RSPs)—Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists (OT), Physical Therapists (PT);
• Administrators (Admin) – Principals, Assistant Principals, Arts Organization Administrators;
• Teaching Artists (TAs).

Additional Resources to Look at Before Your Meeting

• Planning Meeting Preparation by Role breaks down some of the questions each person may want to ask/answer depending on their role.
• It is also a good idea to incorporate intersectional practices from the very beginning of your planning process.
• Create a Planning Meeting Agenda. If you are planning for a remote residency, use the Remote Learning: Planning Meeting Agenda.

Paperwork We Suggest You Bring

• Sign-in Sheet: Have everyone sign in to the meeting and add their emails or phone numbers, so you can send them the lesson plans, alert them to any roles you’re requesting they take on during the class, etc.
• “Do Now” Class/Student Information: If you suspect that teachers may trickle in or leave early, provide a Do Now—Arts Residency Profile Form with some of the questions below about their class and individual students. This also means you can look them in the eye during the meeting and really listen when they share information, rather than scribbling notes.

Agenda: Bring an agenda with any important questions, information to share, and requests, such as asking RSPs to push in rather than pull out and inviting Classroom Professionals to participate in the lessons.

Planning Meeting Guide

The guidelines below were developed to build respectful and collaborative relationships between all adults in the room and to get as much strength-based information as possible about the students.

How to Use These Guidelines

The questions and important points in the agenda below have generally been written as you, the TA(s), might say them in the meeting. Italicized text adds additional context and reminders. There are many questions included. Be selective with which ones apply to your specific scenario, and which are relevant in the moment. It is important to begin your relationship with the Classroom Professionals with respect and collaboration.

Tips:

• The agenda guidelines laid out below are created for an ideal scenario where you have all teachers for a longer meeting (45 to 90 minutes). It may, however, be challenging to get all of the Classroom Professionals together at the same time, or your meeting may be much shorter. If either of these scenarios arises, you can use: Tips for Less-Ideal Meeting Scenarios.
• For some schools/teachers, you may want to make a pre-written list of expectations and/or a contract for the Classroom Professionals and TAs, or include some of your expectations in the agenda you share.
• You may teach many different classes in one school at the same time. The following questions may need to be asked for all classes, and you should plan accordingly for each class and to address different needs and learning styles for different students in all of their classes.
• Blank version of a Planning Meeting Agenda.

Introductions

Each Classroom Professional Shares

• Name and pronouns.
• Your role (e.g., Para, Gen Ed Teacher, Special Ed Teacher, RSP, etc.).
• One thing you love about this group of students.
• One thing you’re interested in about the art form, or a favorite piece of art.

TA Shares

• Name and pronouns.
• Your artistic discipline and/or TA experience.
• If applicable and you are comfortable, share your personal connection to and experience working with this community/population.

Admin Shares

• Name and pronouns.
• Your role.
• One thing you’re interested in about the art form, or a favorite piece of art.
• If applicable, your experience.

Those not in attendance: Ask the Classroom Professionals if there are additional adults (Paras/RSPs etc.) who might be in the room at any point during the residency who are not in the meeting. If so, ask: “What’s the best way to document the conversation for them?”

Residency Goals

What Will We Be Doing Together?

• Teaching Artist(s) or Arts Organization Admin relay organizational goals and structure of the residency.
• Ask Classroom Professionals:
  • What goals do you have for this residency?
    • See Co-Generated Goals With Classroom Professionals for further support on how to prompt or talk about residency goals.
  • What unit of study is this class currently working on?
• Ask School Administrators:
  • What goals/hopes/dreams do you have for students participating in the residency?
• Ask RSPs:
  • Are there any specific goals you are working on with students that I can incorporate? Examples include crossing the midline, using full sentences, memorizing text, etc.

Expectations and Roles to Share With Classroom Professionals:

Student and Adult Participation

• We would love for all the adults in the room to be active participants during our work. How do you feel most comfortable participating, and would you feel comfortable modeling some of our activities, with clear directions?
  • Given how busy classroom professionals are, it can be a good idea to share some specific examples of how they can participate in a lesson. Check out potential Classroom Professional roles in Engaging the Adults in the Room.
• Do you have an existing role in the classroom that we should be aware of? This question may be particularly relevant to Paraprofessionals.
• Please encourage all students to participate during the program time, and try to limit removing students from class during the program as much as possible. RSPs are welcome to push in.
• What can the Teachers expect of the Teaching Artists (e.g., we will arrive 10 minutes early; we will send you our residency outline on this date, etc.)?

Classroom and Behavior Management

• Are there major values or characteristics of each party’s teaching style/leadership style that should be shared?
• Do you have classroom management tools that you already utilize in class that we can adopt? What classroom rules should we know about?
• Please know that arts classrooms may look and sound different than an academic classroom. Let’s stay in conversation if you have feedback about the noise or energy/activity level.
• Teaching Artists may need Classroom Professionals to help in classroom management, but we also invite some flexibility to allow for an arts-rich and creative environment. It’s okay to participate and not focus only on disciplinary elements.
• Is it possible to establish a cue system between Classroom Professionals and Teaching Artists in the room to handle or intervene in escalating situations?
  • Nonverbal cues and signals can be used to communicate a need, respond to questions, emphasize actions, and direct attention. GIVE Guide Resource: NonVerbal Cues & Signals.

Communication

• How do you like to communicate? Text? Email? In-person meetings?
• How is it best for Classroom Professionals to share feedback about the Teaching Artists’ teaching path/curriculum?
• Would Classroom Professionals like to read lesson plans ahead of time? Would you have time to do so?

Feedback

• We ask that you communicate with us about any questions/concerns and specific successes you are noticing in the workshops. We want your input! If you have ideas or think certain activities are engaging your students better than others, please let us know!
• We want to share responsibility for the success of the residency, so we’ll be asking for your feedback throughout our time together. This might include questions like:
  • What am/are I/we doing in class that helps your instruction?
  • What am/are I/we doing in class that does not support your teaching?
  • What might I/we do differently to improve your students’ ability to engage in this new learning process?
  • We ask that you communicate with us about logistics. Please let us know immediately of any scheduling issues and any other concerns you have.
• Is there anything that you are worried about in relation to this residency or any outside pressures or challenges you want us to know about (e.g., testing, evaluations, requirements from school administration, etc.)?

Logistics

Class Information

• Whole Class Questions
  • Ask Classroom Professionals:
    • What are your students’ strengths as a whole?
    • What interests do they have?
    • What do they love doing?
      • Goal setting can and should also be done with students at the beginning of a residency. See the Co-Generated Goals With Students resource for more on how you can structure this with students.
    • How do your students collaborate with one another? Do you group students in a particular way to encourage collaboration?
• Individual Student Questions
  • Ask Classroom Professionals:
    • How many students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are in your room?
    • What are those students‘ strengths?
    • What supports or accommodations should we provide for these students? What specific IEP goals can we support?
    • What are some strategies to ensure all students in your class feel included and empowered to fully participate in our residency?
    • Are there any specific student needs we should be aware of while planning lessons? Examples include tactile or sensory sensitivities, processing delays, social/emotional skills in development, etc.
    • Do any students have speech devices or other technical supports?
      • If so, how do you suggest incorporating the device? Who can I talk to about adding in appropriate language for our residency?
  • Ask RSPs:
    • What can we do to support all students participating fully in the residency and push in rather than pull out during our sessions?
    • Is there anything in particular you need to know from me/us when you push in?
    • If you need to pull a student out because they have a session with two or three students from different classes, would it be possible to bring student(s) from a different class, to make it easier to push in rather than pull out?

Space

• Are there any materials or supplies that we can utilize in the space?
• What will TAs need from Classroom Professionals to prep the space (e.g., move tables, have students sitting in a half circle, etc.)?
• Can we move your furniture?
• How much noise can we make in this room?
• Is there a space for TAs to store supplies they need for the duration of the residency/program?

Schedule

TAs and school staff should establish the weekly schedule during this meeting and note any changes to this schedule. TAs and Classroom Professionals should also schedule a weekly check-in and planning session, with the understanding that this might shift and/or be done by email at times based on Classroom Professionals’ schedules and responsibilities.

• When are testing days and conference days? Will TAs still be able to teach on these days or will they need to reschedule?
• Are there alternative weekdays that might serve as makeup days?
• What is the anticipated last day of the program? What is the anticipated day of the culmination?

Culminating Projects/Performances

• What are the school’s expectations for the culminating project/final sharing? Will this be a fully realized production or product, or a less formal demonstration of learning?
• Where will the sharing take place? Will it be a small in-class sharing for just the participating students? Will it be a performance in the auditorium to which parents and community members are invited?
• Will the sharing take place during the regularly scheduled class time, or will this be a special event in the afternoon or evening to better accommodate family schedules?

Building Logistics

• Will TAs need to sign in with ID every day both at the front desk and in the main office?
• Is there a metal detector through which TAs will have to go each time they visit the school?
• Is there a teachers’ lounge or other space where TAs can take a break, eat lunch, etc.?
• Is there a key required for the restroom? Where can the TAs get the key?
• Is it possible for teachers to let TAs know about previously planned fire and/or lockdown drills, so that TAs can plan to adjust their lessons accordingly?

Closing

Take time to build relationships with all of the Classroom Professionals. These relationships will be the foundation of your partnership. Make time to have a moment for more than logistics, listen closely to what they share, and incorporate feedback.

• Exchange any contact information needed on the sign-in sheet and confirm how notes from the session will be shared.
• Thank everyone for their time and for bringing the arts to their students.

Tips for Less Than Ideal Planning Meeting Scenarios

Be Selective With Your Questions

• You may want to know which questions you need to ask versus which questions you want to ask, so you can revise your plan on the go.

Communicate Ahead of Time

• Try to send the classroom teachers and/or school administrators the agenda with potential questions and talking points to give them time to prepare for the meeting, or share information via email if they are unable to attend.

Utilize a Class Profile Form or Other Handouts

• If you can’t schedule a full planning meeting, or if the meeting is cut short, you may find it helpful to use this Sample Class Profile Form.
• You can add questions you think you might not get to in the Class Profile Form or other handouts, for Classroom Professionals to fill out as they enter or to complete later if they have to leave early.
• Modify the form to include any specific questions you would like to have Classroom Professionals answer. Just keep in mind that they may only have time to answer a few.
• A form could be sent to the Classroom Professionals ahead of time to fill out, or can be filled out at the beginning of the abbreviated meeting as you wait for all team members to join. Having this information written out before talking about it may allow for more conversation, instead of note-taking, in the meeting.
• Put important information, like the schedule and residency goals, on the agenda so that if you don’t have time to review it, the Classroom Professionals will still have access to it.

Classroom Observations

• You may be able to request a classroom observation in addition to or in place of a planning meeting. This can be a great opportunity to learn about the class and the students. Here are some questions to keep in mind and to make note of during a classroom observation: Classroom Observation Sample Questions.

Take Detailed Notes

• It is important to make sure someone in the meeting is taking notes that can be shared afterward with everyone, whether they could attend or not.
• A video/audio recording of the meeting could be helpful if all parties agree to be recorded, and if there are no school, TA organization, or teachers’ union guidelines advising against this. If the meeting takes place virtually, it will be easy to record and share.

Follow Up After the Meeting

• Share the notes on important details and any additional questions with everyone on the team after the meeting, especially if anyone left early, came late, or wasn’t able to attend.