Resolving conflict/grievances

overview

The heart of Early Childhood Education is in partnering with families to help children learn and grow. At First Circle, you may find yourself disagreeing with a parent who feels their child’s care could be handled differently. As a program and as professionals, we want to be open to receiving feedback and suggestions as we strive to improve ourselves. When a family raises a question about their child’s care, there are several possible outcomes:

• The educator clarifies details of the issue in question and no changes are made.
• There is room for improvement or alternate strategies, so the family, classroom staff, and Admin work together to develop an improvement plan. The plan is implemented over time, and all parties help it evolve. If the concern arose from a First Circle staff member not following policy, the staff member immediately undertakes corrective counseling and/or training.
• On rare occasions, we can’t successfully collaborate with a family because our philosophies differ too much. Or there may be a disconnect between the family’s goals for their child’s care, and the realities of First Circle’s program or group care in general. In these cases, our professional responsibility is to support the family’s right to find a more suitable school or childcare arrangement [see CONNECTION: Departure].

procedure with parents

If a parent communicates a serious concern or one best raised outside of the classroom, we follow this procedure:

communicate

We ask parents to communicate their concern to Admin as soon as possible.

clarify

The director clarifies the circumstances of the issue and any policies that apply. If the director determines that an educator has not followed a policy or procedure, we communicate this to the educator and the parent. We see these as opportunities for growth, not failure.

collaborate

If changes are needed, such as recommendations for follow-through at home, or program changes on site, we meet to collaborate on the best way to proceed.

investigate

If the allegations are serious, the director will investigate and/or clarify the situation with you. If warranted, the director may involve outside agencies during this part of the process.

document

All important information will be put in writing, including interactions, conversations, actions, etc. detailing who and/or what was involved, times, dates, etc. We’ll write a plan for action going forward, including support or retraining if needed.

implement

The plan should be implemented in the classroom and at home for at least 2 weeks, unless it’s clear the plan needs revision before then.

follow up

You and/or the director should check in with the family to ensure the plan is working for all parties and to determine whether it should continue, be deemed complete, or be revisited.

We advise parents that if they feel we are not following the state guidelines, they may contact EEC anytime. In the unlikely event a parent contacts EEC with a complaint, EEC will investigate the issue or concern directly with us.

procedure with staff

We encourage you to speak openly with Administration about any issue, question, or concern. We understand work-related problems can arise and do our best to notice that a potential issue may exist. We also encourage you to try to reconcile simple or personal issues. If this is not possible, our grievance procedure is as follows:

communicate

If you feel that a coworker, regardless of title, is not adhering to their job description, including requirements for communication and professionalism, we ask you to schedule a time to meet with that person and share your concerns.

be specific

Come prepared to the meeting with specific information and details about your concern. State specifically which area of the job description you believe is being neglected. Often simple issues or misunderstandings can be resolved through discussion, or a mutual understanding can be reached. If you resolve the issue, please let the director know of the issue and how it was handled.

ask for help

If you do not feel comfortable discussing your concern with the individual involved, ask to meet with the HR manager or the person’s direct supervisor. A meeting time will be scheduled with you. Come prepared to provide information and details about your concern, stating specifically which area of the job description you think is being neglected. Next steps are:

• If the meeting results in corrective action for the other staff member, it will be handled with the staff member and you’ll be notified, or a second meeting will be scheduled with the staff member involved.
• If the issue cannot be resolved in that meeting, an inquiry into the matter will ensue, including outside agencies if appropriate.
• When all the facts are known or the inquiry has gone as far as possible, a second meeting will be scheduled, involving all appropriate parties. They will discuss the results of the inquiry and any other pertinent information with the goal of resolution, mutual understanding, or compromise.
• If the meeting results in corrective action for the other staff member, it will be handled with the staff member and you will be notified.
• Follow-up on the grievance will occur as appropriate. We will implement all aspects of agreements or decisions made and expect you will do the same.