Expectations for Participant Responsiveness

Students and school leaders rely on their teachers to respond consistently to communications, prioritize required tasks, and meet established deadlines. Likewise, Urban Teachers expects participants to review all program communications, respond timely where appropriate, and complete required tasks in a timely manner. Participants are expected to:

• Meet all established deadlines for required program tasks and deliverables unless granted an extension based on a written request submitted in writing to all relevant parties prior to the deadline.
  • A request for an extension must be submitted at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of a missed deadline, and the participant is expected to propose a new deadline for the task and receive approval by all relevant parties.
  • In the event that an unforeseen emergency prevents the participant from reaching out in advance of a missed deadline, the participant must reach out as soon as possible and include an explanation of their failure to communicate prior to the deadline and appropriate documentation of the emergency.
• Respond within forty-eight (48) hours to any communication requiring a response (i.e. email, text message, phone call, calendar invite) from their school site staff and Urban Teachers coaches, instructors, Assistant Directors, or other program staff when no explicit deadline is set.
• Schedule all coaching activities according to the guidance communicated by their coach. Participants are also expected to communicate any schedule changes that will impact coaching activities as soon as they are aware of the needed change.
• Adhere to all communications from Urban Teachers, including but not limited to weekly cohort newsletters, email updates, and coaching scheduling requests. In the event that a participant does not understand the content of any given Urban Teachers communication, they are expected to reach out for clarification within forty-eight (48) hours.

Failure to meet Urban Teachers’ expectations for participant responsiveness will render a participant subject to disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from the Urban Teachers program.