Meeting Wise
Making the Most of Collaborative Time for Educators
Kathryn Parker Boudett and Elizabeth A. City
Staff meetings often promise collaboration but deliver confusion. Meeting Wise reframes them as opportunities, when well-designed, to shift culture, grow practice and respect time.
Kathryn Parker Boudett and Elizabeth A. City, both from Harvard’s Data Wise Project, invite educators to rethink how we use our collective time. At the centre is a simple yet powerful idea: thoughtful meetings don’t just happen, they’re planned with intention. The authors offer a four-part framework: Purpose, Process, Preparation and Pacing, that helps leaders design meetings people want to attend, because they feel useful.
This book isn’t about scheduling or facilitation alone. It’s about professional trust, learning and momentum. It gives teams language to work smarter together and includes clear tools, like meeting templates and reflective protocols, that can be applied in any school context, whether you're leading strategy, driving improvement, or simply trying to get through an agenda with meaning.
Importantly, Meeting Wise avoids the jargon and over-explanation that can sink a short book. The examples feel familiar. The advice is practical. The voice is respectful of just how busy educators are.
You don’t need to read this with a highlighter in hand. But don’t be surprised if you change your next agenda after reading it. And don’t be surprised if others in the room notice the difference.
If your team’s best thinking happens after the meeting ends, this book offers a quiet revolution. Not another meeting about meetings - this one might actually change how they feel.
