Advancement · School Operations

Office routines written down,
so anyone can cover

Write each routine once: who owns it and who backs them up, the steps with the minutes each takes, the forms it needs and what to do when it goes wrong. The tool totals the time, catches soft steps like “make sure”, a backup who is the same person, a 13-step process that needs splitting and a procedure overdue for an update, then prints a card per procedure and the whole binder.

Add a procedureWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the School operations toolkit, $49 for 66 items.

Procedure library

The worked example is made up: a daily absence call routine, a bus change process that lives in one person’s head and a visitor sign-in outline. Saved on this device only.

Loading the procedure form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Advancement · School Operations$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per procedure: name, area, owner, backup and how often it runs; purpose, timed steps and the forms and systems it needs; what to do when it goes wrong; the last update, update cycle and six checks. Step count, total minutes, untimed steps and days since the update; a printed card per procedure and the whole library.
Who it is for
Office managers, principals, school secretaries, attendance and transportation staff and operations leads who keep a school’s daily routines running.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per procedure. Prints a procedure card, the whole library, the record, every procedure in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the School operations toolkit ($49) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The School Operations space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add a routine and name its owner and backup.
  2. List the steps, one action each, with minutes.
  3. Say what to do when it goes wrong.
  4. Have someone new follow it once.
  5. Fix the flags and print the card.

Add a procedure

What a usable procedure contains

A procedure a substitute can followWhoAn owner and a differentbackup, by roleHow often it runsHowOne action per step,starting with a verbMinutes for each stepThe forms and logins itneedsWhat ifThe system is downNo one answersBoth people are outA procedure a substitute can followWhoAn owner and a different backup, by roleHow often it runsHowOne action per step, starting with a verbMinutes for each stepThe forms and logins it needsWhat ifThe system is downNo one answersBoth people are out
The test of a written procedure is simple: someone who has never done the task follows it once, and you rewrite the step where they got stuck.

Write it for the first day

A standard procedure is written for the person doing the task for the first time: a substitute secretary, a new hire, the backup in October. Start each step with a verb, keep one action per step and put times on them so people know whether they are on track. Long procedures are easier to follow when split into stages with their own short lists.

Keep it true

Procedures drift as systems and people change. Record when each one was last checked against how the work is really done, and update it on a schedule and whenever a system changes. Where a routine handles student records, follow your district’s privacy rules; under FERPA, schools protect education records and limit who sees them.

Sources

  1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2007). Guidance for Preparing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), EPA QA/G-6 (epa.gov).
  2. U.S. Department of Education, Student Privacy Policy Office. FERPA general guidance (studentprivacy.ed.gov).
  3. PlainLanguage.gov. Federal Plain Language Guidelines: write instructions with action verbs and one step at a time (plainlanguage.gov).
  4. Gawande, A. (2009). The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. Metropolitan Books.

The worked example is made up, including the routines, times and roles. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.