Six years ago, Dallas ISD found an effective way to foster professional growth among its 10,000 teachers, and it is now producing positive student outcomes in the district.
The ��defines and evaluates teachers through three lenses: teacher performance, student achievement, and student experiences or perceptions.

While the average teacher salary is $60,000, those who have been teaching for at least three years and continuously excel in all three areas can apply for a distinguished teacher review. Educators selected as distinguished teachers by an in-house committee can earn up to $50,000 more per year, says Cynthia Wilson, chief of human capital management for Dallas ISD. When it comes to learning and applying new skills, perhaps nothing encourages people more than a big paycheck.

���We’ve been able to retain more high-performing teachers over the last three years than we have in the history of the district,��� says Wilson, regarding the initiative. Since 2013, teacher turnover has dropped from almost 22% to 18.4%, and retention of distinguished teachers has ranged between 90% and 98% over the past several years.

Fostering a growth mindset

Likewise, other districts have been successful at building a culture of continuous learning. One has revised its performance appraisal system to include conversations between supervisors and staff about growth experiences, while others are offering weekly workshops or posting vignettes on their websites about teacher growth experiences. Although the process varies, the message is clear: Learning and development are part of everyone’s job description.

When it comes to learning and applying new skills, perhaps nothing encourages people more than a
big paycheck.

Meanwhile, Lincoln Public Schools in Nebraska has embedded a growth mindset into its culture, says Eric Weber, associate superintendent for HR at the preschool through high school district that supports approximately 7,800 teachers and staff.

���The expectation here is that you’re always learning and growing,��� he says. ���We know the recipe to help educators become better at what they do. It’s also about priorities. How do you prioritize what people do in order to make time for professional learning?���

Each year, teachers are required to contribute 15 hours toward a school improvement or district goal. Building principals, for example, identify different school challenges���such as creating positive behavioral interventions and supports���and then offer teachers workshops that address those challenges.

���We have two leadership development programs that are pretty innovative and seen as growth opportunities,��� says Weber, adding that promoting from within creates a strong learning culture. ���Virtually all of our administrators are hired out of those programs.���

Paying tribute: Tweets and trophies

Los Angeles USD supports 10 leadership development programs. Two attract aspiring principals and assistant principals. Roughly half of those who complete the yearlong programs are promoted.
���In our district, we need to be prepared to be instruction and operations leaders,��� says Ileana D��臓valos, director of professional learning and leadership development. ���The end goal is that they all want to be school leaders. It’s all grounded in the school leadership framework.���

Throughout the school year, Tuesday afternoons are reserved for teacher and administrator PD, which focuses on different topics, including support systems and strategies for struggling students. Teachers with academic accomplishments are also acknowledged in district tweets and at principal meetings; some receive certificates or trophies.

���We have to provide opportunities for people to always grow and develop because we need the greatest individuals in front of our kids,��� D��臓valos says. ���We give them choices, and we don’t force learning down their throats.���

Carol Patton is a Las Vegas-based writer who specializes in human resources issues.

The post Building a culture of lifelong learning appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

Like many employers, Great Falls Public Schools in Montana was confronted by soaring health care costs for its 1,900 employees serving students in preschool through high school. So last year, the district, which offers a self-insured group health plan, opened on-site clinics at two schools, says Kerry Dattilo, HR director. A third clinic is planned for next year.

Each clinic is managed and staffed by Alluvion Health. Employees have year-round access to the on-site clinics, or to local clinics, for physician referrals or free primary care services, such as preventive screenings, lab tests and mental health counseling.

���We want people accessing primary care at the early stages before health issues become a crisis,��� says Dattilo. ���Since it’s the first year of trying this route and focusing on wellness and primary care, our hope is that we’ll see long-term benefits.���

Of the 500 employees who visited the on-site clinics last year for a monthly screening, she says 28% returned for additional services.

Taking a fresh approach

Every school district struggles with a wide variety of HR challenges often involving health care or high teacher turnover. Some HR professionals, weary of addressing the same district problems, are experimenting with fresh or creative approaches. Oftentimes, that can mean the difference between effectively managing issues or losing control of them.

Back at Great Falls, another HR challenge was high turnover for classified staff, including crossing guards and food service workers. HR created online applications to eliminate the need for job seekers to prepare and submit cover letters and r��息sum��息s. The district then partnered with a local job service and has since participated in two job fairs. At one event, Dattilo says HR was able to fill all seven open custodial positions in just one morning.

Fresh approaches can mean the��difference between effectively managing issues or losing control of them.

Leaving your desk

In 2013, the 800 teachers and staff at Maryville City Schools in Tennessee were challenged by HR Director Rick Wilson to create stronger relationships with students, parents, vendors and other staffers.

The 18 staffers in the central office were tasked with visiting one district school every nine weeks. They could watch a third-grade performance, for example, or meet informally with the school’s teachers and staff. The practice continues to this day.

���It’s refreshing for them to get out from behind their desks and actually see people versus answering emails,��� says Wilson, who believes that meeting other employees has motivated central office staff to enhance their job performance.

Trimming turnover

Meanwhile, HR at Indianapolis Public Schools experienced a different challenge. No one really owned professional learning at the district, says Mindy Schlegel, HR officer. ���We were really trying to align both resources and strategy across the district.���

In addition, the district had a yearly teacher turnover rate of nearly 25%, and teacher survey responses revealed a lack of district support.

Three areas are being targeted with help from a $650,000 corporate grant:
– leadership and personal development to help administrators improve decision-making
– training for emerging leaders at the central office
– the launch of a two-year induction program for new teachers to boost morale, engagement, retention rates and in-house promotions

The goal is to build a self-sustaining training infrastructure, Schlegel says. ���If we can start to edge in on turnover, that would be ideal.���

Carol Patton is a Las Vegas-based writer who specializes in human resources issues.

The post 91心頭 op-ed: Common problems, uncommon approaches appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

Twice a month, board of director members for Topeka Public Schools in Kansas spend the first 20 minutes of their board meetings celebrating the district’s diverse culture and employee accomplishments.

���We highlight employees and their achievements, and acknowledge our diverse community,��� says Tiffany Anderson, superintendent at TPS, a district that supports roughly 3,000 teachers and staffers. ���We embrace and uplift the staff and culture within the district.���

Building relationships among district employees helps develop a healthy school environment and culture. HR professionals at some school districts overlook this opportunity.

They present board members with data about salary and recruitment or retirement trends, but rarely address employee successes in and out of school.

Weekly readers

By sharing positive employee experiences with board members, HR staffers can help strengthen the connection among them, and extend support and trust beyond the classroom.

Austin ISD achieves this goal through in-house communications. Every week, board members receive an update that includes news about teachers or staff and their accomplishments, says Fernando Medina, chief human capital officer at the district that supports more than 11,000 employees.

���It’s important that our board knows who our employees are, not only as educators, but also as people,��� he says. ���They need to become familiar with their character and quality. We want to celebrate that.���

Some updates have showcased teachers who have done heroic things, including one who saved a drowning swimmer and another who used the Heimlich maneuver to prevent a stranger from choking. Other updates have highlighted teachers receiving awards or state recognition for teaching taekwondo to local children, for instance. The district’s chief financial officer was celebrated for being appointed by the state legislature to a finance committee, which is ���unheard of,��� says Medina.

Firsthand experience

At other school districts, HR administrators invite board members to work side by side with staff in the trenches.

���Generally, they may not know all the details like the grunt work, all the work it takes to recruit given the budget we have,��� says Nick Swartz, talent acquisition manager at Grand Rapids Public Schools in Michigan. ���We’ve brought board members to job fairs about once or twice a year and to winter and fall expos in our district, so they can experience the recruitment process.���

By doing so, he says board members develop a better understanding about employee needs while being educated about the recruitment process.

���This can be a missed opportunity in the sense that it allows you to frame your story [to the board] a little bit better,��� Swartz says.

Powerful interactions

Several years ago, Education Elements worked with a school district in Indiana where the HR director introduced a new student-centered learning initiative to board members, says Keara Mascarenaz, a partner at the national education consulting firm in San Carlos, California.

HR staffers helped select teachers to present their new teaching approach to board members. The approach also reinforced the district’s culture of innovation.

檎艶温糸:油Creating a quality employee experience

HR professionals can also borrow ideas from their peers in corporate America. Some share with board members the results of employee surveys that are focused on the district’s culture, benefits and growth opportunities.

Other HR administrators help school boards run more efficiently, be more effective, and carve out time on agendas to address topics that matter, such as employee achievements.

���You can start small,��� Mascarenaz says. ���Feature one teacher, and see the feedback you get and the power that it has before committing to an entire year of staff features at board meetings.���

Carol Patton is a Las Vegas-based writer who specializes in human resources issues.

The post 91心頭 op-ed: Help your school board better understand employees appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

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���We have self-care space in our schools and some office buildings where the lights are low, and people can have time to themselves or use the exercise equipment to de-stress,��� says Anderson. The key is that central office staff generally take on that individual’s workload���even classroom teaching���during the time off. ���It allows us to walk in the shoes of those closest to kids in the classroom, and see that we’re all one team.���

Struggling with common challenges, such as low pay, limited resources and mounting pressures surrounding student achievement, damages the way people feel about their jobs and workplaces. By helping all employees feel valued, the belief is that attrition rates will drop, job satisfaction will rise and student outcomes will dramatically improve.

Twice a year, the district also rewards one employee with a paid day off for ���uplifting��� others. Last year, a teaching assistant and cook were recognized at an event broadcast by a local cable channel. ���I cooked for a portion of that day,��� Anderson says. ���Our jobs may be different, but everyone in our district is valued as an educator, as a teacher.���

Human touch

Two years ago, the HR team at Lansing School District in Michigan wanted to be perceived as less transactional and more human. Team members overhauled major employee policies, invested in an employee assistance program and revised the employee handbook to clarify district expectations of workers, says Mark Coscarella, deputy superintendent who oversees HR.

���We were trying to be more proactive by reducing the ambiguity over policies and procedures,��� he says.

HR reached out to employees in ways it hadn’t before. HR staffers began sending condolence cards with personal notes to employees who lost family members. Shortly before an employee retires, HR staffers now personally present them with a bouquet of flowers and thank them for their years of service, he says.

���Our employees now see HR as a resource rather than a place that’s punitive,��� says Coscarella. ���It’s more of a full-service place where they can get help or assistance���and their paycheck.���

Creativity trumps cash

If you don’t have space or money for self-care rooms, consider starting a coaching program to build teacher confidence and success.

The Ogden School District in Utah employs 21 full-time instructional coaches, formerly superstar teachers, who model lessons, offer tips for classroom management, help refine lesson plans, and���just as important���allow employees to seek help confidentially.

First-year teachers must engage with coaches for at least 90 minutes per week, says Jessica Bennington, executive director of HR in the K12 district that supports more than 1,000 teachers and employees. The following year, coaching time drops to 60 minutes per week, and becomes optional after that.

���Build your employees up so they believe and feel like they’re successful,��� Bennington says. ���Nobody wants to stay in a career feeling defeated every day.���

The district also employs three behavioral coaches. Many teachers spend a portion of each day, five times a week, with troubled students. By helping teachers become more adept at handling these disruptions, student encounters become less stressful or frustrating.

Creating a positive employee experience often relies more on creativity than busting your district’s budget. Build a diverse culture of trust and respect: Invest in employees and make them feel valued and proud of their accomplishments.��

Carol Patton is a Las Vegas-based writer who specializes in human resources issues.

The post Creating a quality employee experience appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

“I felt all of these things” says Chett Daniel, a former fourth-grade ELA teacher at Neosho School District in Missouri.

Daniel quit teaching last year to launch his own consulting firm, K12 HR Solutions. “Often, the areas related to negativity are the ever-changing dynamics in education.”

Some districts are building positive workplaces where employees always feel valued, respected and connected.

Start at square one

Daniel says the process starts with hiring. Examine the critical functions of each job. Can applicants perform those tasks?

When hiring teachers, for example, ask candidates to quickly design a lesson based on your objectives, and then have them teach the lesson to your hiring panel, who will act like students. How do the candidates perform? How do they manage typical student behavior?

Likewise, evaluate professional development opportunities. Do they prepare employees to perform their job responsibilities? Inadequate training and unrealistic performance expectations can cause frustration, anger and pessimism about job success or longevity.

Several years ago, Daniel began working with Richard Scaletta, superintendent at General McLane School District in Pennsylvania, to analyze the critical functions of jobs throughout the K12 district, which supports about 300 teachers and staff.

“One of our purposes was to continue our positive work culture” says Scaletta. Hiring people who support your core values also reduces negativity.

Empowerment and quality relationships also inspire positivity. Teachers at McLane serve on the superintendent’s advisory committee and address school matters as members of collaborative leadership teams with their principals.

“People are very happy to be working here” Scaletta says. “Our employees are not ‘paycheckers.’ There’s a high level of job satisfaction.”

‘Pay it forward’

Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD���a suburban Dallas district that supports roughly 3,400 teachers and staff���trains frontline employees on customer service.

“We’re trying to eliminate negative interactions by developing a customer experience culture where people are treated ‘right,’��������蔵” says Jason Liewehr, director of personnel services at the district.

“We’re hyperfocused on our employees and want them to all receive an exceptional experience in every interaction they have with the district.”

An in-house workshop trains frontline staff to diffuse negative situations. Training first centered on negative interactions with external customers, such as parents, but the focus has shifted to also include all district staff.

“Rather than an employee walking away with a negative story about their time in our school system, they’ll walk away with a positive story” he says.

“If employees are treated right, they’ll treat students right, which will lead to maximizing their potential for good and positive interactions in the world.”

It’s the “pay it forward” concept: If a person is treated the right way, they’ll treat others that way.

Small gestures

Meanwhile, there are other ways to combat employee negativity, says Lisa Pierce, senior consultant at HR Consultants in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a national firm that works with school districts.

Consider small gestures such as spotlighting workers in employee newsletters or on social media pages. Highlight their families, interests or volunteer activities. Encourage administrators to informally praise employees about their good work.

“Don’t assume that employees or teachers know they’re doing a great job” Pierce says. “Show some kind of appreciation. Do something nice. Say, ‘You make us proud to be part of this district.'”

Carol Patton is a Las Vegas-based writer specializing in human resource issues.

The post Reducing employee negativity in schools appeared first on District 91心頭istration.

“In large districts, there’s more opportunity for a communication breakdown” says Jeff Filloon, HR director at Chandler USD in Arizona. “Most problems can be solved with good, clear, accurate communications.”

Chandler USD provides a back-to-school video each year for its 5,000 faculty and staff. The one-hour video covers key contacts for questions about paychecks, benefits and other work-related issues; best practices for student supervision; compliance issues and mandatory reporting; and department expectations of employees.

Culture vs. strategy

Several years ago, Jefferson County Schools in West Virginia hired Superintendent Bondy Shay Gibson to change the district’s tactical strategy for solving issues among its 1,250 employees.

“Previously, our culture was all about driving stats and driving educational scores and results” says Joseph Pettiford, chief human resources officer for the district. “This approach set up unrealistic expectations that created discouraging and stressful work experiences.”

Under Gibson’s guidance, the district formed a leadership team of six members from different work areas, ranging from bus driver to teacher. The variety of insights have led to holistic solutions.

The team made great strides by applying fresh perspectives to both district and employee problems. It designed a six-month, in-house program to address the mass exodus of roughly 25 percent of its retiring school administrators.

Show you care

HR professionals in other districts go out of their way to listen to employee concerns. When Cynthia Rincon became chief of human capital management at Fort Worth ISD in Texas, she heard rumblings from the 2,500 employees in operations about pay.

“The employees reached out to her to come to their meetings and listen to their concerns,” says Yassmin Lee, executive director for the district’s talent acquisition and development. At the meetings, Lee says Rincon was honest about things that could be easily resolved and systemic issues that required more time to fix.

Rincon is currently working on a $1- to $2-per-hour pay raise for some operations staff as well as additional training and development.

If employees believe that their issues are being heard and addressed, says Lee, they feel that their employer cares about them, which only helps enhance employee engagement and retention.

Team Liberty

The 1,800 employees at Liberty Public Schools in Missouri are represented by “Team Liberty” a cross-section of 22 staff or faculty who address concerns that generally impact more than 40 percent of any work unit. Little falls through the cracks, says Robert Vogelaar, the district’s assistant superintendent of human resources.

The team routes individual concerns to the appropriate administrators, who then report how an issue was resolved.

“We created bylaws and a constitution for Team Liberty that explain how people are selected, the groups they represent, the three areas they’re charged with���work life, compensation and benefits���and how we deliberate and select a facilitator,” says Vogelaar.

Advance planning

Other districts rely on continual communication between teams and administrators. Throughout the school year, Nicole Regan, HR supervisor at Lincoln Public Schools in Nebraska, visits the district’s 18 schools to address employee concerns.

Our guiding mantra is ‘No Surprises’ ” she says. “You need strong communication, strong transparency and strong collaboration.”

Carol Patton is a Las Vegas-based writer who specializes in human resources issues.

The post Strategies for resolving employee issues in K-12 appeared first on District 91心頭istration.