A crisis at a school is in the news more often than any of us is comfortable with. There has been a shooting. An administrator has been arrested. A nearby factory has had a toxic spill. Or a serious cheating scandal has erupted. These types of events—and numerous more—could put your school in a crisis that could have long-term consequences.
Systematically Attracting, Developing, Rewarding, and Retaining Faculty: A Mission-Based Model for 21st Century Schools
This article examines the need for 21st Century Schools to address and manage all of their employment needs—e.g., hiring, evaluation, corrective action—as part of an integrated approach.
During the past 18 months, ISM has been engaged in an intensive study of the needs of the 21st Century School.1 With specific regard to faculty, we believe that to thrive, schools will need to:
measure teacher effectiveness on an ongoing basis (such as through annual evaluations);
establish annual career-long improvement plans that invest in each teacher’s strengths;2 and
hold ineffective teachers accountable.3
These objectives are best achieved by taking an active, integrated approach for engaging, managing, and developing the school’s faculty. Our model, called Comprehensive Faculty Development, is a mission-based series of interrelated activities through which the Head and her deputies systematically work to attract, develop, evaluate, reward, and retain teachers who deliver the mission to students with excellence.4
Developing Faculty Through Coaching and Mentoring
As a key element of Comprehensive Faculty Development, it is important for administrators to have an intentional process for evaluating, coaching, and mentoring faculty. By actively gaining a clear, firsthand view of each faculty member’s skills, characteristics, and performance through observation and engagement, you will be able to help them grow and develop in ways that will directly impact the school’s students. In this process, teachers are accountable for pursuing ongoing professional growth and renewal, and administrators are accountable for observing, coaching, evaluating, and guiding faculty members’ growth in substantive ways.
The School Head-Business Manager Partnership
The Board of Trustees holds you, the School Head, ultimately accountable for the prudent fiscal management of the school. You, in turn, rely on your Business Manager to shoulder much of the responsibility for the school’s fiscal affairs, given your plethora of responsibilities. Having a strong, trusted partner in this area makes it possible for you to devote more of your time and attention to other areas of school operation.
Even though the Board holds you accountable for the school’s overall fiscal management, the Business Manager is typically viewed by your Board as having special knowledge or expertise in this area. In addition, the Business Manager is the one member of your Management Team who is in frequent contact with the Treasurer and other members of your Board.
Teacher Quality and Student Performance: US vs. International
As the No Child Left Behind education law in the United States reaches its 10th anniversary, the maelstrom of teacher accountability, student performance, and high-stakes testing continues to dominate the educational reform rhetoric. And, as a private-independent school Head, your thoughts are turning to teacher contracts. While you are probably free from much of the issue, you are concerned about having the best faculty to deliver your mission to your students.
What Does 2012 Hold in Store for 2012?
In his popular blog for teachers, Larry Ferlazzo takes a stab at what is going to happen in education in 2012. “I think I batted close to 50% in last year’s predictions,” said the English teacher from Luther Burbank High School, CA, “That can’t be much worse than those made by professional pundits.”
Healthy Food Revolution in Schools—an Uphill Battle
British chef and natural foods activist Jamie Oliver, in his crusade against fatty, processed foods in schools, is having a hard time getting his food in a few school districts. According to a report in the New York Times, investigative reporter Lucy Komisar contends that children’s school meals are being driven away from anything healthier by the food supply and processing companies in the name of profit.
Web Resources on Key Topics
This month, we surfed the Web to give you a short list of cool resources on a variety of useful—and hot—topics. Here are a few things we found.
Faculty Compensation, 2010–11: A Dangerous Gender Divide
In this article, part of our continuing series analyzing salaries and benefits in private-independent schools, we assess faculty salaries from a gender perspective. The results of the ISM Faculty and Management Compensation Survey raise a cautionary flag regarding potential gender-based pay discrimination that all schools need to consider carefully.
Tweeting Your Brand, Engaging Your Friends
Social media has quickly become part of the fiber of our culture—a pervasive yet effective means of connecting with your community and spreading the word about your school to a broader audience.
In a recent Webinar hosted by edsocialmedia.com titled Social Media and Branding: Composing a Cohesive Tune, Rob Norman of Turnaround Marketing Communications asked, “How can I create branded content?” His answer was “give the audience what they want.”