A budget and compliance storm affecting employment classification and wages has been brewing for over a year and it will finally arrive on December 1, 2016. At the end of this article we are providing a free resource to help school districts prepare for FLSA changes. In the spring of 2015 President Obama directed the Secretary of Labor to update the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to reflect … [Read more...]
It’s Not Fair!: Do Perceptions of Fairness Matter in School District Hiring Practices?
(Use the link above to download a free resource to help your district develop fair and reliable teacher hiring processes) Strategically speaking, the goal of any school district hiring process should be to filter, identify, and select the most qualified applicants for open positions in a valid and reliable manner. However, the effectiveness of school district hiring practices does … [Read more...]
What School Districts Can Learn from Google’s Hiring Practices: Mistakes and Successes in Employee Selection
At the end of this article I am providing a free sample of a structured behavioral question with a sample scoring guide. These tools were developed after we completed a full job analysis for a school district for the job classification of certified teacher. We recommend that schools who are interested in improving their selection practices for teachers use the samples as a guideline only. Actual … [Read more...]
Digesting Cheesecake Factory Professional Development with Guest Ross Cooper
Effective and meaningful professional development for school districts seldom happens by chance. However, recent movements in professional development are relying more on choice and chance. Does your district use a "Genius Hour" or "Ed Camp" model for professional development? Find out how largely relying on these models for professional development in school … [Read more...]
4 Reasons Job Descriptions for School Districts are Critical
Job descriptions aren’t really something that keeps district leaders up at night. It isn’t likely to find a lot of administrators posting articles or catchy one liners about school district job descriptions on Twitter. The human resource facet of school district operations doesn’t command as much attention as instruction or curriculum. However, if we "unwrap" what allows … [Read more...]
Total Rewards in School Districts: What are They and How to Use Them to Recruit & RetainTalent
“How much will I make?” This is likely the first question and largest determining factor that prospective talented teachers will try to determine before they choose their next school district employer. School districts that lead their local market in wages proudly flaunt starting salaries and their willingness to pay more than competing districts, while those who lag their local market often … [Read more...]
Should You Manage Millennial Teachers Differently?
Entitled, narcissistic, lazy, uncommitted, educated but unskilled. These are just a few phrases that have been used in pop culture business literature to describe Millennials. I've always struggled with the notion of characterizing an entire generation with rigid labels, but at first glance the amount of information focused on the baggage Millennials bring with them seems to support there are … [Read more...]
How Can Leaders Create School Districts that Embrace Innovation?
“My teachers seem to dig in their heels every time we try something new. How can I develop innovation strategies that allow teachers and staff to be more open to change?” This was a recent question from a school leader who was trying to implement broad curriculum design changes in their school district. The school leader was simply trying to pivot towards creating units of instruction … [Read more...]
A Lapsed Anarchist’s Views on School Leadership: Insights on Customer Service, Change Management, and Employee Engagement
School leaders are often looking for effective ways to manage change and improve customer service to internal staff and to the patrons the district serves. We decided to reach out to a small business owner who is renowned for his businesses' performance in customer service and bottom up innovation. In this episode of the K12 HR Solutions Podcast, I interview Ari Weinzweig, Co-Owner and Founding … [Read more...]
How Changes to Overtime Laws Will Affect School Districts: Podcast Episode 4
On this podcast we discuss how changes to overtime laws will affect school districts. The Department of Labor has recommended drastic changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) wage and hour laws and I brought on Adam Taylor, Co-Founder and Vice President at K12 HR Solutions to discuss how changes to overtime laws will affect school districts. If you prefer to read about these changes, you … [Read more...]