One of the biggest challenges for school leaders is trying to determine how to motivate teachers and keep them engaged and growing in the education profession year after year. We typically think of motivation as a stable characteristic. Either teachers are motivated or they’re not. That’s not the case. Motivation is something that is built and maintained within individuals. Teachers who are … [Read more...]
A Budget Storm is Coming. Is Your District Ready for FLSA Changes?
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...]
The Aggregation of Marginal Gains in School Districts
What does proper hand washing or a good night’s sleep have to do with meeting large goals and achieving high level success? For most people small details like these are overlooked and seem insignificant compared to larger efforts to improve performance. When school districts, or anyone really, seeks to make big improvements in outcomes we tend to look for big changes in behavior. … [Read more...]
How to Have Difficult Conversations with Teachers
“There are complaints from parents and staff members that you are lazy and unprofessional. The perception is you don’t seem to care about your students or the people who work with you. ” “Well, how would you know? You don’t have any idea how difficult it is to teach these days with so many unrealistic expectations. You spend all day in the office or at meetings, bark out a bunch of … [Read more...]
Resumes are a Waste of Time in Attempts to Hire Effective Teachers
Using resumes to screen and identify effective teachers is useless and a waste of time. I know what you are thinking. “In the last article Chett attacked the use of job interviews to identify effective teachers and in this post he is attacking teacher resumes! Is there nothing sacred that remains in the search for effective teachers?” I know. The last two articles I've written have bordered … [Read more...]
A Free Resource to Increase Teacher Motivation?
Attention School Administrators! I need feedback from sitting school leaders. In return you get a free resource. I am wrapping up a resource that is designed to help school leaders increase teacher motivation within their districts. The book, Ignite, is a school administrator’s guide to designing districts that motivate teachers. If you are willing to provide feedback and answer a couple of … [Read more...]
