A CHANGING CULTURE
October Blog
By. Christina Cornwell
Like many principals, I spent the summer planning for a “normal” student return. I quickly found many of the same difficulties and a handful of different trials waiting for the 21/22 school year. Almost all of the 20/21 Covid-19 protocols are still in place as the Delta variant continues to take its toll. Covid-19 difficulties are exacerbating educator shortages with problems seen nationwide. Many school districts are continuing to deal with obscene absences of both employees and students. For a school to run smoothly we need everyone in place. Custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, support staff, teachers and students. How does instruction move forward without all of these symbiotic pieces in place? This is the trial that is bearing down on education. As a principal I have cleaned rooms, served food, registered students, ran the clinic and taught classes all in the same day. I have watched teachers cover 4 classes at the same time and give up their planning for days on end, custodians pick and choose which rooms are going to get cleaned, and transportation decide how to divide routes up in order to get kids to school or make that unheard of decision of who to simply not pick up. Principals are educational leaders that seek solutions to problems that are within our locus of control and provide feedback in areas where we don’t make direct process and procedure decisions. Hiring practices and the culture and climate we create on our campus are examples of where we have influence and where we have control.
In my last blog, I wrote about the need for principals to increase morale boosters during the month of October to improve the dive in climate that happens on campuses during October. October is also FTE time and it can feel as if Human Resources practices are counterproductive to the goals of a school and the principal and exacerbates the already bleak hiring options that are available in education right now.
This year my HR department sent daily updates of potential candidates for open teaching and support positions at my school. I was able to hire my last two teaching positions from this list. These individuals didn’t apply for my school or for the subject area posted, but I got them! Head hunting at its finest. Who doesn’t want to be wanted? Working closely with the HR department to fill all positions is one principal secret that took me way too long to figure out. This is what schools can ask of Human Resources to improve the hiring process for all schools, but particularly if you are working in an underperforming school. For the purpose here, I define underperforming as school(s) within your district that are performing at the lowest levels by comparison to other schools within the same district. That may be a B school surrounded by As or it could be D or F schools. Each district has their lowest performing. It is okay to ask the following of your Human Resources department:
When “placing” teachers avoid underperforming schools. These schools cannot absorb a less than Highly Effective employee. Allow underperforming schools to hire the best candidate that applies.
Struggling schools historically are the last to have all their faculty and staff in place because it is difficult to recruit highly qualified teachers and support staff when the pay is the same and the work is tougher. Push hard to incentivize all employees that choose to work at underperforming schools.
Make your argument to allocate resources (especially personnel) based on need and not enrollment. Principals have to advocate for their own school. Your colleagues certainly are.
Foster relationships with nearby universities and actively recruit students who are undeclared.
Request to be a Learning School so that there is a direct pipeline of applicants for your school. (Learning Schools look different everywhere but the idea is to provide college education classes at the underperforming schools so that college students receive hands-on experiences and the school benefits from the additional support.)
When you find the right candidate, call to request permission to hire out-of-field earlier in the hiring season. Districts provide content area support. An out-of-field teacher can learn the subject area. Underperforming schools need to have the right person. Someone who wants to be there. Those two don’t always come in a package. If I had to choose one over the other, I want the person. I can support the teacher in the content area.
Start the hiring process for the next school year in February. Send out questionnaires to your current faculty and staff to see who is planning on being here next year. It can be done in a positive way.
Who are we planning a retirement for this year?
Who is planning on starting a new chapter in their life somewhere different?
Who is looking for a promotion that isn’t available here?
The connections we create with each other, within our own schools and within district departments can provide us with the support we need to help our faculty and staff get through this month. When principals use their influence and actively create a place where people want to be, we can get through October and even make headways into February. - Christina Cornwell
Christina earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1994 and her Masters in Educational Leadership from the University of North Florida in 2004. Her passion is in transformational change that results in educational equity. This grew from her participation in the Executive Development Program For School Leaders through NISL. She is the President for the Florida Association of Secondary School Principals and sits on the St. John's River State College Education Advisory Board.
Her husband of 26 years is a teacher and their children attend public schools in Clay County where they reside. The outdoors or enjoying live theater is where the family loves to be.
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