WEBVTT

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[Music] Welcome to the overview

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on Building a Staff Committed

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to the Turnaround Process.

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Ms. Guerra, the principal

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of Templeton Elementary,

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is facing the challenge

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of getting the right staff

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in the right places at the school.

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She wants to build a staff committed

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to the school's improvement goals

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and qualified to meet them.

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This process is forcing her

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to make some hard choices.

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Many of the teachers

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at Templeton are well established

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in their positions.

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Some are very comfortable doing things

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the way they always have.

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Ms. Guerra struggles with how

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to move entrenched staff towards change

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or if she needs

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to replace them entirely.

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To deal with those questions, however,

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she first needs

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to determine exactly what kind

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of staff she does need.

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Her first tasks are to identify existing

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and new staff committed to the change,

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reduce staff anxiety and resistance

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to change, and match staff skills

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to school's needs.

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Let's take a look at the characteristics

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of a committed staff.

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Committed teachers

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and administrators are those

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who accept students

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at their individual starting points,

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both academically and behaviorally.

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They believe that all students can

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learn, and this belief is reflected

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in their daily interactions

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with students.

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Committed teachers are willing

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to make whatever changes are needed

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to increase student achievement.

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They support the school leadership plan

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to make dramatic instructional

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and organizational changes in order

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to turn around the school.

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Committed teachers are willing

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to change old habits,

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such as personal instructional style;

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dedicate time to professional

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development; and collaborate

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with other teachers to find new ways

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to improve their instruction.

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Getting committed staff

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to the right places

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in your school may involve needing

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to reassign, release, or hire personnel.

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Teachers' roles

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and responsibilities should match their

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skill sets.

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This allows them

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to make the greatest impact.

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To get the right staff

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in the right places,

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a school principal may need

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to reassign teachers to different roles

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or modify job descriptions.

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There are times when the best place

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for a given staff member is outside a

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particular school.

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Not all teachers have the skills needed

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to raise student achievement

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in a short amount of time.

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It may be necessary to work

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with the union or district

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to reassign some teachers

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to other schools if they are not ready

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to be involved in the intense work

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of turnaround.

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Teachers who cannot be engaged

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and actively resist the turnaround

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effort should be replaced with teachers

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who can be members of a committed team.

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However, school principals should be

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careful not to release staff

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who have potential.

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Some resistance may be the result

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of a teacher's uncertainty

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about their ability

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to implement the requested changes

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or a failure to see how a change will

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affect learning.

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Principals can work

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with these staff members

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to develop their skills

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through professional development

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and collaboration with other teachers.

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Sometimes the best teachers show the

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strongest initial resistance to change.

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Teachers will buy into the change

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if it aligns with their sense

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of what students need

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and what is working.

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Principals do not have a lot of time

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to wait for teachers to buy

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into the change strategies.

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However, it is important

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to recognize teachers' strength and work

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with them collaboratively

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to enable the change.

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Help teachers to gradually integrate new

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strategies into their instruction.

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Work with teachers to assess impact

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on students and reflect

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about how the new strategies fit

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within their set of beliefs

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about teaching and learning.

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Allow strong teachers the degree

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of classroom control they feel is

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necessary, while maintaining coherence

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with the new strategies.

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When hiring teachers,

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school principals must focus

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on finding staff

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who will be fully committed

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to the turnaround effort.

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High value should be placed

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on candidates who will dedicate

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themselves to working both with students

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and with other teachers

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to raise achievement.

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New positions can be created

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to fully utilize teachers or other staff

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with highly specialized training,

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such as Intervention Program

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Coordinator, Computer Specialist,

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or School-Community Liaison.

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It is not always necessary

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to create entirely new positions

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to utilize special skills among staff.

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Principals can expand the roles

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of support personnel

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and modify job descriptions

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so that the most valuable skills

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of each staff member are fully utilized.

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Organizational processes can be changed

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to better facilitate staff

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capacity building.

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Reassigning, releasing,

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or hiring staff must be based on careful

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and purposeful assessment

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of school needs, staff qualifications,

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and individual commitment.

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This requires really getting

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to know each individual teacher.

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Principals should get to know teachers

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and their individual skills,

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personality, background,

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knowledge, and goals.

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Spending time in their classrooms not

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only helps principals get

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to know their teachers better,

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but it will also help

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in determining their best placement

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in a reorganization.

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Professional development conferences

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and workshops can be a powerful way

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to build staff capacity.

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At one middle school,

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the principal arranged

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for all math teachers

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to attend a conference on the "dos

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and don'ts" of team teaching.

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While there, the teachers met other

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educators who used specialized models

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of mathematics teaching,

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which they then brought back

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to their own classrooms.

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Teachers can also learn from each other.

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They can observe other teachers

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in their classrooms to get ideas

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for instructional strategies or,

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alternately, provide feedback

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and advice.

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Instructional contributions

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of support staff may not be immediately

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obvious to the larger community,

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but that doesn't make them any

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less important.

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The principal of one elementary school

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recognized the schoolwide impact

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of the lunchroom coordinator.

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Without her lunch counts,

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calls to families,

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and accurate record-keeping of students

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in the free and reduced-price lunch

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program, the school would receive less

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Title I aid.

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The principal broadened the lunchroom

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coordinator's role in the school,

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supplied her with a full office,

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and called staff attention

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to her contributions.

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Building a committed staff involves

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building a cohesive team

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that shares a common mindset.

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This team comes together

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to set high expectations for instruction

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and to maintain focus

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on improving student achievement.

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This teamwork can foster strong

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professional relationships among

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colleagues that may positively affect

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both instruction

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and teacher satisfaction.

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One adjustment that can be made

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to staffing assignments is the creation

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of intervention teams.

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These are teams of teachers

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who work together

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as effective problem-solvers

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for specific issues or content areas,

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such as reading instruction.

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This can facilitate collaboration

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and positively impact teachers' ability

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to help students improve

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their performance.

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Promoting pride

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in the school community can foster a

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sense of unity among students and staff.

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At one middle school,

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the principal gave teachers more

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responsibility

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for curriculum development.

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This demonstration of his trust in them

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as a community

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of educators made his staff feel more

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valued and unified.

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Successful turnarounds depend

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on building a staff that is committed

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to the school's improvement goals.

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To get the right staff

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in the right places,

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principals can reassign, release,

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and/or hire staff.

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Principals can create new positions,

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expand the roles of support personnel,

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modify job descriptions,

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and form intervention teams.

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When done carefully and purposefully,

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the resulting school team can have a

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powerful impact on instruction

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and student achievement.

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At Templeton Elementary,

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Ms. Guerra began visiting classrooms

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and got to know her teachers better.

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She carefully determined the best

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placement for each teacher

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in the school based on their skills,

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qualifications, and personal goals

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and worked with veteran teachers

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to bring them on board with change.

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Ms. Guerra created a position

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for a new School-Community Liaison

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to specialize in parent outreach

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and modified the job description

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of Mr. Khuri, the playground monitor,

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to broaden his role.

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With all of Ms. Guerra's committed staff

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in place, Templeton Elementary now has a

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cohesive, effective team.

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To learn more about building committed

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staff, please explore the additional

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resources on the Doing What

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Works website.

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[Music]