Keeping Special Ed. teachers
Special education staffing strategies often focus on recruiting and training new teachers in the specialty, but those efforts alone aren’t enough to address shortages in the high-demand field.
Education labor economists say it’s equally important to address leaks in the educator pipeline—stressful working conditions and a lack of resources that cause many special education teachers to retreat to general education positions in the middle of their careers.
Special education teachers often teach multiple subjects across multiple grade levels, manage loads of paperwork to track individual student’s progress, and regularly communicate with families.
Recruiting with Diversity
Recruitment season is upon us—and I love it. Over the past three years, I’ve been fortunate enough to play a substantial role in recruiting and hiring teachers for my district. Through recruitment and strategic hiring, the high school English language arts department I supervise is now the most diverse department in my district.
School closures implications
School closures could mean longer commutes for students. Here’s why that’s a problem.
If plans to consolidate seven middle schools in the Fort Worth Independent School District go forward, it will mean students at some of those campuses have longer trips to and from school each day. But research indicates that longer commute times to and from school can take a toll on students’ lives outside of school. In a 2017 study, researchers found that the time students spend on the school bus can mean less time for sleeping and exercise.
Superintendent salaries
More than half of the leaders in the top ranks of America’s school districts say they’re not compensated fairly for their work. For superintendents, however, a raise of $22,500 could fix that, according to a recent survey by the EdWeek Research Center.
Twenty-seven percent of district leaders who responded to the survey—and occupy positions including superintendent, finance chief, and curriculum director—said they felt they did not receive a fair salary, and that it made them want to leave their current job. Another 24 percent said they felt their salary was unfair, but it did not have an effect on their desire to stay in their position.
Building Trust
Distrust interprets action as manipulation. When people don’t trust you, the things you do for them feel insincere. Skeptics believe compliments obscure self-serving ends and gifts mask selfish motives.
Trust reflects how others feel about your intentions.
Nothing you do to strengthen relationships matters until people believe you care.
Time: A precious commodity
The past several years have inspired a large portion of the workforce to explore a different relationship with their work — one that supports broader life priorities. According to James Neave, Head of Data Science at Adzuna (a job search engine), this isn’t a blip but a legitimate shift in sentiment. He points to TikTok’s “5 to 9 before 9 to 5” trend, with users waking up at 5 a.m. to do things like working out, food preparation, journaling and meditating well before their workdays begin as evidence of today’s employees’ commitment to finding the time to enjoy life beyond their jobs.
