K-12 Talent Manager
Battelle for Kids Human Capital Director Emily Douglas explored effective human capital strategies for recruiting, selecting, developing, and recognizing educators and non-instructional staff in schools to ensure the best learning experience for students. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: recruitment & hiring and retention.
Law & Courts
Opinion
When Can An Internship Go Unpaid?
As a follow-up to my post, Court Decisions Challenge Legality of Unpaid Internships, here is a bit of information for those interested on what qualifies as an internship and what doesn't.
Law & Courts
Opinion
Court Decisions Challenge Legality of Unpaid Internships
It's not unusual for college students to pursue an unpaid internship to build experience in hopes of gaining a fulltime position upon graduation. In fact, Intern Bridge, a research firm, estimates that more than 500,000 undergraduate students participate in unpaid internships yearly.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
AMA Classification on Obesity Could Impact Talent Managers
On June 18, the American Medical Association (AMA) classified obesity as a disease that could receive medical treatment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 18 percent of children age two through nineteen and 35.7 percent of adults are "obese." As obesity rates have risen dramatically in the past 20 years, many organizations have become involved in working to educate and prevent obesity as well as assist individuals who are looking for help when it comes to losing weight.
Teaching
Opinion
HR Educator Evaluation Cheat Sheet: 8 Best Practices From Recent Research
Over the past three years, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has lead some of the most influential work around multiple measures in education through their Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project, a partnership of more than 3,000 public school teachers who voluntarily opened up their classrooms to researchers. The study looked at three measures: value-added analysis, evaluation, and student surveys with the purpose of investigating "better ways to identify and develop effective teaching" as well as "help teachers and school systems close the gap between their expectations for effective teaching and what is actually happening in classrooms." Participating districts included Denver Public Schools, Dallas Independent School District, Memphis Public Schools, Pittsburgh Public Schools, New York City Schools, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and Hillsborough County Public Schools.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Employer Sponsored Insurance Dramatically Changing
While flipping through the latest HR Magazine, an infographic caught my eye. It related to a conversation I was having only yesterday on rising health insurance costs and the decline in the number of organizations offering employer sponsored insurance (known in the industry as ESI).
School & District Management
Opinion
Centralized or Decentralized? That is the Question.
I often get asked by school district leaders and other friends in HR to explain the difference between centralized and decentralized organizations and which structure works best. While it is easy to distinguish the characteristics of each type of organization, neither approach is necessarily better than the other. It depends on the life cycle stage, leadership, and strategy of the organization.
Recruitment & Retention
Opinion
Nominate An HR Game Changer!
Know someone under the age of 40, who serves others and is accomplished in human resources, talent management, or any workforce-related skill? If so, Workforce magazine is holding a Game Changers competition to honor the next generation of workplace leaders who are making their mark in the field of Human Resources. The magazine explains, "as the best and brightest young talent in workforce management emerges, we want to recognize the profession's innovative rising stars for their positive impact on the past, present and future."
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
A Quick Look At Our Nation's Education Data
If you're like me and love sharing data with others, infographics are a handy communications tool that breaks information into digestible chunks. Among the latest to join the infographic trend is the U.S. Census Bureau, as part of its "How Do We Know" campaign related to veterans, America's changing labor force, manufacturing, home-based workers, and two related to education that I wanted to share.
Recruitment & Retention
Opinion
Honoring Teachers: More Stories of Thanks
As a continuation of my blog yesterday, here are several more stories from colleagues and friends about educators who have made a difference in the lives of their students. While we make a special point to honor teachers this week, these stories are a reminder that just as great educators work for their students every day, teachers deserve our thanks year around.
Recruitment & Retention
Opinion
Honoring Teachers Who Made A Difference: Stories Of Thanks
In recognition of Teacher Appreciation Week and the outstanding service of millions of educators across the country, I asked several of my colleagues to provide stories about a teacher or teachers who made a difference in their lives. You will see that the stories below are a fun, positive, and refreshing reminder of the impact a great educator can have on many lives! I will share these first-hand accounts in two blogs this week. I invite you to share your own stories in the comments section below!
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Celebrate Teaching with Random Acts of Appreciation
As we all know, giving thanks to others is a best practice of talent managers in high performing organizations. Employee recognition can be a formal or informal practice. What some might not know is that appreciation is a fundamental psychological need. Studies show that when individuals feel that they, as well as their work, are appreciated, productivity, engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty increase. Recognition could be a certificate, thank-you note, public announcement, direct or indirect compensation, or even a kind word. Yes, it can be that easy!
Recruitment & Retention
Opinion
Gender Gaps in STEM-Related CTE Programs
When I was a little girl my mom and dad always told me I could be anything I wanted to be if I worked hard to get there; a scientist, writer, doctor, mathematician, professor, etc. I luckily grew-up in a home where my gender never predicted my future. And as an engineer, my mom made sure I knew that math (and/or science) wasn't "just for boys." She would often talk about her high school algebra and calculus teacher, Sherman Blagg, who in the small Appalachian town of Ironton, Ohio, in the late 60's taught math to everyone in the room, holding high expectations for not just the boys, but for the girls too.
Professional Development
Opinion
Vocabulary Lesson: Offboarding
My colleagues and I stumbled across a unique HR term today that I just had to share...
Teaching Profession
Opinion
TNTP Report Recommends Focused Supports For First-Year Teachers
Today, The New Teacher Project (TNTP) released a report, Leap Year: Assessing and Supporting First-Year Teachers, that examines the unique characteristics of a teacher's initial year in the classroom. An interesting topic for sure; ask any educator about his or her first year of teaching, and chances are you'll hear at least one of the following descriptors: hectic, crazy, confusing, challenging, tough, hard, exhausting. So what is the best way to support these individuals and assess their progress? The study attempts to address this question by examining the performance of over 1,000 new teachers in hard-to-staff subjects located in 15 regions around the country. Measures used included classroom observations, principal ratings, student surveys, and student growth data.