How to Create the Best Staff Possible: Building K-12 Excellence From Hire to Rehire (Focus Book #2)

By Jim Burgett

As a school administrator you may cringe at the word “create” if you think of all the barriers, hoops, and politics that may be involved if you want to implement a new idea or, in fact, “create” almost anything. As well, the path from vision to implementation is often bumpy and sometimes it even requires detours. And yes, it can lead to a dead end. However, the creation we are discussing in this K-12 Focus Book is different. I'm Jim Burgett, the author of How to Create the Best Staff Possible: Building K-12 Excellence from Hire to Retire, and In my mind it is not negotiable, should not be considered an option, and is absolutely necessary for a school leader who wants a school of excellence that accomplishes the one universal vision for all schools: "To provide the best educational opportunities possible, within the resources available."

The key word here is best. And if we are honest with each other, the only way we can achieve excellence in the school setting is with an excellent staff. Promethean Boards, Swivl Bots, and an iPad for every student does not guarantee excellence. People are the source of excellence. You know it and I know it and yet at times I think we push aside this most effective aspect of education and settle for average. This book is about how you can “create” a staff that exudes excellence.

In Part I, we will explore hiring practices, mentoring, the evaluation process, and setting expectations for all personnel. We will also see that “elimination” is a very important step toward developing the best staff possible. We will focus on how to replace weakness with strength and how patient, consistent, and focused leadership, on your part, is mandatory every step of the way.

In Part II, we will look at ten leadership thoughts to help you create the best staff possible, and then keep them that way.

“Building human capital may not get headlines, like opening a slew of new schools or completely redesigning a district’s curriculum, but veterans of urban education reform say it is one of the key behind-the-scenes factors in determining if changes succeed or fail ...” says Carl Vogel.

I like Carl’s phrase “building human capital.” Nothing is more important than the quality of people who compose our school systems. Notice that I didn’t limit this to teachers or administrators. Every human being who works in a school system is fundamental to the success of that system. As you read the following I want you think of two very important facts. First, the process of producing a staff of excellent employees takes time, sometimes a very long time. Second, no one is excluded from the process.

So, buckle up, this is going to be an exciting journey!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gordon Burgett
• Release date: Jan 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9780989653091

Jim Burgett

Jim Burgett is a veteran educator, nationally recognized education speaker, and consultant. He was named the “Illinois Superintendent of the Year” by the American Association of School Administrators and "Administrator of the Year" by the Illinois Association for Educational Office Professionals. Burgett has received numerous honors and recognition for his leadership and skills as a motivator. Jim serves on many boards for the State of Illinois, various professional organizations, the Editorial Board for an educational publisher, and several community organizations. He is the recipient of the Award of Excellence from the Illinois State Board of Education, was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International, and was a finalist for Teacher of the Year in Illinois. After earning a B.S. degree in education, with a minor in chemistry, at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Jim earned his M.S. and C.A.S. degrees at Northern Illinois University. Jim has continued his educational training and currently writes and presents Administrative Academies for several states. Education has been the cornerstone of his career. Jim has been a teacher of grades five through twelve and a principal of elementary, middle school, and high school. During his 38-year tenure, Jim has served as the Superintendent of the Elizabeth Community Unit School District, the River Ridge Community Unit School District, and the Highland Community Unit School District, all in Illinois. Jim retired from the Blue-Ribbon Highland District in 2004. He has frequently published in professional journals, speaks across the country to a variety of organizations, and has keynoted most major educational conferences in Illinois. Jim Burgett is known for his practical leadership. He consults many districts, leads strategic planning sessions, and has been a leader in such areas as school construction, administrative standards, and effective teaching strategies. Jim Burgett's wife, Barbara, is a medical records specialist for a senior citizen service complex in Highland. Jim and Barb have three children and five grand children. Their oldest child is Stacey, is a nurse-administrator at an area hospital. She is married to Brian Zobrist, a medical technician. Stacey and Brian have three children, Rachel, Andrew, and Grace. The second daughter is Jennifer, a former high school Spanish teacher. Her husband Mike is a Regional Specialist for a communications hardware company. Jennifer and Mike have two children, Nick and Paige. The youngest Burgett child is Doug, recently graduated from the University of Illinois as a graphic artist in computers and media. In addition to being a co-author, in 2003, of What Every Superintendent and Principal Needs to Know, Jim participated in the "Excellence in Education for Superintendents and Principals" report series by writing "How to Handle the Death of a Student, Faculty, or Staff Member" in 2004. Jim participated in the revising and updating of the second edition of What Every Superintendent and Principal Needs to Know in 2007 and both co-authored the book The Perfect School (with Jim Rosborg and Max McGee) and wrote his own book, Teachers Change Lives 24/7: 150 ways to do it right, all in the same year!

Book preview

How to Create

the

Best Staff Possible

Jim Burgett

K-12

FOCUS

BOOKS

How to Create the Best Staff Possible

Building K-12 Excellence from Hire to Retire

Copyright © 2015 by K-12 Focus Books

First printing, November, 2015

Also available as a paperback

For information, contact K-12 Focus Books

185 Shevelin Rd., Novato, CA 94947

www.K-12focusbooks.com

[phone]

Cover Design by Ali Majoka

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Part I

Hiring

Applications

The Interview

Do Your Homework Before the Interview

Plan the Interview Carefully

Training

Leadership Skills

Evaluating

Building Trust

Building Camelot

Cleaning House

Remediate Toward Progress

Four Improvement Steps

Clarify the Purpose

Communicate the Expectations

Set Reasonable Goals

Evaluate, Remediate, Terminate

Time to Terminate!

Can You Really Improve an Employee?

The Law is Changing

Part II

10 Leadership Tools to Build

the Best Staff Possible

Make a Personal Connection

Keep Aware of Conditions

Delegate

Evaluate 24/7

Ask, Listen, Process

Engage the 3-step Survey

Be Innovative

Be Visible

Build a Team

Be Honest. Caring, and Transparent

Jim Burgett’s Biography

More K-12 Focus Books

Introduction

As a school administrator you may cringe at the word create if you think of all the barriers, hoops, and politics that may be involved if you want to implement a new idea or, in fact, create almost anything. As well, the path from vision to implementation is often bumpy and sometimes it even requires detours. And yes, it can lead to a dead end. However, the creation we are discussing in this Focus Book is different. In my mind it is not negotiable, should not be considered an option, and is absolutely necessary for a school leader who wants a school of excellence that accomplishes the one universal vision for all schools:

To provide the best educational opportunities possible, within the resources available.

The key word here is best. And if we are honest with each other, the only way we can achieve excellence in the school setting is with an excellent staff. Promethean Boards, Swivl Bots, and an iPad for every student does not guarantee excellence. People are the source of excellence. You know it and I know it and yet at times I think we push aside this most effective aspect of education and settle for average. This book is about how you can create a staff that exudes excellence.

In Part I, we will explore hiring practices, mentoring, the evaluation process, and setting expectations for all personnel. We will also see that elimination is a very important step toward developing the best staff possible. We will focus on how to replace weakness with strength and how patient, consistent, and focused leadership, on your part, is mandatory every step of the way.

In Part II, we will look at ten leadership thoughts to help you create the best staff possible, and then keep them that way.

Building human capital may not get headlines, like opening a slew of new schools or completely redesigning a district’s curriculum, but veterans of urban education reform say it is one of the key behind-the-scenes factors in determining if changes succeed or fail ...

Carl Vogel

I like Carl’s phrase building human capital. Nothing is more important than the quality of people who compose our school systems. Notice that I didn’t limit this to teachers or administrators. Every human being who works in a school system is fundamental to the success of that system.

As you read the following I want you think of two very important facts. First, the process of producing a staff of excellent employees takes time, sometimes a very long time. Second, no one is excluded from the process.

So, buckle up, this is going to be an exciting journey!

Part I

Hiring

Tradition dictates the way many schools hire everyone from administration to support staff. The one exception is the process used to hire the superintendent. Hiring a Superintendent is usually done by the seven (or so) public servants that sit on the Board of Education.

Some of these fine folks have never been involved in the details of hiring, like advertising, interviewing, investigating, negotiating, and contracting. Yet they usually do a very good job with the process. How do they do it? In many cases they employ experts to help them. At times they involve members of the community or the staff to help craft the job description.

Then they formally write and publish a job notice. Some boards have a professional agency recommend a slate of candidates and then have the