SCHOOL LEADERS AS HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGERS Tony Milanowski & Steve Kimball University of Wisconsin-Madison

Overview 1.Strategic HCM Partners: School Leaders & The HR Department 2.School Leader HCM Roles & Competencies 3.HCM in Leadership Standards 4.Examples of School-Level HCM from Ford Funded Research 5.Metrics for School HCM

Strategic HCM Partners HR (and other central office departments): –Administer some HR functions external recruitment, compensation, new teacher induction –Provide tools for school leaders electronic applicant management systems, performance evaluation systems, PD resources –Provide support to school leaders training, consultation

Strategic HCM Partners School leaders: –Are the “face” of HCM at school Explain and support policies (e.g., compensation, new teacher induction) – Manage some HCM functions Selection, performance management, some professional development –Do “people management” that is critical for development, motivation and retention

School Leader HCM Roles Vary Degree of centralization in district –Also maturity of HR department & relationship with teacher association Grade level & size –Contrast small elementary school with large high school Situation –School performance level: contrast “turnaround” with sustaining high performance –New to school vs. long-term leader

Generic Principal HCM Roles Talent Acquisition –Workforce planning –Internal recruitment –Selection – e.g., interviewing, reference checking Development –Induction & mentoring: varies with district involvement –PD: school PD plan, teacher PD plans –Performance management : evaluation, feedback, goal setting, coaching Motivation & Retention –Engage teachers in work of school –Recognition & reward –Working conditions – remove “dissatisfiers”

10 Key HCM Competencies 1.Ability to analyze school goals and translate them into what staff need to know and be able to do 2.Knowledge of what good teaching looks like, how to assess it and talk about it 3.Understanding the principles of effective recruitment and selection 4.Ability to provide specific, honest, and useful feedback about job performance 5.Ability to coach and motivate people to improve performance

10 Key HCM Competencies 6.Ability to understand and respond to the different developmental needs and interests of teachers based on their performance and their stage of career 7.Ability to learn about and understand individual staff members’ interests, concerns, and values 8.Ability to share leadership and decision making 9.Ability to assess and act to improve school working conditions 10.Knowledge of the basic principles of employment law and labor relations.

HCM in School Leader Standards National standards reviewed Educational Leadership Policy Standards: ISLLC 2008 National Association of Elementary School Principals (2008) National Association of Secondary School Principals (1999) Waters, Marzano and McNulty (2003) Douglas Reeves (2009) Center for Reinventing Public Education (2003)

HCM in School Leader Standards State and district standards reviewed Ohio Florida New York City School Leadership Competencies Chicago Public Schools Leadership Competencies

Leader Standards Analysis Findings Only 36 references to specific HCM functions across 10 sets of standards Professional development and performance management - two most common HCM functions Recruitment, selection, induction, and mentoring barely mentioned

Leader Standards Analysis Findings Across the sets, about half of the standards more or less relate to influencing working conditions or “people management” –More specific: “Builds strong teams, develops leadership capacity among staff, and shares responsibilities appropriately” –Less specific: “Principals anticipate, monitor and respond to educational developments that affect school issues and environment” Remainder of standards related to other competencies

School Human Capital Management Research in 2 Districts Funded by Ford Foundation: –Chicago Public Schools –Montgomery County, Maryland Both districts making progress on student achievement for poor students & students of color Different approaches to sharing HCM responsibilities

Chicago Context 408,000 students (84% low income) in 666 schools with 24,000 teachers Decentralization –Local school councils hire principals and share responsibility for oversight of principal performance Principals have discretion in selection, induction, professional development and performance management of staff District success in expanding pool of teacher candidates, little by way of tools or training principals in HCM functions New CEO: teacher and principal human capital management among emerging priorities

Chicago Themes Recruitment and selection –Attracting candidates not seen as problem –Staff planning and hiring not structured, but attention is given to see that candidates fit with school culture Professional development –Some crafted PD around school improvement strategy while others defaulted to district PD –More coherence in improving schools Performance management –Strong emphasis on instructional quality in improving schools –Across schools, variation in evaluation, coaching and feedback –District evaluation instrument not sufficient

Montgomery County Context 136,000+ students (26% free & reduced price lunch); 193+ schools; 22,000 teachers Green and Red Zones High degree of association-management cooperation Strong central office role in: –External recruitment –New teacher induction –Teacher evaluation system

Montgomery County School HCM Recruitment & Selection –Networks for internal recruitment –Realistic job preview Professional Development –Scheduling, support, & coherence with SIP –“Team” vs. individual PD Motivation & Retention –Recognition –Involvement –Burnout prevention

Assessing School-Level HCM Standards analysis & district research have suggested that there is a need for a set of tools to assess HCM effectiveness at the school level Tools would include HCM competency model, rubric for school leader HCM competence, measures of HCM processes & outcomes Would be “validated” by comparing to student achievement

Example School HCM Metrics Process Indicators Percent of teachers hired after school year begins Percent of teachers with completed professional development plans Outcome Indicators Teacher turnover, including turnover by performance level, experience level, and teaching specialty Teacher absenteeism Staff responses to school climate surveys Quality Indicators Alignment between areas identified for improvement in evaluations and teacher professional development plans Number of teachers from school promoted to teacher leader jobs at other schools or assistant principals promoted to principal Percent of teachers tenured by principal who turn out to have performance problems in the next 5 years.

Human Resource Alignment Districts should also consider assessing the alignment of HR practices for school leaders. This requires: –School leader competency model –Analysis of HRM practices for leaders Recruitment Selection Induction/Mentoring Professional Development Performance Management Compensation See “Analyzing Human Resource Practices Alignment” at: human-resource-practices-alignment.pdf