Performance Management - Principals Capturing Our Learning

Overview Purpose: To manage the career of an employee over time, often using differentiated roles, and ensure the highest performers are retained Key Elements of Career Management & Retention Providing Expanded Leadership Roles for Existing School Leaders Retaining Highly Effective School Leaders Promoting Highly Effective Leaders to Principal Supervisors and Other Leadership Roles See the Principal ABC Tool and Executive Summary of the Principal Puzzle Pieces for additional information Urban Schools Human Capital Academy

Key Research 50% of principals leave by the end of their third year and 70% after five years The numbers are even higher in high-need schools, with approximately 28% leaving each year School Leaders Network, 2014 Burnout from the overwhelming demands of the job, lack of decision-making authority, and isolation all contribute to this turnover. School Leaders Network, 2014 This constant “churn” of principals has significant costs to students. Schools that lost principals were more likely to see a drop in student academic performance in the subsequent year. Alvoid & Black, 2014; Rice, 2010 Urban Schools Human Capital Academy

Metrics Key metrics to understand performance in this function include: Retention rate of highly effective principals, by high- and low-need schools % of low performers exited % of high performers promoted/retained Urban Schools Human Capital Academy

Key Content Career Management & Retention: Part I

HR’s Role in Principal Quality Betsy On the principal side, we know that effective principals are: Good instructional leaders, that is – they can facilitate teachers’ learning about how to improve instruction Good HC managers – they know how to get and keep the best people in their schools Have a strong vision and can build a strong culture of academic excellence Align and manage their resources for student achievement – budget, people, processe Potential questions to ask the group after reviewing this slide: Do you feel like these are comprehensive, or do you feel like anything is missing? Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

The Principalship is Challenging Demanding and increasing workload and expectations Limited autonomy over key decisions coupled with strong accountability Isolation and lack of support Pay can overlap with differentiated teacher pay Betsy Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

What We Know: Retain Strategically Source: School Leaders Network. ¼ of principals leave schools each year 28% in high-needs schools 18% in low-needs schools 50% of new principals are either not retained or leave voluntarily after their first 3 years; 20% only last 2 years New Principals were more likely to leave when test scores declined in their first year Betsy Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

District Conditions & the Paradox of the Principalship Effective Instructional Leadership Most Commonly lacking condition: ability to target resources where they are needed hire the best available teachers provide teachers with the opportunities they need to improve keep the school running smoothly Grissom & Loeb, 2009, p. 32 create appropriate staffing models ability to hire, promote, and dismiss teachers. Ikemoto, et al., 2014, p. 11 Betsy IF we get great principals – it becomes impossible to keep them because of the conditions in the district. The dysfunctional district will win every time. Even High Quality Principals cannot be great HC Managers or even effective managers in this kind of environment Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Creating Great Principals at Scale Strand 1: Aligned goals, strategies, and resources Strand 2: Culture of collective responsibility, balanced autonomy, and continuous learning, and improvement Strand 3: Effective Management and Support for Principals Strand 4: Systems and policies to effectively manage talent at school-level Betsy IF we get great principals – it becomes impossible to keep them because of the conditions in the district. The dysfunctional district will win every time. Even High Quality Principals cannot be great HC Managers or even effective managers in this kind of environment Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

What Can HR Do to Contribute? Bring Data & Information to the Table Share Power Metrics and ABC Tool strategies Identify effective teachers and APs Provide Ideas, such as: Create teacher leadership and “stepping stone” positions Seek top performers’ input about what keeps them in your district Lead/support efforts to make the role more manageable (Admin Managers) Facilitate Dialogue How can the district remove/limit barriers and set enabling conditions? How can we share and facilitate promising practices between principals? Betsy This is a service. Widen your organizational influence Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Key Content Career Management & Retention: Part II

Why Strategic Retention Matters Top educators produce stronger gains for students Top teachers produce 5 to 6 more months of learning per year Top principals generate 2 to 7 more months of student learning gains Low performers don’t always opt out Most ineffective teachers had 9+ years of experience and planned to stay for another decade More effective teachers are available to hire 75% chance of replacing an ineffective teacher with a more effective one Turnover is expensive Betsy Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Turnover can be Good or Bad Attrition “Leavers” Migration “Movers” Betsy Voluntary Resignations Retirements Involuntary Non-renewals Dismissals Involuntary Resignations High to Low Needs Low to High Needs Same Needs Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Common Retention Themes Exist Gallup identifies key retention themes: Be clear about what you expect from your employees Provide employees with the materials and equipment to do their jobs Give employees opportunities to do what they do best, every day Ensure employees have a manager who cares about them Surround talented employees with co-workers who have a similar drive for quality Provide opportunities for employees to learn and grow Betsy Source: http://govleaders.org/gallup-article2.htm Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Retention is Individual No one-size fits all solution Teacher and principal voice is important Different people need different strategies Younger, less experienced teacher or principal Teacher or principal with a young family Experienced teacher Betsy Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Retention Planning Who leaves? Who stays? In which schools? 1. Diagnose retention challenge(s) 2. Incorporate educator voice 3. Match strategies to needs 4. Take action Who leaves? Who stays? In which schools? Why do educators stay or go? What strategies best address your district’s unique needs? At what level should you take action? School? Central? Both? Danielle Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Principles for Calculating Retention Analyze by performance level Review district AND school level retention by performance Don’t penalize principals for “good” turnover Capture detailed reasons for turnover Capture teacher movements between schools intentionally Danielle Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Why They Leave - Leavers Some leave for better compensation in other fields Some leave because it wasn’t the right fit Some are asked to leave Some leave for personal/family reasons Betsy Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Why They Leave - Movers Some leave for less disadvantaged populations Some leave for different working environments Some leave for stronger instructional/environmental leadership Some leave for a more effective teacher staff Betsy Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Diagnosing Retention Challenges Purpose Identify gaps in retention strategy Diagnose key retention challenges to identify retention focus areas 3 steps/sections Data Analysis: Teacher and principal retention by performance Understanding why teachers and principals leave (or stay) Identifying a retention priority area Refer to your Power Metrics data May not be able to answer every question Use Notes and Next Steps to highlight areas for further work at home Danielle Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Developing & Matching Strategies Understand underlying reasons for turnover Seek out – and engage – teacher and principal voices Develop a wide set of strategies to address reasons Approach retention from top-down and bottom-up with district- and principal-based strategies Mix and match strategies to retain top performers Betsy Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Tools and Activities

Tools Principal Power Metrics – Actions of Impact Offers HR/HC teams actions that have an impact in each bucket of the Principal Power Metrics. It also includes: Snippets from the Research Power Metrics Recap Actions of Impact – High-impact, often low-cost ideas Top USHCA Tools and Materials Guide to Calculating Retention Provides recommended methods and tips for measuring staff retention, particularly for teachers Diagnosing Retention Challenges Assists districts in diagnosing their key challenges related to retention Exit Survey Template Provides a sample exit survey to understand the levers for retention in a district Targeted Retention Strategies Offers district and school strategies to address specific retention challenges and concerns Urban Schools Human Capital Academy

Activity: Rate Your District Does your district: Get the best principals consistently? Deploy principals deliberately? Retain principals strategically? Deliver services to principal supervisors effectively? Rate your district on a scale from 1 (worst) to 10 (best) Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014

Activity: Principal Power Metrics Analysis Directions: What do our Principal Power Metrics show? In what “bucket” area will we focus to improve principal quality Review the Actions of Impact tool for this area. Any promising ideas? What is our vision for working with Principal Managers on this? What are 2-3 concrete steps we will take to contribute to improved principal quality? Urban Schools Human Capital Academy October 2014