1. Attracting and Retaining Quality Career-Technical Teachers Eric Dolan, Academics Supervisor, Miami Valley CTC Tina Pelto, Assistant Principal, Lorain County JVS Michelle Snow, Director, C-TEC Beth Starrett, Career Pathway Connector, Canton City SD

2. One of the goals of this session: Create a network to help Career and Technical Administrators attract and retain CTE and academics instructors. Please take a moment to complete the survey at the following link: https://goo.gl/0iqZpH https://goo.gl/0iqZpH

3. Essential Question: What can career-technical schools do to attract and retain quality career- technical teachers? Given the relative low unemployment rate, citizens with technical skills have the ability to find a well-paying job within the state of Ohio. April 2011, Ohio’s unemployment rate was 9% April 2016, Ohio’s unemployment rate was 5.2% (www.bls.gov) This situation helps to create an issue of attracting, and keeping, quality career-technical teachers in the classroom. To address the issue, we looked at what businesses do to attract/retain employees in a competitive environment.

4. Attracting/Retaining Quality Employees in Business 1. Compensate Employees- quality employees demand high salaries 2. Be Flexible- help employees maintain a flexible work schedule to promote a healthy work/life balance 3. Train Managers- managers should be excellent communicators who are approachable for clarifying answers to employees’ questions (Anania)

5. Attracting/Retaining Quality Employees in Business 4. Be Creative with Benefits- allow employees to work half days so they can go to the gym or spend time with their families 5. Promote a Positive Workplace- praise employees’ accomplishments in a public way; assist those who are struggling so they can improve; and foster cooperation rather than competition (Anania)

6. Attracting/Retaining Quality Employees in Education, as compared to Business 1.Compensation- school districts cannot afford to pay top dollar for new talent. However, it is important for new career- technical teachers to understand that they are working a 185-day contract. 2. Being Flexible- the schedule for the school day is set in stone. In addition, negotiated agreements dictate the scheduled workday, thereby decreasing opportunities for flex time.

7. Attracting/Retaining Quality Employees in Education, as compared to Business 3. Train Managers- managers (administrators) can benefit greatly from professional development related to managing teachers. 4. Be Creative with Benefits- this is not possible for school districts. However, it is certainly acceptable to mention the extra benefits, outside of insurance, that teachers enjoy. 5. Promote a Positive Workplace Environment- Who is responsible for creating this environment? School leaders. What components are included in a positive workplace environment?

8. Why do Teachers Quit? 40-50% of teachers quit within their first year of teaching The following reasons contributed to this statistic: Lack of respect High standards (too high) Overwhelming amount of after-hours work Emotional energy expended at work (Riggs)

9. What can be done to keep quality career- technical teachers in the classroom? Mentoring- matching an incoming career-technical teacher with a veteran teacher (preferably career-technical teacher) Regular communication with an administrator Attract good people and keep them (Riggs)

10. Mentoring The Kansas Center for Career and Technical Education at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, has a unique mentoring program aimed at continuous improvement for new CTE instructors Professional mentorship is provided to Kansas CTE instructors at no cost to them The program supports instructors as they enter the education profession The mentee asks for, and receives, objective feedback from his or her mentor in three areas: Planning and Preparation Classroom Environment Professional Responsibilities (Kansas State Center for Career and Technical Education, Pittsburgh State University)

11. Mentoring Continued Information shared during onsite visits and observations is confidential and used by the mentor to provide feedback to the mentee for his or her continuous improvement (Kansas State Center for Career and Technical Education, Pittsburgh State University) Our recommendation: CTE administrators/leaders are encouraged to develop mentoring programs with post- secondary partners when possible. If not possible, ensure onsite mentoring programs are truly confidential, non- punitive, and are designed to elicit continuous improvement

12. Regular Communication with Administrators Teachers who “work with a mentor and have regular supportive communication with an administrator are more likely to stay in the classroom” (Riggs). Our recommendation: Administrators should complete informal observations that last no longer than fifteen minutes The observations should focus on artifacts (lesson plans, visuals displayed in the classroom, etc.), student behaviors (what students are doing in the classroom) and teacher behaviors (routines and procedures that result in student engagement). (Montano, Broome and Alford)

13. Communication continued In a simple format, share with the teacher what you observed. For example, identify the artifacts, student behaviors, and teacher behaviors in a short, bulleted email. Give teachers the opportunity to share what they experienced during the observation. Discuss opportunities for improvement, or highlight best practices, with the teacher during a face-to-face meeting on the same day of the observation.

14. Attracting & Keeping Good People Creating a Desirable Work Environment So how can companies create the type of workplace where employees feel engaged? “Creating the Best Workplace on Earth,”“Creating the Best Workplace on Earth,” a Harvard Business Review report, asked this question hundreds of times over the course of three years, and determined that there are six important ways to engage employees. Investopedia asked a few experts to weigh-in on each point. 1. Let people be themselves Allow your employees to be individuals instead of forcing them into stereotypical categories. Employees are comfortable if they have the freedom to look and think differently. 2. Unleash the flow of information Always tell your employees what’s going on–even if it’s bad news. And your leaders should want to hear the truth from their employees–even if it’s not flattering. 3. Magnify people’s strengths Allow good employees to develop their skills, and allow underperforming employees to improve their performance. Companies can achieve this by providing training and coaching opportunities to help workers develop their skills and abilities, and add more value to the organization.develop (Williams)

15. Attracting & Keeping Good People (continued) 4. Stand for more than shareholder value Give employees something to believe in, aside from a paycheck. Make the organization a place that workers are proud to be associated with. 5. Show how the daily work makes sense Give employees work that adds value instead of having them perform meaningless tasks. Also, make sure that they understand the importance of their job and how it fits in the big picture. 6. Have rules people can believe in Rules and company policies are necessary, but there should be an easily understood reason for them. Also, rules should be consistently applied to everyone in the organization.company policies (Williams)

16. Works Cited Anania, Kate. Investopedia: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal- finance/080615/top-5-ways-retain-your-best- employees.asp. 6 August 2015. Internet. 12 May 2016. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal- http://www.bls.gov/. n.d. 12 May 2016. Kansas State Center for Career and Technical Education, Pittsburgh State University. http://kccte.pittstate.edu/mentoring/. n.d. Internet. 7 June 2016.

17. Works Cited Continued Montano, Matthew, Steve Broome and Ivy Alford. http://ped.state.nm.us/ped/NMTeachDocs/8-29- 2012_State_Observation_Protocol_Day_1v3.pdf. 29 August 2012. Internet. 9 June 2016. http://ped.state.nm.us/ped/NMTeachDocs/8-29- Riggs, Liz. The Atlantic.com: http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/10 /why-do-teachers-quit/280699/. 13 October 2013. Internet. 7 June 2016. http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/10 Williams, Terri. Investopedia.com: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal- finance/111115/how-smart-companies-are-keeping- employees-engaged.asp. 11 November 2015. Internet. 22 July 2016. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-