The Vital Importance of Faculty Alignment with School Mission

By Dr. Harry Bloom, Founder and President, Benchmarking for Good, Inc.

Benchmarking for Good’s research among over 800 Jewish day school faculty members in 14 diverse day schools reveals the importance of Faculty being aligned with the school’s Mission. It turns out that this has important implications for school leaders desiring for their school to be “an employer of choice” for faculty.

WHAT EXACTLY DOES “ALIGNMENT” MEAN?

Alignment with Mission means that the faculty members understand the school’s Mission –in essence the “Why” of the school—and agree with it and work individually and in concert with fellow staff members, school families, and the community to support the implementation of its tenets.

SO, EXACTLY HOW ALIGNED WITH SCHOOL MISSION ARE JEWISH DAY SCHOOL FACULTY MEMBERS?

Our 14 school survey results indicate a wide variation among schools relative to the percentage of faculty who strongly align with their school’s Mission.

WHY DOES THE DEGREE OF ALIGNMENT WITH MISSION MATTER?

You might well be asking: How important is this alignment? Or, more pointedly, how important is this alignment relative to faculty members being strong advocates for their school?  The answer is that it is very important. The correlation between a faculty’s degree of alignment with their school’s Mission and their propensity to recommend the school as an employer is 83 percent --which is a very high degree of correlation (strength of correlation is measured by how close the correlation percentage is to 100%). In contrast the correlation percentage between factors such “I like my job” or “I like my work environment” or “I am proud of my school” and a willingness to recommend that a friend or family member work at their school have a correlation coefficient of about 70 percent.

IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL LEADERS

There are a number of important implications from these findings for day school leaders.

1. It is important for schools to ensure their Mission statements, and the intentions behind them, are understood by faculty, including prospective new faculty members, and that they feel they can be aligned with them.

2. This would include non-Jewish faculty members who might find alignment with a Jewish school’s Mission a bit more challenging. And yet, veteran, successful school leaders like Rabbi Samuel J. Levine have experienced many examples of non-Jewish faculty members who totally embrace their Jewish day school’s Mission and exemplify this support in their interactions with students and other constituencies.

3. It is helpful for school leaders to discuss with faculty, and even role play, what Mission alignment might look like in a classroom or communal school setting.

4. It is vital for school leaders to periodically conduct confidential faculty climate research that includes an assessment of the degree of faculty alignment with school Mission—as well as the extent to which faculty believe their school is an employer of choice.

5. In instances where a faculty’s perceived alignment with school Mission is lower than desirable, open, safe conversations should be conducted to understand why and to discuss ways to increase alignment.

LEVERAGING FACULTY RESEARCH AND BENCHMARKING GRANT OPPORTUNITIES WITH BENCHMARKING FOR GOOD

If you would like to discuss the possibility of securing a no cost Benchmarking for Good grant that will allow you to conduct research that enables you to understand how your school stacks up in terms of faculty alignment with Mission and as a faculty employer of choice, please contact Dr. Harry Bloom at harrybloom@benchmarkingforgood.org

#faculty culture  #school Mission  #employer of choice  #faculty

The Senior State of Jewish Day School Faculty: A Time for Counting our Blessings or Urgent Action?

By Dr. Harry Bloom, Founder and President, Benchmarking for Good, Inc.

A MAJORITY OF CURRENT DAY SCHOOL FACULTY MEMBERS ARE RELATIVELY LONG TENURED IN THE PROFESSION 

An analysis of the total teaching tenure of current faculty members indicates that about half have been teaching for more than 15 years. Further, another 17% for between 11 and 15 years. On the positive side it is comforting to know that highly experienced and skilled faculty members are fulfilling the educational needs of their students. On the flip side, however, overall faculty attrition rates are climbing and retirement rates will likely do so given the seniority of current faculty. Simply replacing these veterans will represent a major challenge given competition from public schools, which generally pay more and have better benefit packages, and even more lucrative private sector employment options. But that is not the only challenge our research has revealed.

THE RETENTION OF SHORTER TENURE FACULTY MEMBERS IS AT RISK

Benchmarking for Good’s faculty climate survey research among less experienced faculty members, who represent the future of the profession, indicates that they are significantly less satisfied with their jobs than their more senior colleagues and less likely to recommend that friends or family members work for their school.

WHY ARE SHORTER TENURED FACULTY LESS LIKELY TO PROMOTE THEIR PROFESSION?

The issues that diminish these less experienced teachers’ willingness to recommend employment at their school are illustrated by the following comments and suggestions from survey respondents:

“Be transparent about salaries, and offer a real path for growth in this sense as well.”

“It's upsetting that improving salaries of teachers is a long term goal and not a short term goal. That's a HUGE reason why people leave or think about leaving and I think finding immediate ways to improve teacher salaries is a big way to make the school an employer of choice.”

“ More professional development opportunities is also a big draw because it's an investment in your professional growth. I also would like to know what opportunities for growth there are as a teacher here, especially as I reach my 5 years here and don't want to get bored.”

“Better benefits (tuition remission, etc.), PTO, opportunities for growth, 401k matching.”

“Have clearer expectations for teachable standards at each grade level and monitor and support teachers in delivering said instruction.”

“Support the staff and see us as equals; demand and ensure respect from the students and parents; treat us like adults and take our concerns seriously - listen to us as if we are experts in the field and experienced professionals who are in the classrooms daily; provide more re.”

“I would like more encouragement and positive feedback from the administration. I feel under-appreciated.”

In summary: low salary levels and an absence of salary transparency, inadequate professional development and the lack of perceived growth opportunities, unclear expectations, and lack of perceived appreciation represent satisfaction detractors for less experienced faculty members. 

A CLEAR CALL TO ACTION FOR SCHOOL LEADERS 

The implications of these findings from Benchmarking for Good’s faculty climate and benchmarking research are clear. Yes, it is important for school leaders to focus on retaining their veteran faculty members and replacing them with capable substitutes as they retire. However, in order to reliably secure the future of quality education they also need to be in serious dialog with less senior faculty members about their legitimate complaints and then be prepared to act on that dialog by creating strategic action plans to meet reasonable requests. 

The challenge is clear and the response needs to be equally clear. 

ENGAGE WITH BENCHMARKING FOR GOOD AND ITS NO COST SERVICES FOR APPROVED GRANTEES

To learn more about how Benchmarking for Good’s research and benchmarking analysis and Grant programs can help your school confront its challenges please contact Dr. Harry Bloom at harrybloom@benchmarkingforgood.org

        #faculty retention   #teaching excellence  #Supervision   #Professional development

Faculty Climate: What Schools that are Employers of Choice Have in Common

By Dr. Harry Bloom, Founder and President, Benchmarking for Good, Inc.

Faculty Climate Survey Findings

Based on recent Benchmarking for Good faculty climate surveys with 800 educators working in over a dozen diverse Jewish day schools, several schools stood out in terms of the higher propensity of their faculty to recommend them as employers of choice to friends and colleagues. The highest performing schools include the Donna Klein Jewish Academy (Boca Raton, FL), Ida Crown Jewish Academy (Chicago, IL), and Fuchs Mizrachi Day School (Cleveland, OH). 

Of note, the top performing schools on Employer of Choice-related metrics were not distinguished from their peers on the dimension of salary and benefits. However, they did set themselves apart on three other factors: (1) perceived performance in work/life balance, (2) realistic supervisor expectations about workload, and (3) providing supportive tools (e.g., in the form of space, curriculum and technology). 

Implications for School Leaders

In a tight employment market for qualified teachers, senior school administrators would do well to learn more about the factors that turn faculty members into promoters via faculty climate surveys, and related qualitative research. A great place to start is actively delving into the work/life balance flexibility faculty seek, about what gives them clarity and comfort relative to workload expectations, and about the tools that make them feel supported in their profession. 

In a competitive job market, this type of research and the findings it generates could mean the difference between your school being successful in retaining current faculty and hiring new ones, and the reverse.

For more information about Benchmarking for Good’s grant programs in support of positive faculty climate, please contact Dr. Harry Bloom at harrybloom@benchmarkingforgood.org.

#faculty climate  #supervision  #edtech  #work/life balance  #classroom 

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