Management Policies and Organization to Support the Workforce at Heritage Community Charter School
Abstract
In this paper the policies of Heritage Community Charter School will be discussed. The three policies that will be discussed are hiring, evaluation, and professional development. These three policies will also be discussed from the perspective of 3 different workforce groups. These groups are administration, faculty and staff.
Management Policies and Organization to Support the Workforce at Heritage Community Charter School
Human Resource Management Policies at Heritage Community Charter School
There are three Human Resource Management Policies at Heritage Community Charter School that are going to be discussed. The three policies are going to cover are that of hiring, evaluation, and professional development.
Hiring
The first human resource management policy that is used at Heritage Community Charter School is the policy on hiring employees. All possible candidates for positions at HCCS go through similar processes in order to obtain employment. The executive director is responsible for finding possible candidates for employment. The possible candidates’ complete applications for HCCS to then go through the screening process. After completing the screening process candidates are put through a criminal history check. The candidates that are applying for a certified position are required to have an up to date certification.
This policy is tailored to the needs of the different workforce groups because the executive director and the school board for Heritage Community Charter School are always looking for the candidate who will work well at HCCS, and is willing to learn and be trained to be successful while at HCCS.
Evaluation
At Heritage Community Charter School, the evaluations are conducted and overseen be the executive director. The executive director uses the Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching to evaluate the certified employees at HCCS. Using these standards each certified employee is given at least one written evaluation, and two documented evaluations throughout the school year. These evaluations are tailored to the needs of the employee in order to help the administration at HCCS better understand how the certified employee can be supported and to help the certified employees know how they can improve on the methods and ideas that they use in the classroom through training or personnel support. The non-certified employees’ evaluation is done by their direct supervisor under the direction of the executive director.
Professional Development
The professional development policy ties into most of the other policies that are in place at Heritage Community Charter School. The professional development that is received by the employees at HCCS is based on the employee’s application during the hiring process. Professional development is also based on evaluations that are conducted throughout the school year.
There are two examples of how professional development is tailored to the needs of the employees at HCCS. The first example is during the hiring and application process the candidate is asked about Professional Learning Communities (PLC). It is required by HCCS administration that all certified staff receive training on the workings of a school that uses PLC. For this reason, all new certified employees attend a PLC conference at some point in the first few months of their employment at HCCS. Doing this professional development helps to grow the professional learning community at HCCS. The second example is because HCCS is a dual-emersion school, some training is needed to develop better ways of teaching different subjects in Spanish as well as English. For this reason, most of the Spanish teaching employees are receiving training in Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS). This is a method that uses reading and storytelling to help the students gain a better understanding of what is taught.
Differentiated Policies to Support Different Workforce Groups at Heritage Community Charter School
Hiring
When it comes to the hiring process at Heritage Community Charter School for administrators, staff, and faculty the main thing that differentiates the hiring process is who is involved in the hiring process. With the hiring in all three areas the final decision goes to the director/principal of the school. When it come to hiring administration the school board has an equal say in who is hired for the position as the director. When it comes to faculty and staff there is a committee that is put together for the purpose of determining weather or not the candidate is a good fit for the school. Each committee consists of at least three members, the principal, a member of the leadership team at the school, and a member the group or team that the candidate would be working with.
Evaluation
The evaluation process is differentiated at Heritage Community Charter School for administration, staff, and faculty by who is doing the evaluations and the guidelines or standards that different groups needs to follow. The administration at HCCS is evaluated by the superintendent and the school board. The staff are evaluated by the principal and the head of their department. The faculty are evaluated by the head of their department. The standards and guidelines for everyone are laid out in the Heritage Community Charter School Board policy handbook.
Professional Development
The professional development at Heritage Community Charter School for administrators, staff, and faculty are determined by the training that is required, most needed and most wanted by the different members of the workforce. An example of the how the training is different is that all of the faculty that are at HCCS required to attend a conference for the Professional Learning Community that is used at HCCS.
Differentiated Performance Measures and Goals at Heritage Community Charter School
Hiring
The hiring process at Heritage Community Charter School demonstrates the goals of the school by the administration hiring the best possible candidates for the positions available. By doing this the administration, faculty, and staff can meet with the goals of Heritage Community Charter School.
Evaluation
Creating and implementing a plan for ongoing training for evaluators and certificated personnel on HCCS’s evaluation standards, forms, and process and a plan for collecting and using data gathered from evaluation form. The plan will include identification of the actions, if any, available to HCCS as a result of the evaluation as well as the procedure(s) for implementing each action. With this process of evaluation and using this plan administration can perform evaluations based on the standards that are set in the goals of HCCS.
Professional Development
The content of ongoing professional development for HCCS employees includes school philosophy regarding learning and obtaining goals. One of the goals at HCCS is to work in and with a professional learning community. With this goal in mind every member of the HCCS workforce is given the opportunity to attend a PLC conference so that each member of the HCCS workforce has a better knowledge of the workings of a PLC.
Policies to Support Fundamental Workforce Groups at Heritage Community Charter School
Hiring
It is the policy at Heritage Community Charter School that HCCS will hire highly qualified personnel in order to meet the goals and expectations of HCCS. Part of this policy includes providing enough support staff in order to provide the students with opportunity to succeed to the best of their ability. An example of providing support staff is that each classroom has a paraprofessional that can provide individual support and tutoring for students that are struggling.
Evaluation and Professional Development
The primary purpose of evaluation at Heritage Community Charter School is to assist personnel in professional development and in achieving HCCS goals. The purpose of evaluations is not to belittle or chastise, but to give each member of the HCCS workforce the opportunity to grow and learn how they can improve. These evaluations also provide an opportunity to know what professional development is needed for each individual workforce member.
References
- “ Idaho School Boards Association Charter School Model Policy Manual”; Idaho School Boards Association, Inc.; 2008
- J. Castaneda, personal communication, April 29, 2019
- S. Mullanix, personal communication, April 30, 2019