DC Public Schools Human Capital Strategy

1
DC Public Schools Human Capital Strategy
February 21, 2009
UC Berkeley Omar Garriott Scott Gaiber Jason
Hirschhorn Melanie Oei
2
Today, only 9 of public school children in
Washington D.C. will achieve a post-secondary
degree. Be a part of change. Catapult your
career. Welcome to DC Public Schools. Apply at
teachdc.org
3
Our Approach
Challenges

• STEP 1 Examine current state of DCPS including
  both progress to date and overall challenges
  facing the system. Identify critical challenges
  to the human capital value chain.
• STEP 2 Brainstorm possible solutions to
  challenges and evaluate using multiple criteria
  including impact potential, ease of
  implementation, and cost effectiveness.
• STEP 3 Develop a cohesive strategy around
  strengthening the entire human capital chain.
• STEP 4 Develop tactical recommendations around
  marketing and recruiting and implementation plan.

Our recommendations
4
DCPS Will Move from a Reactive Approach to
Recruitment and Talent Selection to a More
Strategic Sourcing Model that is Coordinated
Across the Human Capital Value Chain
DCPS in the PAST
DCPS in the FUTURE

• DCPS is the preferred destination for high
  quality urban educators from across the country
• More proactive targeted marketing with a focus on
  teachers with 2-5 years of experience and
  demonstrated success in improving student
  achievement
• Low teacher turnover due to strategic development
  of district value proposition (principal quality,
  environment, career path)
• Effective partnership with local university for
  local talent
• Comprehensive metrics for measuring and rewarding
  quality

• Broad-based marketing used to recruit teachers
  using a more reactive approach
• High teacher turnover leads to high proportion of
  inexperienced teachers and costly recruiting
  costs
• Lack of high quality teaching at scale
• Limited local pipeline for high quality new and
  experienced teachers
• Limited career path options
• Historic reputation as dysfunctional district

5
Overview of Recommendations
GOAL An Effective Teacher in Every Classroom by
2012
2
1
3
Recruit and Select High Quality Teachers Using
Multiple Sources of Talent
Develop and Communicate Brand Strategy for DCPS
More Integrated Services Across the Human Capital
Value Chain to Retain Talent

• Develop multiple career paths for teachers
• Implement support structures to improve working
  environment for teachers

• Rebrand DCPS through a call to service campaign
  that values teachers as professionals
• Create compelling value proposition that attracts
  high quality teachers
• Use cost effective communication channels

• Target teachers with 2-5 years of experience
  working in surrounding urban districts and/or DC
  charters
• Develop long term local pipeline through
  university partnership/redesign

6
DCPS Will Hire an Increased Proportion of High
Performing More Experienced Teachers Moving
Forward
Change in Recruitment

• Targeting Traditional Experienced Teachers with
  2-5 years of experience will
• Decrease the number of new hires each year
• Increase the ratio of high performing teachers
  among the districts 4,000 teachers

Assumptions Number of new hires drops to 300
because new recruitment strategy will increase
retention. Traditional hires with 3 years of
experience is estimated at 50 of all new hires.
Assumes that merit pay and improvement in DCPS
working conditions will attract more experienced
talent.
7
The New DCPS Brand Will Build Off a Set of Clear
Values that the District Will Deliver on Through
its TeachDC Human Capital Initiative
TeachDC Be a part of change. Catapult your
career. Welcome to DCPS.

• Brand Values
• High quality education for every student
• High quality teachers are the single most
  important factor for improving student
  learning and achievement
• Committed to developing strong school leaders
  that relentlessly drive student
  achievement and support teachers
• Treat teachers as professionals
• Empowered to make decisions
• Support and development opportunities
• Accountable for results
• Rewarded for achieving results

DCPS Brand Promise
8
DCPS Should Identify its Highest Potential Target
Segments for Recruiting and Retaining Talent
9
Short term recruitment
DCPS Will Need to Attract an Increasing
Percentage of High Performing Mid-Career
Educators from Other Urban Districts and Charter
Schools
Time Horizon Short (0-2 years)
Value of Segment to DCPS

• This population has lower switching costs, has
  experience and success in a similar context and
  is committed to the mission of quality urban
  education

• Identify schools with significant achievement
  gains and innovative practices and directly
  recruit their teachers
• Directly target teachers that have recently been
  laid off
• Hold information sessions and networking
  opportunities

Outreach Strategies

• DCPS is engaged in the most significant urban
  education reform movement in the country come
  be a part of changing history
• High challenge environment opportunity to
  significantly impact achievement
• Greater support and leadership development
  opportunities
• More reward for performance higher salaries

Value Proposition to Segment

• Some teachers at this stage may already have
  tenure and/or significant relationships in their
  district leading to increased switching costs
• DCPS image

Challenges

• More robust, data-driven professional development
  with school-level coaching
• Multiple career paths for teachers
• Pass merit compensation system
• Improve principal support and leadership
  development

Changes DCPS Will Need to Make
10
DCPS Should Initially Focus on Recruitment
Tactics that Are High Reach and Low Cost in the
Short Term
Outside Ads
Website Update
Job Posting
Low
Recruiting Events and Information Sessions
Web 2.0
TFA Direct Mail
Cost
TV and Radio Ads
Cause Related campaigns
Referral Bonus
Targeted Email blasts
Hire Internal Marketing Person
Conference and Job fairs
High
Reach
Low
High
Note Size of bubble indicates relevance to
target markets
11
Based on Reach, Target Market Relevance and
Cost-Effectiveness, Marketing Tactics Should be
Phased over Time
Low Cost (300K) (Likely Short Term)

• Web / Online
• Infusing key marketing messages into site
  redesign
• Web 2.0
• Viral / Guerilla
• Ambassador program
• Targeted recruiting / info. sessions
• PR Communications
• Public Relations
• Targeted direct mailing

High Cost (1MM) (Likely Long Term)

• Brand-Building
• Rigorous brand audit and equity valuation
• District-wide message training
• Internal marketing strategy specialist
• Cause-related marketing
• Advertising Blitz
• Online Job board postings AdWords
• Infrastructure ads TV, radio, print
• Conference and Job Fair Sponsorship
• High-Touch Nationwide Recruiting
• Bonuses Referral, Welcome Back, Application

approx. year 0-2
approx. year 3-5
12
Building a Robust Local Pipeline Strategic
Partnership with a University
Time Horizon Long (3-5 years)
University Preparation is a Large but Relatively
Ineffective Pipeline
DCPS Can Engage with a University Partner to
Redesign Traditional Teacher Preparation in DC

• DCPS should position itself as a large and
  dissatisfied customer of university teacher
  preparation programs
• Several universities have engaged in redesign
  efforts around the country and DCPS should work
  with a local university on a redesign effort and
  seek philanthropic support
• Effective models such as UTeach (UTexas-Austin)
  could be replicated in DC
• Recruit students with content knowledge
• Field based training
• Financial incentives
• Ongoing support
• Three year commitment to teach in local district

• Recent research by Arthur Levine reveals that
  traditional university teacher preparation is not
  effectively preparing teachers
• DCPS currently does not use this source of talent
  strategically
• Current university preparation programs and
  potential partners in DC include Howard, GW,
  American University

13
Recruitment is Just One Piece of the Entire Human
Capital Value Chain
Culture

• Deploy Working Conditions Standards and Survey
  e.g. North Carolina
• Leadership promotes transparency and
  accountability
• Values data-driven decisions
• Service-oriented
• Empowers employees

Selection Placement
Development
Recruitment
Evaluation

• Bolster individualized and job-embedded PD
• Personalize career paths
• Focus on developing strong principals
• Teachers involved in school/district level
  decision making

• Define standards for high quality teacher
• Develop rigorous selection model
• Improve placement
• Accelerate timeline
• Tip the scale in favor of low-performing schools
• Better assess and match talent to school needs

• Identify poor performers
• Support or exit
• Integrate with other evaluation tools in the
  district
• Evaluate success of recruitment, selection and
  development strategy

• Rebrand DCPS
• Target local teachers with 2-5 years of
  experience
• Increase marketing efforts
• Develop local pipeline

14
Several Examples Exist from the Corporate Sector
With Lessons that Could Apply to Redefining the
Traditional Teacher Career Path

• Recruit and select the best talent and put them
  in highly challenging environments
• High burn rate most stay only a few years
• Ample variation in type of work projects change
  frequently
• Opportunity to take on significant responsibility
  early in career

Top tier talent, high turnover and a few who stay
for a career

• Leadership development and rotational programs
  that place talent in different assignments during
  a two year period before focusing on a particular
  area
• Opportunities to take on multiple roles within
  the same organization and develop new skills
• Strong mentoring and lifelong career development

Developing future leaders who will stay and
build a career

• Recruit and select top talent by selling the
  transformative nature of the work
• Reward creativity and innovation
• Opportunity to take on multiple roles over career
• Flexible work/life arrangements
• Ability to customize career path

Game changing
15
The Traditional Model of a Teachers Career Path
is Not Aligned With How Todays Top Talent Thinks
About Career Options
Career Path of the Future Customize Your Career
with DCPS
Yesterdays Career Path
External Leadership
Business/Nonprofit Leadership
Principal/ Assistant Principal
District Leadership
Administration
Mentoring, Networking, Tailored Professional
Development and Choice at Every Stage
Classroom Leadership
Hybrid Teacher/ Leader
Model Teacher
Master Teacher
Teach for 15-20 years
School Type
New School vs. Established
Turnaround Situation
Sustaining Achievement
Mode of Entry
Traditional Teacher Prep
Traditional Teacher Prep
Mid Career Switchers
TFA/DCTF Other Alt Cert
16
To Effectively Implement the Recommended Changes,
DCPS Will Need to Engage Multiple Stakeholders
Foundations
Community
Principals
Students
Parents
WTU
17
If the New Union Contract is Not Approved, DCPS
Will Need to Implement Contingency Plans
Changes to Strategies if Contract with Union is
Not Approved

• Most of the proposed strategies are not
  contingent on nor affected by the outcome of
  ongoing negotiations
• Increased focus on retention strategies (support,
  development, strong school leadership) and
  targeted recruitment
• Contract approval would simply bolster the
  marketing messages
• Additional ideas in this scenario
• Lift cap on alt-cert (TFA/DCTF) in short term
• Develop front loaded pay schedule with retention
  bonuses at key points to address attrition
• Explore creation of a wholly separate legal
  entity or partner with a selected nonprofit to
  distribute financial incentives

18
DCPS Will Need to Pursue a Different Recruitment
Strategy Depending on Whether Merit Pay is
Adopted by the Union
No merit pay
With merit pay
Teacher Recruitment Sources
Local urban districts
Local urban districts
Local urban teachers
Local urban teachers
Charter schools
Charter schools
Charter schools
Charter schools
High performing DCPS teachers
High performing DCPS teachers
Career switchers
Alt Cert
Suburban schools
Suburban schools
National high quality teachers
Increasing cost of recruiting
19
Budget Projections
20
Appendix
21
Thinking Outside the Proverbial Box
Additional Ideas Across the HC Value Chain for
Consideration

• Roving master teacher SWAT team
• Teacher exchange program
• Bring in additional funding for HC initiatives
  foundations, corporations, web-facilitated
  micro-lending or micro-grants
• Amplified voice for select teachers The Rhee
  Roundtable
• Ensure that interstate reciprocity doesnt weed
  out good candidates from other districts
• Create a market for top talent with of pay
  rewards (headhunters for teachers)
• Lottery for lowest-income schools early hiring
  fairs
• Heftier bonuses for early resignation or
  retirement notification
• Institute mechanisms (i.e., ongoing student
  assessments and teacher observations) to
  facilitate identification of low performers
  earliershouldnt be entirely dependent on
  end-of-year test scores
• Transition to Teaching in DCPS program with
  corporations (IBM)

22
Human Capital Cycle
Training Preparation
An Effective Teacher Recruitment and Selection
Strategy Will Include Mutually Reinforcing
Elements

• Description

• Description

High Potential Teachers are Referred and
Actively Recruited
Great Teachers Selected Through Rigorous Selection
High Quality Teachers Move into Leadership
Positions
Collaboration between universities/providers and
school districts

• Description

Teachers are Evaluated and Supported

• Description

Program content focuses on driving improvements
in instruction
23
SWOT Analysis
DCPS Has Enacted Multiple Reforms in the Last
Year but is Facing Several Challenges Around
Human Capital Development
SWOT Analysis of DCPS Human Capital
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities

• Strong district leader who has surrounded herself
  with talented and entrepreneurial staff
• District culture has shifted towards one around
  performance and accountability
• Broad visibility and platform as a result of
  national media attention
• Vast improvements in weeding out poor performing
  staff across the district
• Principals are empowered during selection process
• Well-developed relationship with alternative
  certification partners

• Inconsistent culture across the district
• Teacher compensation does not take into account
  performance
• Inconsistent selection of new teachers
• Traditional certification pipeline does not yield
  enough effective educators
• Misalignment between metrics used for support and
  evaluation
• No consistent definition of an effective DCPS
  teacher
• Professional development is not aligned with
  vision for an effective teacher
• Districts current IT infrastructure is
  antiquated
• Lack of a career path for teachers

• There is momentum for change brought in by the
  new presidential administration in Washington DC
• Michele Rhee has mass media attention
• Private funders have committed to funding a
  merit-based pay system
• The current state of the economy could result in
  more people changing careers to teaching
• Increased Title I funding from the federal
  government stimulus package
• WTU has expressed interest in a pay system based
  on merit

Threats

• Eroding local support due to layoffs and school
  closures
• Long collective bargaining negotiations leading
  to increased frustration
• Decreasing student enrollment takes away
  students and money
• Local talent relocating to DC Charters and
  neighboring districts
• National teachers union has identified DC as a
  battleground district

24
Executive Summary

• Significant progress has been made in DCPS under
  the leadership of Michele
• Rhee, yet the district is still confronting
  significant challenges.
• Ensuring a high quality teacher in every DCPS
  classroom by 2012 requires
• strengthening the entire human capital value
  chain and increasing the supply of
• quality applicants while improving the
  development and support of current
• teachers in order to retain talent.
• Increasing the supply of high quality teachers
  necessitates a strategic long term
• plan focused on immediate targeting of specific
  teacher segments for recruitment
• and developing a pipeline for building local
  talent.
• Immediate next steps are to target priority
  segments for experienced hire
• recruitment, rebrand the district and identify a
  local university partner for
• redesign work.
• Long term implementation steps include developing
  multiple career
• paths for teachers and

25
Long term recruitment
To Redesign Traditional Teacher Preparation
Programs, DCPS Will Need to Select a Set of Local
and National Partners
Potential National Partners
Potential Local Partners
The criteria for choosing a local partner should
include demonstrated commitment to DCPS, openness
to redesign and field based training
26
(No Transcript)