Principal Effectiveness - Empowering Leaders to Drive Systemic Change
Summary:
Discover how Dr. Dana Monogue, Superintendent of Middleton Cross Plains Area School District, achieves a 90% retention rate. Learn about key initiatives like "build your own" strategies, the impact of effective leadership, and the vital role of listening to staff and students. Dr. Monogue shares actionable insights on building a coaching culture, flexible PTO policies, and succession planning, even for smaller or less resourced districts. Unpack how a collaborative approach and a focus on talent diversity contribute to creating a thriving educational environment. Join Dr. Jim and Dr. Dana for a deep dive into successful retention tactics in education.
Key Takeaways:
- Listening as a Strategy: Engaging with students, families, and staff through focus groups, surveys, and one-on-one meetings can surface critical insights to inform retention strategies.
- Flexible Policies: Implementing flexible PTO policies and professional development days can significantly enhance employee satisfaction.
- Grow Your Own Programs: Establishing pathways for high school students and current employees to pursue careers in education helps build a robust talent pipeline.
- Coaching Culture: Building a culture where all levels of staff receive coaching can improve leadership quality and retention rates.
- Community Collaboration: Smaller districts can benefit from collaborating with neighboring districts and local universities to enhance their talent strategy.
Chapters:
Driving Employee Retention in Top Wisconsin School District
Strategies for Retaining and Attracting Diverse Talent in Education
Innovative PTO and Professional Development Policies in Education
Innovative Strategies to Build and Retain Educational Talent
Developing Leaders and Building a Coaching Culture in Education
Collaborative Strategies for School District Succession Planning
Building Trust and Retention Through Leader Visibility and Engagement
Connect with Dr. Jim: linkedin.com/in/drjimk
Connect with CT: linkedin.com/in/cheetung
Connect with Dana Monogue: linkedin.com/in/dana-monogue-b2b089197
Middleton Cross Plains Area School District: https://www.mcpasd.k12.wi.us/
Music Credit: Shake it Up - Fesliyanstudios.com - David Renda
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Transcript
We'll look at how a grow your own strategy paired with an emphasis on educator voice and principal effectiveness is. Help build one of the top school districts in Wisconsin with a track record for high employee retention.
teaching and learning in the [:School district . For the past 15 years. Dana has taught at the graduate level for the Milwaukee school of engineering, Carroll university and the university of Wisconsin, Madison, and educational leadership and policy analysis programs. Dana, welcome to the show.
[:[00:01:14] Dr. Jim: I'm looking forward to this conversation. I think we have a lot of things to dig into and especially given that I'm a retention nerd, which is my area of study in in my doctoral research.
I think this is going to be particularly interesting for me. To dig into some of the things that that you've done within your district. That's helped build it to being one of the top districts in the in the state. Now, before we dive into that conversation, I think it's going to be important for you to share with our listeners and viewers, some of the details about your background, your experience, and even some of the unique trends within your district.
That's going to be relevant to the conversation.
[:Currently here in the Middleton Cross Plains Area School System, we're a district that serves approximately 7, 200 students. We're a K 12 system. We have seven elementaries, two large middle schools, two high schools. We have the state's largest middle school and the state's largest high school. The families and the students that we serve are beautifully diverse.
unch. We employ approximately:Counselors, et cetera, paraprofessionals. We own our own bus company, so we also have bus drivers, food service professionals [00:03:00] et cetera. So I would say, over the past five years, really since the covid pandemic districts have always been concerned about making sure that we have the best talent in every employee group so that our students and our families get the best service possible that has really been accentuated, since the pandemic, and over the past 5 years, our applicant pools in all positions have really dwindled. And that has made us make a strategic priority out of our retention and attraction efforts. So not only do we strive for 90 percent retention in all of our employee categories, we also have a goal.
To diversify our employee categories as well. We want the adults that work in our system to mirror and look like the students that we're serving. So every year we work with our board of education on a district strategy map. We have specific targets. Annual that relate to our attraction and retention efforts.
arts with an intention and a [:[:
A a representative workforce, a workforce that, that reflects the communities or the customers that you serve. So when you look at how. You're driving talent strategy for your school district. You have a diverse school district. You have a lot of students. You have a lot of families. You've seen an applicant pool that's reduced.
So there's a lot of variables that are in play and you want to drive drive better retention outcomes. Tell us a little bit more about why there's an emphasis on talent diversity coming into the organization and how that's influenced your ability to better retain your talent.
[:and listening to our families. We do focus groups, myself and my senior leader team, we do focus groups with kids every single year. And part of those conversations really center on how important it is for them to have adults in their midst that really look like them, that come from the same places that they come from, that have the same religious backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds.
here we bring folks together [:What's working for you in our system? What's going really well? What are you challenged by? What is not going well? And we take that information and that data and we action plan around it. So listening to our kids, listening to our staff, that has really helped us develop more and more strategies to continue to attract and retain staff across our employee groups.
[:I would imagine it'd be easier to pull off in a school district of your size. How would we apply that listening practice to maybe a school district that doesn't have the same set of resources? How can they actually put that how can they actually operationalize that in a smaller school district with more limited resources?
[:Time, taking time with them, taking time with people to really listen to their stories, to really listen to their lived experiences to ask questions that elicit really good feedback. That's useful. The other thing that we do when we are out doing our focus groups, whether that be with children or with staff is we.
We collate all that information and then we let them know what we heard during our focus group times with them and what we're doing with that data. We also take that information and share it with our Board of Education. So our board also shares our desire to be a destination district for families, for kids, for staff.
They're very invested in our [:Some of the things that we've heard from our listening sessions have really informed some great strategy in our district. I'll give you a really good example and talking to our staff recently over the past two years. Probably we can continue to hear that they're having health care access issues. They're having a hard time getting timely medical appointments and so over the past year or so, we have decided to build and develop our own employee health clinic.
ble are already being taken. [:And so that's one example of how our listening has really informed some pretty big innovation here.
[:Now, when we think about doing things that help you attract Talent and retain talent. Were there any other trends that you identified in your various listening activities that pointed to significant retention outcomes that you think is worth mentioning?
[:institution. We would love to pay our employees 100, 000. We know that's not possible, but we also know that salary and benefits are really important. So we benchmark our salary and benefits against all other 15 districts that are in our geography. We have, again, a strategic goal to be in the top quartile when it comes to our salary and benefit structures for all of our employee groups.
also, through our listening [:So through our employee handbook process this past year, we've actually evolved and changed that. And now all employees are given just a bank of general leave days. They don't have to let us know why they are requesting those days off and employees can take up to five days. Consecutively off during the course of the school year.
And so we decided to proceed [:We now have general leave. We're tracking that data this year to see you know how impactful that has been not only from an attraction and retention perspective, but how that has been impactful with the number of substitutes that we need to have. And what we found so far is that our employees are being incredible, incredibly respectful with regard to that.
And they really appreciate it. And so that's just another strategy that we put into place. Again, coming from our listening sessions and our committee work that has been really beneficial.
[:[00:12:55] Dana Monogue: Another example of how we have worked to [00:13:00] input flexibility into a schedule where there really isn't a lot when it comes to a school year calendar is, we have one professional development day a month baked into our school year calendar. It's something that we work with our Board of Education on coming off of COVID. The year after COVID, we implemented a hybrid instructional framework here where we had cohorts of students. Some students came Monday and Tuesday, some students came Thursday and Friday, and Wednesdays were really set aside for teacher collaboration and preparation.
Of course, our folks really appreciated that time. So after COVID ended and we were back to more of a typical schedule, We work with our school board to incorporate one professional learning day for staff a month, and the schedule of that day has really been designed to meet a variety of needs. In the morning, it's really directed time.
ally hands off and it allows [:We asked, our families and others how they felt about it. People, seem to be used to it now, and it really is helping when it comes to giving some of that flexibility to our staff.
[:So tell me a little bit more about how you're using the information that you're hearing from. From students, from educators, and just the landscape of education in [00:15:00] general. How is that shaping some of the things that you're doing in district to build your own talent pipeline or build your talent bench.
[:And so we have developed a two-pronged. grow your own program here in our district. The first prong really deals with high school students who have an interest in becoming educators. And starting in their junior year in high school, they can take a series of courses. We have partnerships with Madison College, University of Wisconsin and Edgewood College [00:16:00] here.
So there is a pathway for students to really deeply immerse themselves in all the different careers and education while they're in high school. And then see a pathway with the different training institutions and wonderful universities here. And we're hoping that then kids will come back and we'll be able to hire them here in our district.
We're in our second year of implementation of our school. Student specific Grow your own program. And every year there are more and more kids getting into it. It also gives us an opportunity to tap kids from a variety of different backgrounds to get into education. And that has been really impactful and super important.
So that's one prong of our grow, your Own. The other prong of our grow your own is for current employees. So we have paraprofessionals, we have, a variety of different people in different employee categories who really want to get certification and become teachers. And so every year we have an application process.
for a diverse applicant pool [:In particular, special education is an employee category that has been particularly hard to hire. Across the country, across Wisconsin, and certainly here. And so we really prioritize people who maybe want to get into special education areas through our grow your own program for our own employees.
Those are two different strategies that we've employed that we're really excited about.
[:I want [00:18:00] to focus in a little bit on some of the things that you're doing from a current employee perspective, and especially the continuing education and development side of it. Now, you mentioned that there is an emphasis that for candidates to be selected or sponsored for that for those initiatives you have an eye towards Including people from underrepresented communities, the challenge there is in a lot of respects people from those communities tend not to volunteer or raise their hand just through a whole bunch of different factors that drive that.
So what are the things that you're proactively doing to make sure that. Those people that are qualified but from underrepresented communities are on the radar for these programs and they're being proactively brought into that effort.
[:He works in all of our schools, has deep relationships with all of our BIPOC staff and through those connections, he's able to get to know people on a really deep level. And understand and working with people's principles to who might have an interest, who might have capacity, who might have talent.
And we're able to tap and have one on one conversations with people, especially our BIPOC staff and let them know what to expect. about, what it entails, w process is. That person will even sit alongside folks and help process. There's a variety of different strategies, people strategies we have to make sure that everyone who might benefit from our grow your own program really understands it
ls and high schools. We also [:And there are weekly meetings or a monthly meeting. So there's a lot of high touch strategies between the district level and our buildings that really help inform us about who out there we should be talking to about grow your own. I will also say I am a huge fan of building level principles.
When I, when you think about creating an ecosystem in an organization where people, employees feel valued, seen. heard a part of a greater mission. The role the principal plays is it's just paramount. And so our principals have also been really helpful for us and letting us know, hey, I've been in classrooms lately.
his person. This person is a [:[00:21:12] Dr. Jim: That's actually a great point that you bring up and the parallel that I'll draw is when you look at principles or when I think about principles they're your sort of first line of defense when it comes to your retention strategy. You can think of it in a organization.
People are going to join or leave that organization based on the relationship that they have with their managers. So the principal in effect is the manager of all the educators within a particular school. So tell us a little bit more about some of the things that you're doing when it comes to developing your principles to be better people leaders, because that's going to have a retention outcome as well.
[:in the people that they're serving and provides a high level of support for people to reach those high expectations. And so it really starts in the hiring process and being very careful and thoughtful and thorough in how you are. Attracting and finding principals who are really going to create that kind of environment in their schools.
Then when folks are part of our system and we're fortunate, I love the size of our district. We're large enough to have a lot of resources. We're small enough where our leadership team really does feel like a family. And so all of our principals. Especially if they're new principles. So this is their first experience.
a variety of different teams [:So it's an ongoing conversation within our organization.
[:Potential administrators that would be coming through the ranks. What do you have in place that helps you identify the high potential candidates [00:24:00] that might be your next assistant principals or whatnot? And how are you developing them through coaching to take that next step?
[:We have instructional coaches in all of our buildings and they work with all educated With all educators, primarily focusing on our new educators. We know the research around first, second and third year in education. If there isn't good support around that educator is likely going to leave the profession.
right now. Not only is there [:And so right now we have an opportunity through a grant with the University of Wisconsin where we have actually identified a group of high potential. Folks who are going to now get into a principal preparation program. And that is all because our principals, our coaches, our district level leaders really know our people.
And there are a variety of different ways that folks can let us know that they have this type of interest. So we're always on the lookout. Something that we are thinking about doing in the very near future is doing some type of leadership academy where anyone in our system who thinks they might want to learn more about what it's like to be a building level leader, a district level leader could come into some type of an academy experience that would be facilitated by folks here just so we are always thinking about succession planning.
succession planning process. [:I think you'd be a great assistant principal sometime. Have you ever had that thought in your mind? I recently had a conversation with the district level leader. I think she would be an amazing superintendent. I sat her down and I had that conversation with her, and I just said, Listen, you are a systems thinker.
You're great with people. You're calm under pressure. You're strategic in your thinking. You're compassionate. Have you ever thought about becoming a superintendent? And she said, Oh, my gosh, I never have. Now she's going to get into a superintendent preparation program. I think right now I have seven leaders, either building level leaders or district level leaders.
So I'm doing everything that [:[00:27:06] Dr. Jim: that's really good insight in terms of how what things that you're doing to develop the next generational leaders. When you take what you're doing, and try to apply it to a smaller school district. What are some of the scrappy ways that an administrator at a smaller district or maybe a less well resourced district can apply what you're doing to their environments to continue building that succession pipeline?
[:I've worked in large systems, I've worked in small systems. I've always benefited from networking and working alongside districts, around me. And so for small, smaller [00:28:00] districts, and we even talk about this here we're a relatively large system but we collaborate all of the time with our neighbors, Varona, sun Prairie, Waunakee, Manona Grove.
Madison. And we talk a lot about joining forces when it comes to things like this. How do we work together when it comes to attracting and retaining? We're, what's nice about Dane County, I would say we're not really that competitive with one another. We're more collaborative and cooperative.
So if you're a small system or even a medium sized system, large system. network with the people around you and see what synchronicities there might be there because everyone is working on the same things. Everyone's working on the same priorities, attraction and retention. Those are goals that all of us have.
leges for your institutions. [:We've also always leaned on our board of education. We have a phenomenal board of education here. They not only support our goals, but they also add some really interesting strategies and some ideas because of their experiences in the private sector. So I would just say just lean on as many people as you can to continue to work on the priorities that you're holding.
[:I want to go back to something that you mentioned when we're talking about Yeah, your expectations of senior leaders within your district and what you mentioned was that your expectation is that you want them to be visible across the schools in your district on a [00:30:00] regular basis. What's been the impact of that visibility when it comes to surfacing emerging problems that exist from the educator population?
[:vibe that we can create just by doing those kind of relationship walkthroughs in our buildings is so very important. And what we see then when we're in our buildings, we'll have people say, Hey, do you have a second? Come into my classroom. I want to show you this. Or, Hey, do you have a minute?
ve when I get those kinds of [:And the more we can be visible, Okay. Just like we expect our principals to be in classrooms as much as possible, you can't coach the game if you're not where the game is being played. Our principals need to be in classrooms, our district level folks, as much as possible, need to be in buildings.
Not only so we're, building relationships with people, but also so that we're really looking at and inspecting what's going on in our classrooms. That expectation has been really important.
[:If there's another leader that's listening to this and they want to build. A really strong [00:32:00] retention engine, what are the core principles that they need to put into action so that they can actually build this sort of environment that you and your leadership team have been able to build in your district.
[:If you're going to listen to people, then you have to make sure that you're acting upon the feedback that you're getting and also communicating back to those stakeholder groups, what you heard and how that informed, a strategy. So we heard loud and clear from our folks. They were frustrated with our paid time off policy.
o health care. All right. So [:We let them know, hey, because of what you told us, this is what we've done. So there are a variety of different strategies that we have taken to help you. because of what we heard from our people. So I would just recommend if you're going to listen, if you're going to get feedback, make sure you act on it and communicate back to people.
What's important are our folks. Let us know. Salary is really important. It's really important. So we just worked with a large group of staff to create a brand new salary structure that helps us meet our goal. We have a goal of being in the top quartile in Dane County when it comes to salary.
And so We built that structure. We put it into place and we let people know it's because of what we heard from you. This is why we're doing that. And so those feedback loops, that communication loop, that intentionality around all of that has just been incredibly important.
about that too, but at least [:[00:34:05] Dr. Jim: Yeah, that's great stuff, Dana, and I especially there's big chunks of what you're talking about that. Doesn't require a ton of resources. So when you're thinking about, the practice of listening, the practice of engaging to understand what's going on and then prioritizing and acting on what shows up consistently is most important.
I think those are principles that can carry over into any environment. So I appreciate you sharing that if people want to continue the conversation, what's the best way for them to get in touch with you.
[:[00:34:44] Dr. Jim: Awesome stuff. I appreciate you hanging out and and chatting. There was a lot that I learned out of this conversation, but I think when I think about some of the big things that. That stand out to me, early on in the conversation, you mentioned the importance of leaders needing to be [00:35:00] visible, and I think that's a critical point that can be applied across any organization in any context in any industry.
I think there's a tendency for people as they get further and further up the ranks within an organization to manage by spreadsheet and managed by metrics. And I don't think that really serves you well. And here's why. Thank you. One of the things that you've been able to do really successfully within your district is to crowdsource all of the things that are happening at the front lines and bubble that up through the organization and prioritize that into action items that help drive talent attraction and retention outcomes.
If your leaders aren't visible and they aren't engaging with your team. Your team on a day to day basis or on a regular basis, you're never going to build the relationships that's going to help you drive that sort of momentum for change and innovation within your organization. So for me the value of leaders being visible, present and engaging can't be undersold, so I appreciate you sharing that with us.
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