Superintendent: staff culture scores high; district launching paid teaching apprenticeships this spring

The superintendent reported that the district's multi-year employee culture survey showed overall strong results but identified time management/workload, benefits and recognition as areas that need continued attention.

Superintendent Rasmussen told the board the district's overall culture score rose from 3.78 to 4.03 over two years and that the most recent survey mirrored prior results. "Ninety-one percent of our employees feel safe at school," he said, noting the district has continued to use focus groups and school-level data to refine improvement efforts.

Rasmussen said participation in the survey has been high, at about 90% in recent years, and that principals will share school-level results with staff and bring action plans back to the district for a spring-wide review. He said the district's focus on retention and compensation has contributed to higher teacher retention rates over the last three years.

Separately, Rasmussen and staff announced the district will pilot a paid apprenticeship program designed to grow new teachers internally. Apprentices will work side-by-side with special education teachers; apprentices can receive up to $10,000 toward a bachelor's degree and will be paid while they work. The program will begin this spring, Rasmussen said, with pre-apprentice and apprentice stipend tiers ($4,000 for pre-apprentices, $10,000 for full apprentices) and the district hopes to hire participants into its own teaching ranks over time.

Board members asked about participation rates, association support and how the district will raise participation among educational support professionals; Rasmussen said associations have been supportive and that ESP participation is lower but has trended near 70%.

The board received the report and asked staff to continue school-by-school engagement to translate survey findings into targeted supports.