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Human resources reports high retention, 80 new summer hires and continued Grow Your Own programs
Summary
The district HR director reported a 94.7% overall retention rate, 80 new educator hires over the summer and expansion of Grow Your Own teacher pipelines across middle and high schools.
Indian Prairie CUSD 204 human-resources leaders told the board on Oct. 6 that retention remains high and that recruitment efforts focused on Grow Your Own programming and early hiring produced an 80-person new-hire cohort.
"We're proud to provide examples of how our team has delivered on objectives 1, 2 and 3 of priority 2 of the strategic plan," said Carrie Beth Harry, the district HR presenter, summarizing work to recruit and retain staff and to build a stronger staff culture. Harry told the board the district hired 80 new educators over the summer, 10 of whom were district alumni, seven were educators of color, and about 60 percent of that new cohort had been hired before July.
HR officials described retention rates of 94.7 percent overall and said the district met a board goal of retaining 98 percent of teachers rated "excellent." The Grow Your Own Teacher program — in its fifth year — now serves roughly 140 high-school students (with four observations during the school year) and about 160 middle-school students in an after-school "Teachers of Tomorrow" program. Harry said the district is tracking program alumni and expects the first high-school cohort to complete college this year and to provide more data on conversion to teacher candidates.
HR staff also described the "HR in the building" initiative, in which HR representatives visit schools to build relationships, and said the department expanded formal communication to staff through monthly newsletters and increased collaboration with employee unions (Indian Prairie Education Association and Indian Prairie Classified Association).
Board members praised the retention numbers and Grow Your Own pipeline and asked follow-up questions about administrative staffing percentages and whether districts that contract services (transportation, food service) shift comparative head-counts; HR staff confirmed those service lines are not counted inside HR head-count.Percentages and additional details on program outcomes and long-term conversion to district hires were described as continuing work; presenters said they will report further as cohorts finish college and enter teacher preparation programs.
