New Interview Scheduler Feature on KEEB

The Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB) is excited to announce a new feature coming to employers using KEEB to recruit educators. You will now be able to utilize an interview scheduler within KEEB to schedule interviews as you view applicant resumes. While searching applicant resumes you can request either a (1) in person interview or (2) phone interview. Below is an example of how you can schedule an in person interview.

The applicant then receives a notification via email and within their KEEB account that you have requested an interview and applicants can either accept, deny or reschedule. Once applicants have viewed and responded to the interview request, the employer's interview schedule will be updated. As an employer, you can view your current scheduled interviews and any interview requests by clicking on "Interview Schedules" on the main Employer Account page. If you make any changes to an interview's time or location KEEB automatically sends an email notifying the applicant of the change to seamlessly allow you to manage your interview schedule.


The interview scheduler will be available to all employers using KEEB later this fall.

Resource to Help Teachers Develop Relationships with Parents

As the first quarter of the 2008-2009 school year nears its end, early career teachers may be encountering their first communication regarding report cards with parents. This is a great time for district and building administrators to provide resources and support related to parent communication. The Kansas Parent Information Resource Center (KPIRC) is one such resource that can be valuable to all teachers in Kansas. KPIRC is supported by federal funding under the No Child Left Behind Act and works closely with KSDE. There are a number of resources on the KPIRC website related to:

• developing successful partnerships with parents
• information for first year educators
• informing parents on NCLB requirements
• informing parents on state assessments and grade level expectations
• special education rights and services
  
• information on early childhood services
• information for how parents can support academic learning at home

The New Teacher Welcome Packet offers a number of tips related to developing and fostering parent communication throughout the school year. Particular for this time of the year, it offers a number of great suggestions for conducting successful parent/teacher conferences. You can download the packet at http://www.kpirc.org/Downloads/NewTeacherWelcome.pdf.

2nd Annual Virtual Career Fair for Educators

On November 10th the Kansas Recruitment and Retention Program will be hosting the 2nd Annual Virtual Career Fair for Educators in Second Life. This is a great opportunity to recruit highly qualified educators from the comfort of your office or home. During the 2007-2008 school year, the program hosted two successful career fairs in this new virtual world that allows districts to visit with potential candidates from all over the country. Second Life allows districts to share information with potential candidates, have voice conversations, and view candidate resumes. The event is free for all public school districts and cooperatives who utilize the Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB). If you would like to register or have questions about the event please contact us at support@kansasteachingjobs.com. Your registration email should contain the contact information for district personnel participating (personnel must be identified ahead of time to receive appropriate training).

Celebrating a Year of Recruiting with KEEB

This week marks 1 year since the state of Kansas launched the redesigned teacher recruitment initiative at www.kansasteachingjobs.com. The year has represented a renewed effort of recruiting in Kansas and many lessons have been learned to apply to the this year's recruitment practices.

Successes
The redesigned KEEB experienced a significant increase in traffic by both schools and potential educators in the last year. At the years end we have 98% of districts in the state utilizing the service and over 10,000 applicant profiles. From September 2007 to today we have had over 670,000 visits from Kansans and approximately 6,708,000 page views. In addition, 35% of the traffic on KEEB is generated from out-of-state visitors allowing districts in the state to recruit from a broad range of experienced educators. Although www.kansasteachingjobs.com represented a significant increase in traffic to school job postings, other efforts ensured that schools in the state of Kansas were represented in a range of online and virtual recruiting tools. KEEB now feeds jobs from the website to 4 different nationally recognized job boards ensuring that Kansas jobs reach potential candidates outside of our state lines. In addition, the use of new technology such as virtual recruiting events has put Kansas on the forefront of recruiting practices. It will be critical in the future that Kansas continues to utilize the latest and best technology to reach highly qualified educators.

Lessons Learned
While there were many successes through the year there were also a number of lessons learned to continue to improve the recruiting effort in the state. Thanks to great feedback from school district personnel and applicants we've identified a number of improvements that are currently in the process of being made. A few of those improvements include:

• multiple security levels for employer accounts allowing various school personnel to access resumes and applicant information
  
• interview scheduler to schedule interviews with applicants via email from KEEB
• search for candidates by geographical area
• additional help notes built into critical steps of the job posting process

In closing, a special thank you to the Kansas Department of Education's Special Education Team for their continued support of the Kansas Recruitment and Retention Program and to the key KEEB staff, Matt Blatchley, lead programmer, and Johnna McColm, support specialist.

Additional Resource for Job Postings

Hire Kansas Talent is a service available to all districts in the state of Kansas interested in locating potential teacher's from state's 4-year public higher education institutions. This free service allows you to easily post a job to the online job board, which is then shared with each of the institutions own job advertising systems. This allows you reach a broad audience with just a single post. The Hire Kansas Talent consortium includes:

• Fort Hays State University
• Pittsburg State University
• Emporia State University
• Washburn University
  
• University of Kansas
• Wichita State University
• Kansas State University
  

Pairing the Hire Kansas Talent service with the Kansas Education Employment Board in your recruitment effort can maximize your advertising capabilities to reach a large number of new graduates, alumni, out-of-state, and in-state educators.

Phases of 1st Year Teachers

As your new teachers complete their first week of school, it is important to give some thought to their experiences and coming needs. First year teachers journey through a number of phases in their first year of teaching (Moir, 1990). Being knowledgeable about these phases, allows school districts to schedule training and support at critical times. These trainings can focus on the areas teachers have the most difficulty with or are prepared to learn more about during that phase. Below are a few of the dilemmas new teachers face during each phase:

1. Anticipation (1st - 2nd weeks)
   
1. excited about year
2. Survival (1st to 2nd month)
1. struggle to keep head above water
2. spending 70 hours a week on schoolwork
3. struggling to keep up
3. Disillusionment (at 8 weeks)
   
1. begin questioning commitment
   
2. overwhelmed with parent conferences, first evaluation, and back to school night.
3. classroom management major source of distress
4. Rejuvenation (January)
   
1. much needed winter break
2. acceptance of realities of teaching
3. focus in curriculum development and teaching strategies
5. Reflection (May)
1. highlight events that were successful and those that weren't
   
2. think about changes they'd like to make next year

Establishing Good Communication with Parents Early

Next week, teachers will meet their students that they will spend the next 9 months teaching and supporting. In addition, they will most likely begin meeting parents that they will also be spending the next 9 months communicating with. It is important that new teachers have a procedure in place for establishing good communication with parents early in the year. Below are tips that you can share with your beginning teachers that may help them initiate communication, continue effective communication throughout the year, and suggestions for open house night. This information may also be helpful to mentors as they assist early career teachers in establishing communication practices.

Tips for Parent Communication for Classroom Teachers

Establishing Good Communication Early
It is important to introduce yourself and establish good communication to parents early. In fact, a introductory letter may be the first item you complete as you get ready for the new school year. This letter may include information below:

• Introduction
• Necessary supplies
• Contact information
• Upcoming classroom or school events

Throughout the year you can build on this initial communication with newsletters, phone calls, emails, progress reports, and conferences.

Tips for Good Communication (from www.susd.org)

• Be professional in your communication (avoid rumors and gossip).
• Be direct and clear in what you say.
• Think through, in advance, what you are going to say.
• Be sure to listen.
• Be positive, even when dealing with problems. Involve parents in the decision-making.
• Avoid using educational jargon.
• Proofread any notes/newsletters before you send them home with students.
• Keep a record of all communication with parents.
• If you have any question about a communication you are going to send, discuss it first with an administrator or mentor.
• Inform an administrator or your mentor of any problems so they are informed on the situation when they receive communication from the parent.

Open House Night
Many schools will conduct an open house early in the school year to give teachers, students, and parents’ time to meet each other. There are a number of procedures you can follow to take advantage of this time and establish a good relationship with parents.

You may discuss:

• Classroom rules and policies
• Curriculum and/or standards
• Your expectations for students
• Instructional materials, such as textbooks or workbooks

Overall tips for open house night:

• Provide handouts of grading procedures, homework procedures, curriculum maps, etc.
• Dress professionally
• Provide information on how parents can communicate with you and what they can expect to be communicated to them regarding their child’s progress.
• Provide a volunteer sign up sheet.

Example of an Exemplary Induction Program

In the coming weeks school districts will begin induction programs for new staff. There are a number of induction programs across the country that have been recognized for exemplary programming. One such program is the Quakertown (Pa.) New Teacher Academy, which was been highlighted by the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) in a 2002 Journal of Staff Development article. The academy includes unique features, such as a two week training period prior to school starting that involves workshops and even a bus tour of the district and community. Workshops during this period cover such topics as:

• understanding the district standards,
• positive classroom management,
  
• teaching with technology, and
  
• a principals panel.

The image below outlines the complete schedule of the two week training period.

(Image 1: New Teacher Academy, Year One, Beerer, 2002)

To learn more about the components of the New Teacher Academy visit the article by the NSDC: http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/beerer234.cfm

Resources for New Teachers

New teachers across the state have begun making a home in communities and schools as they prepare to begin their careers as educators in the Fall. In addition, a large number of veteran teachers are relocating and establishing new homes, while become familiar with a new school. This offers a great opportunity for districts and cooperatives to assist teachers with the necessary resources to get settled and be ready for school to start in August. The Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB) offers a number of resources that may be helpful for new educators to your community including links to such basic information as vehicle registration and driver's license registration. You can locate these links on the Kansas Resources page. In addition, many schools provide incoming teachers and staff with a list of realtors in the area, as well as information on utilities, banks, etc. Beyond your community resources, national and state assistance programs for teachers can be helpful to new staff. Bank of America offers mortgage assistance to teachers, which can prove helpful to beginning teachers in your district who are preparing to buy their first home. You can find more information on this program by clicking the link below.

Bank of America Mortgage Assistance Programs for Teachers

Teacher Flex: For school teachers, school administrators, librarians or health care professionals who lack established credit histories. Teacher Zero Down: For school teachers, school administrators, librarians or health care professionals who have a good established credit history but lack the funds to make a down payment. Click Here to Learn More About These Programs

As August fast approaches it is important to take some time and consider how new teachers are introduced to the community and the school district. While this information may be simple to provide, it can have a lasting first impression on the new teacher.

NEA Recruitment and Retention Strategies Guide

In 2003, the National Education Association, published the guide, Meet the Challenges of Recruitment and Retention. Although, now approaching 6 years old, this guide still offers a wealth of timely information for school personnel involved in the hiring and retention process. A number of examples of programs from schools across the country are provided and the guide concludes with a list of resources that may be helpful as you examine your recruitment and retention practices. Below is a brief description from NEA of the information on recruitment and retention in the guide:

• Recruitment Strategies -- discusses the importance of developing a comprehensive recruitment plan, and suggests ways to develop a strong marketing and outreach campaign and to improve the hiring process. This chapter also focuses on programs that provide nontraditional routes into the profession and provides examples of financial incentives being used across the country to recruit new teachers.
  
• Retention Strategies -- discusses the need to prepare teachers adequately and to nurture new teachers, and provides examples of programs that are addressing these needs. This chapter also focuses on ways in which schools can improve the working environment for teachers and looks at how financial incentives can be used as a retention tool.

To download the article, click on the following link: http://www.nea.org/teachershortage/images/rrg-full.pdf (PDF, 1.6 M, 79 pages)

Promoting Collegial Collaboration

Providing new and veteran teachers time to develop collegial collaboration is an essential part to any induction program or retention effort. Collaboration time can occur in a number of ways, such as grade level planning time, common prep periods, or periodic release time. New and veteran teachers can both benefit from these experiences, allowing veteran teachers to share successful classroom practices and new teachers an opportunity to share new instructional approaches they recently learned about in their teacher preparation programs.

One collaboration program that research has proven effective is the Critical Friends Group (CFG) developed by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform and the Harmony Education Center. CFG occurs when "Skilled facilitators/coaches help teachers and administrators create and/or sustain learning communities where they can develop shared norms and values, engage in reflective dialogue, give each other feedback on their work, and hold each other accountable" (National School Reform Faculty website). At the CFG website you can access a host of resources including the research behind the model, protocols for CFG dialogue, reflective dialogue training guides, and frequently asked questions. The CFG protocols provide step-by-step directions for a facilitator to follow as the learning community reflects on student work, classroom incidences, literature, and classroom visits. The protocols are free for anyone to access and use, along with support materials. The image below is an example of the protocols for the learning community to utilize related to learning from student work. The protocols assist the group in examining student work and having a reflective dialogue on student learning. If you are interested in using any of the resources from the Harmony Education Center visit the following links:

• Harmony Education Center: http://www.nsrfharmony.org/
• CFG Program Description: http://www.nsrfharmony.org/program.html
  
• Protocols: http://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocol/index.html
• Take a Look at How Other States Implement the Program: http://www.nsrfharmony.org/centers.html
  

2008-2009 Schedule of Career Fairs/Teacher Interview Days

It's not too early to begin thinking about your recruiting efforts for the next school year. We have compiled a list of career fair and interview events at Kansas universities in 2008 - 2009 that is now available on the Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB). To view the schedule visit http://www.kansasteachingjobs.com/page_add.cfm?PID=6 and print the events or sign up for the Google Calendar Feed of events. In addition, just click on the location name to visit the universities career services website for information on registration. If you know of an event that should be added to the list please email the date, title, and location to support@kansasteachingjobs.com.

Predicting New Teacher Questions

As new hires are introduced to your school district or cooperative this summer they will have a numerous questions for their supervisor or mentor. The questions will range from where to locate supplies to how do I use the phones. Below is a list of questions that new teachers should have the answers to as they complete their first week or induction programs. This would be a good resource to include in your induction packets and verify that supervisors and mentors have the answers to these questions ahead of time.

Policies and Procedures for the Classroom

• What are the hours I have access to my classroom?
• What school rules and policies should I present to students?
• Is there a homework hotline or website I need to keep current?
• What resources are made available for students and parents on the internet?

Policies and Procedures for the School

• What is the procedure for students arrive at school?
• How do students leave at the end of the school day?
• Is there any kind of special event or assembly during the 1st week?
• What paperwork is required of me for the first day of school, attendance, and lunch?
• How are parents notified of suspension or detention and what are the policies for make-up work?
• What is the procedure for sending my students to the library and restroom?
• What is the bell or class schedule?

Obtaining Materials

• What is the procedure for requesting furniture items for my classroom (e.g. tables, chairs)?
• What is the procedure for requesting technology for my classroom?
• What is the procedure for obtaining consumable supplies (e.g. paper, printer ink, pencils, etc.)
• What is the procedure for obtaining textbooks and checking them out to students?
• What is the procedure for making copies of materials?
• What is the procedure for accessing student files?

Gaining Assistance

• Are classroom aides available and what is the procedure for obtaining their assistance?
• Who can help me with the technology in my classroom?
• How do I get assistance from the office for emergencies, illness or discipline problems?
• When should I consult with the principal?
• How do I refer students to the counselor and school nurse?
• What kinds of resources are available if I have a student who I believe has a learning or behavior problem?

These questions have been modified from The Scottsdale School District New Teacher Induction Program at http://www.susd.org/district/ProfessionalDevelopment/newteacher/mentorquestions.cfm

May Update

The month of May experienced a decline in visitors and applications submitted on the Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB). Fewer jobs are currently open and many applicants have found positions for the 2008-2009 school year. The above data reflect the changes in just a month.

Status of Special Education Positions in Kansas

There are currently over 200 special education positions open in Kansas; closely following elementary positions as the highest number of openings. Special education positions are classified one of two ways. Either as a special education position (i.e. classroom teacher) or related service position (i.e. speech language pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, psychologist, etc.). By region, the Northeast currently has the most openings at 77 (see table above). The table below identifies the number of openings compared to positions which have been filled.

2008-2009 New KEEB Features

As the summer fast approaches, we have begun to identifying ways to improve the recruitment services offered on the Kansas Education Employment Board. Many of the features you will begin seeing next fall are based on feedback from users. Below is a list of new features that are currently in development stage for the next recruitment year:

• Multiple Security Levels of Access: Provide controlled access to other administrators in your district so that they can view applicants resumes without access to your entire account
  
• Interview Scheduler: Request interviews and schedule right in KEEB, while receiving email reminders on upcoming interviews
  
• Contact Log: Track which applicant resumes have been viewed, contacted for interview, references checked, or additional material was requested
• Search applicants by geographical region
• Added images to job postings
• Additional resume fields including;
• geographical region preference
  
• teaching preference
• Student teaching experience, including supervisor

Please feel free to provide us feedback if you have suggestions for improving the website at support@kansasteachingjobs.com

April Update

It is hard to believe that May is upon us and it is a great time to reflect on April's recruitment and retention activities. Continued growth was experienced during the month including:

• 98% of districts now utilizing KEEB
  
• over 1 million page views in the month
• approximately 900 more applications submitted
• 1,019 total positions filled since September
• 1,035 positions currently open

Checkout the presentation below to see how April compares to past months.

| View | Upload your own

Last Chance to Register for April 29th Career Fair

Monday is the last chance to register for the virtual career fair on April 29th. This is a free event for districts and you can participate from the comfort of your office or home. The fair will occur from 5:00 - 7:30 p.m.. We have a significant number of job seekers registered from across the country with the following endorsements:

• Special ED Admin
• Elementary Education
• ESL, English 7-12
• ESL, Building Leadership
• ESL, Secondary
• Art K-12
• Chemistry, Biology, Physical Science
• Biology
• Language Arts (MS), Social Studies (MS)
• English/Speech/SPED
• Music Elementary
• K-12 Instrumental/Classroom Music

For more information visit: http://www.kansasteachingjobs.com/page_add.cfm?PID=16. If your interested in participate email kylie@kansasteachingjobs.com.

Anaylzing Your Recruitment Effectiveness

This is a great time of year to analyze your district or coop's recruitment practices to determine if there are areas that could be more effective. The checklist below is a great tool for analyzing your these practices, while identifying areas for improvement. It was published in 2007 in the Business and Legal Reports Special Report, Win the Recruiting War! Finding and Hiring Great Employees. While these questions are intended for the business world, they can be integrated into the education field's practices effectively.

• How can we ensure the best possible match?
• How can we manage candidate expectations and set a realistic picture?
• Are we going to use any type of preemployment testing? What criteria will we use to select those tools, and how are they validated?
• What interviewing technique will our team use, and is training required?
• What have been the road blocks in our screening process?
• What approach will we take to communicate with the candidate?
• Are we providing every opportunity for candidates to self-identify?
• What has the offer-to-acceptance ratio been?
• What factors have impacted the acceptance rates?
• What is the market for the types of candidates you seek?
• What are our strengths as an employer? Weaknesses?
• What strategies can be implemented to increase closure rate?
• What means will be used for extending offers?

Status of Education Openings in Kansas

There are currently 1,029 teaching and administration positions open across the state on the Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB). This number reflects openings for 90% of districts in the state as of April 3rd. The graph below identifies the number of positions open in particular areas.



Special Education Related Services reflects positions in speech/language pathology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, school psychologist, and social workers.

Update on KEEB Statistics

We continue to monitor the use and success of the new Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB) as we look for ways to improve the service for both school districts and applicants. As of March, we have seen tremendous growth in visitors to KEEB and unique applications for positions. Below is a chart of monthly visitors comparing first time visitors to returning visitors. As you can see we have had a steady incline since December.



In addition, the number of individual applications submitted to job openings has doubled since December. An individual application is an application submitted for a specific job opening by a potential candidate. As the number of job openings posted have increased, so has the number of applications submitted.



These applications have resulted in 291 openings being filled to-date.



So far the data suggests we are on the right track. With over 965 openings in the state being advertised today, we will continue to focus on increasing traffic to these job openings, while providing the tools employers need to recruit and hire quality candidates.

Watch the Latest Recruiting Event

Checkout the video from the March 4th recruiting event. This video may be a great way to share information with administrators and school board members and inform them on the virtual recruiting opportunities now available through KEEB. Remember the April 9th and April 29th events are still open for districts. Email me at kylie.stewart@greenbush.org if your district would like to participate.

Upcoming Virtual Recruitment Events

Due to the successful response with the first virtual educator recruitment event last Tuesday in Second Life, we will be hosting two additional events next month. Below is information related to these events. Registration is still open and free for both events and if your is interested feel free to email me kylie.stewart@greenbush.org.

April 9, 2008 Southwest Regional Career Fair
5:00 - 7:30 p.m.

April 29, 2008 Statewide Career Fair
5:00 - 7:30 p.m.

To learn more visit: www.kansasteachingjobs.com and click on Virtual Career Fair in the KEEB Main Menu

New Updates to Data and Resume Submission

New updates have been made today to KEEB to allow you access to more manageable data and improve resume submission. Below is more information regarding these updates:

Manageable Data
You can now download a CSV Excel file of all applicant data for your positions to import into any HR management system you may use. This link is now located on the 'My Account' page and titled 'Export Applicants to CSV File'. If you have questions regarding how to utilize this feature please feel free to contact us or contact the vendor of your HR management system.

Resume Submission
Applicants are now unable to submit duplicate applications to positions they have already applied for. They are notified that their resume has already been used to apply for that particular position and asked to contact the position's contact person if they have updated their resume.

Both of these features are a result of feedback from district user's of KEEB. We appreciate the feedback you provide and please feel free to contact me with any suggestions you may have at kylie.stewart@greenbush.org.

2008 KEEB Statistics To Date

KEEB continues to experience excellent growth since the new year began. 80% of districts in the state now have an account and approximately 200 jobs have been filled to-date. There are currently 770 jobs open today with a projected 3600 applications submitted this month. As you can see from the graph below there has continued to be a rise in the number of unique applications submitted for these positions.

We also are experiencing a continued increase in traffic with 79,000 visitors last month and currently projecting 90,000 visitors this month. We will continue to update this data as positions are filled and new jobs are added.

What Can Educators Do To Help Recruit Other Educators to their District?

This week I will be sharing the presentation below with the Kansas Exemplary Educator Network (KEEN) at their annual meeting in Topeka. This blog and our efforts with KEEB have focused primarily on helping district administrators better recruit teachers to their districts. While this is critical, teachers in those districts can play a crucial role in recruiting, as well. The presentation focuses on what classroom teachers can do to help recruit teachers to their district with technology and ideas to consider in the retention of teachers once they are employed there.

| View | Upload your own

New Design to the KEEB Employer Account Page

We continue to modify and improve the Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB) to meet both the needs of both the job seekers and employers. Based on feedback from a number of districts we have modified the employer account page slightly to increase it's usability. Below is a screenshot of the new My Account page for Employers.



When you login as an employer, you will now see a list of positions you have stored in KEEB under the Current Job Postings heading. The white column in your list of jobs contains information on how many applications have been received. To view those applications you just click on the (#) applied link.

You will also notice periodic messages in red font notifying you of changes and suggestions for using KEEB. In addition, by clicking on the RSS: Statewide Kansas Applicants you can view the latest applications added to KEEB by job seekers. These are not unique to your district or school, but are another tool you can use to locate potential candidates. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the new revisions.

New Featured Employer on Homepage

The Kansas Education Employment Board is now highlighting schools and districts with employer profiles on the homepage. KEEB randomly selects employers with completed profiles and shares information from their employer description, as well as, links to their complete profile and current job openings.

To ensure that your district is included in this new feature include information about your district and community in your employer description. If you would like to edit your employer description, login to www.kansasteachingjobs.com and click on Edit Profile.

Kansas Jobs Feeding to National Online Job Database

All jobs posted on the Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB) are now being fed directly to Simply Hired, a national database of jobs with approximately 2 million visitors a day. This allows school districts to advertise on additional websites without creating numerous job postings. Just post your job on KEEB and we'll do the work for you! The image above is the latest search results on Simply Hired for special education positions in Kansas. Stay tuned for news in the coming weeks related to additional feeds we are developing for other national websites.

Examining Retention Policies: What Should You Be Asking Yourself?

I attended a great session this week, at the United School Administrators Conference in Wichita, aimed at retaining special education staff. Dr. Victoria White and Dr. Ann George, both of Pittsburg State University, shared research related to special education teacher retention and offered ideas for assessing building and district level policies and procedures that promote retention in their Thursday afternoon session. They discussed ways in which districts can evaluate the feelings and attitudes of special education teachers, as it relates to retention. Below are just a few of the questions that Dr. White and Dr. George suggested in their assessment, which was adapted from the Council for Exceptional Children’s article Retention of Special Education Professionals: A Practical Guide of Strategies and Activities for Educators and Administrators.

• How do you present a “I want you to be here. You are important” attitude to your staff?
• How are you supportive of teacher decisions?
• How do you provide time and opportunities for collaboration among special and general educators?
• How do you provide mentoring experiences throughout your educators’ professional development experiences?
• How do you ensure that all educators are treated equitably?
• How do you ensure that all educators have access to materials?
• How do you ensure that the work environment is satisfying?

These are important questions to consider as we examine our practices related to not only special education teacher retention, but retention of all our education professionals. To read the full article visit the Council for Exceptional Children.

KEEB Activities at the United School Administrators Conference

The United School Administrators (USA) Conference will be taking place next Wednesday thru Friday in Wichita. KEEB will have a number of activities occurring during the conference that you may be interested in. During the exhibit hall, stop by the KEEB booth to learn more about KEEB, get assistance with your employer profile, or provide us feedback on how we can improve the system. Matt Blatchley, lead programmer on KEEB, and myself will be available to assist with any questions you may have about utilizing KEEB in your recruitment effort.

In addition, Thursday at 2:00, there will be a presentation on KEEB identifying new features that have been added, an update on the retention learning portal, and news on the first ever virtual teacher recruitment event. In case you are not attending, you can view and download the presentation below:

| View | Upload your own

We look forward to seeing those of you planning on attending the conference.

First Kansas Statewide Virtual Career Fair for Educators

The Kansas Recruitment and Retention Program will be hosting the first statewide virtual career fair for individuals interested in learning more about teaching in Kansas. The fair will take place in Second Life, a 3D virtual world that many Fortune 500 companies are now experimenting with to locate qualified candidates. The fair will be very similar to traditional career fairs with district booths and potential candidates walking through to learn more about job opportunities. During the fair, you will be stationed at a booth and have the necessary technology to speak with potential candidates. School districts participating in the fair will be provided with:

• Training
• Virtual booth
• Resumes of interested applicants
• Mock career fair to test equipment and booth

To learn more about the virtual career fair visit www.kansasteachingjobs.com and click on Virtual Career Fair in the KEEB Main Menu. To register, send your contact information to support@kansasteachingjobs.com.

Edweek Live Chat on Recruitment

On Tuesday, January 8th Edweek will be hosting an online live chat on "Recruiting and Retaining a New Generation of Teachers". Some of you may be interested in participating or learning more. Below is information on the time and web address. We will be posting a synopsis of the chat later in the week.

Live Chat:
Recruiting and Retaining a New Generation of Teachers

WHEN: Tuesday, January 8, 3 to 4 p.m., Eastern time

WHERE: edweek-chat.org

Submit questions at edweek-chat.org.

With record numbers of teachers expected to retire in the next decade, and teacher-quality demands growing, districts across the nation are facing urgent questions about how to attract and support a new generation of educators.

The 22,000-student Vancouver School District in Vancouver, Washington, believes it has made significant progress in answering some of these questions. The district recently completed a systemic reorganization of its human resources program that emphasizes core values and career growth, and integrates new strategies in workforce planning, recruitment, compensation, mentoring and induction, professional development, and evaluation.

As a result of these changes, the district has replaced 70 percent of its full-time teachers and has a cumulative retention rate of 91 percent. It reports that it now attracts nearly 4,000 candidate contacts for every 200 job openings, and is able to select the top five percent of its candidate pool.

The Vancouver district has received awards in recognition of its recruitment and support practices from the National School Public Relations Association, the American Association of Employment in Education, and the American Association of School Personnel Administrators.

In this chat, two administrators from the Vancouver district will be online to take your questions on their recruitment and retention practices and on current trends in education staffing.

Please join us for the discussion.

About the Guests:

Lee Goeke is an Associate Superintendent of Human Resources Management in the Vancouver School District and currently serves as Legislative Chair for the Washington School Personnel Association. Prior to joining the Vancouver district, he was a human resources executive with the U.S. Defense Department, responsible for 100,000 employees in Europe.

Ed Wilgus is the Professional Development Manager for the Vancouver School District, responsible for training and mentoring. A former nationally certified counselor, he has worked as a public school counselor at the primary and secondary levels.

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Screenshot Tips and Tricks on KEEB

Navigating the Employer Account, originally uploaded by Teaching in Kansas.

We continue to work on phase II features for the Kansas Education Employment Board. Many of these features are behind the scenes work to increase traffic to the website, such as the partnership with hirekansastalent.com. In conjunction with the behind the scenes work we continuing to work at making the website as user friendly as possible. In an effort to help new users we are adding screenshots with tips to the Help Page. Above is just an example of what users will be able to access as they become familiar with the tools and features of the website. This new resource is intended to ensure that districts are utilizing each feature to the best of their ability in their retention efforts.