---

Three consecutive days this week we taught our BUILDING FACULTY ENGAGEMENT Workshop on three different campuses. Talented, energized, and engaged educators change the world, which is why we do what we do at School Growth and it's why we designed this unique professional development experience.

Gallup has conducted numerous research studies on the factors that influence school quality, and faculty engagement has consistently been the most reliable and important predictor. An engaged teacher is defined as one who is, "involved with, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work." That is, they are emotionally and energetically invested in the mission, culture, and strategies of the school. 

An unengaged teacher, on the other hand, is content with just working for a paycheck. In performing her/his duties, this person is less likely to seek out opportunities for professional growth and improving the team. She/he doesn't feel emotionally connected to the leadership and community of the school, which causes a loss of energy across the school culture rather than positively contributing to it. 

Topics: Enrollment, Teacher Quality, Engagement, Faculty, Culture

Arnold Anderson has a reputation--he's actually notorious. He's a math teacher at Roosevelt Elementary School in New Brunswick, NJ, who was tardy over 110 times in the last two school years. As reported in the Courier News ("Teacher keeps $90K job after being late 111 times"), due to his 14 years of experience and the local public school compensation schedule, Mr. Anderson is very well paid at over $90,000 in salary and benefits.

Topics: School Culture, Teacher Quality, Current Events, Faculty

A gutsy business executive in Raleigh, North Carolina, designed a private school that delivers a quality education for around $5,000. This innovative design has been replicated to four campuses so far, and even greater expansion is planned.

Topics: Administration, School Design, Faculty, Culture

(Continued from Previous Post)

Topics: Webinar, Engagement, Faculty

"Our industry does not respect tradition — it only respects innovation."

- Satya Nadella, New CEO of Microsoft

In his first day as the new CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella provided 3 valuable lessons regarding leadership. His two predecessors were founder and billionaire Bill Gates followed by billionaire Steve Ballmer (the 30th employee of the company), so he obviously has some big shoes to fill. His start was a bit rocky, but we're pulling for him to learn quickly and achieve great success.

Topics: School Design, School Culture, School Growth, Current Events, Leadership, Faculty

In response to a question about what he thinks has contributed most to Facebook's success, billionaire Mark Zuckerberg said, "When I look back over the last 10 years, one of the questions that I ask myself is, why were we the ones to help do this? And I think a lot of what it comes down to is, we just cared more." (Today Show)

Topics: Administration, School Design, School Culture, Current Events, Faculty

A survey of school websites produced this wordle image. The size of each word is indicative of the frequency of its usage on each page. As you can see, "Excellence" is used consistently and persistently as a means of communicating the high standards and quality of the program. But how does the school leader support this statement? What evidence can the faculty offer to support the school's "Excellence" claim?

Topics: School Design, School Culture, Teacher Quality, School Growth, Board Culture, Leadership, Faculty, Culture

Two facts about school enrollment:

1. Administrators and marketing may attract families to enroll, but teachers, coaches, and staff are the reason they will stay (return or re-enroll).
2. Enrollment season for next school year started on the first day of this school year.

If you want to maximize enrollment,
go above and beyond to serve your families

Topics: Enrollment, Engagement, Faculty

Engagement: Top Predictor of Organizational Success

The term “engagement” is used deliberately - an engaged employee is someone who is deeply invested in the mission, with a mental, emotional, and even spiritual attachment to it. Here are some important points about engagement:

Topics: Engagement, Faculty