National Charter Schools Week: Employee Engagement Ideas to Amplify Teachers’ Voices

Employee engagement’s purpose in schools

Employee engagement is how proactively and enthusiastically employees take on tasks and help their charter school reach its goals. Though every school measures this aspect differently, specific traits are often used to determine how high or low engagement is. Such characteristics include:

• Productivity: How productive are employees throughout the day? Do they meet or exceed personal job goals regularly or on time?
• Participation: Are they active participants in staff meetings or decision-making processes? Do they feel comfortable sharing relevant questions or feedback among peers?
• Enthusiasm: How likely are they to advocate their coworkers or school to others? Would they recommend their school to people looking for a teaching opportunity or hoping to enroll their children?
• Workplace and culture satisfaction: Do they find the school’s environment safe and sufficient? Do they find the culture satisfactory?

High levels of employee engagement can lead to spectacular advantages. Generally, engaged employees are 21% more profitable and 22% more productive than disengaged ones. Highly engaged educators can also inspire student engagement, which leads to more academic achievements in the classroom.

Trending employee engagement ideas

Charter schools must build a stable, supportive community to achieve exceptional engagement among educators. Investing in the following employee engagement ideas can uplift the capabilities and performances of your staff.

Professional development and career growth

Each year, the education industry is flooded with new tricks, techniques, and trends. To stay ahead of the learning curve, teachers must maintain their certifications based on local, state, and government standards. Educators must also complete training that aligns with their school’s values, such as safety protocols and classroom management policies.

A thorough professional development strategy outlines learning opportunities charter schools can offer to help staff members achieve career goals. You can create regulated learning materials and courses that allow educators to stay ahead of compliance standards. For your staff’s career growth, invest in regular training sessions, interactive workshops, and trade and industry conferences that match their job ambitions.

Mentorship programs can also create unique leadership coaching opportunities, allowing teachers to network and gain guidance from one another. These programs provide wise insights for new teachers while allowing experienced and tenured teachers to be active community leaders.

Recognition programs

One study found that 65% of U.S. workers would work harder if management noticed their contributions within the company. Charter schools can implement this practice by setting up an employee recognition program. These programs often celebrate milestones like employment anniversaries or promotions. Rewards like “Teacher of the Month” are also given to commemorate an individual’s outstanding work. Further recognition can come in the form of monetary bonuses or public announcements across school communications. Acknowledging teachers’ efforts and successes builds company morale, inspiring their engagement in school tasks and activities.

Performance reviews

Students pinpoint their academic strengths by checking their report card grades. Teachers also gauge their performance through assessments done by principals, department heads, and other designated evaluators. A performance management system, like the 15Five platform offered by ExtensisHR, ensures educators are assessed fairly, transparently, and recurringly. Additionally, curating a strategy helps supervising parties get guidance on properly sharing their expectations while noting teachers’ advantages. This tactic is praised by 89% of human resource professionals, who state giving this level of proper feedback boosts employee engagement.

Feedback surveys

Teachers raise their voices when charter schools openly include their faculty in vital decisions. Employee feedback surveys encourage educators to express their opinions on various topics. Suggestion polls can gather new ideas for school operations and workplace initiatives such as fundraising strategies and event planning. Anonymous feedback forms let school directors and board members tap into staff members’ workplace challenges like burnout and resource needs. A consistent feedback process makes educators feel valued, which leads them to become active collaborators and problem solvers for their school.

Inclusive school culture

Your staff members want their voices heard and respected, regardless of background or experience level. Charter schools demonstrate their interest in diverse perspectives by fostering an inclusive school culture. Adopting DEI initiatives like employee resource groups and anti-discrimination policies promotes equality and celebrates diversity. This strategy engages teachers and influences their drive to strengthen inclusivity within their classrooms.

Comprehensive HR technology

Effective strategy management is key to boosting employee engagement. This management can be achieved through a school-specific tech platform. ExtensisHR’s SchoolCloud™ Portal, for example, offers charter schools a user-friendly tool designed to improve safety, compliance, and performance. Online training and professional development courses are available for teachers and staff and cover topics like classroom management, safety protocols, compliance with federal and state regulations, special education, and bullying prevention. The platform also allows staff to track time and attendance, manage daily HR tasks, and so much more.

A school-specific technology product like SchoolCloud™ can play a pivotal role in amplifying voices by streamlining communication, enhancing engagement, and providing analytical tools to better understand and respond to employee needs.

Enhance engagement with ExtensisHR

Charter schools strengthen their community, leadership, and equity by incorporating employee engagement ideas into their HR strategy. Still, packed schedules and heavy workloads can limit staff members’ ability to maintain engagement plans. That’s why ExtensisHR is here to help your charter school thrive.

Our professionals assist with HR management duties, ensuring employee operations run smoothly and efficiently. By taking tedious administration off your faculty’s plate, teachers and non-instructive workers gain more time to invest their talents into classroom and school initiatives.

As a trusted HR partner, we provide charter schools with the following employee engagement assistance and perks:

• A school-focused support team including a School Account Manager (SAM), HR Manager, Implementation Manager, and Payroll Specialist
• Transparent, human-first customer support with our Employee Solutions Center (ESC), who boast an 11-second response time for initial inquiries and questions
• Specialty training and industry resources through our exclusive SchoolCloud™ Portal
• Performance management tools and analytics through our 15Five partnership
• Guidance on creating and revising employee engagement policies related to professional development, DEI programs, and community culture

ExtensisHR also helps charter schools empower their people with benefits administration, risk management, regulatory compliance, and payroll and tax management solutions.

With highly trained expertise and proven employee engagement ideas, charter schools augment the power of their staff’s voices in their school and across the community. 

Contact ExtensisHR today to begin turning employee engagement ideas into realities that will revolutionize your school’s success.