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Cash Flow Monitoring for Long-Term Solvency

Why SBOs should consider implementing cash flow monitoring as a long-term solvency solution

Beyond ensuring monthly liquidity for operations, why should SBOs consider implementing cash flow monitoring as a long-term solvency solution? Knowing how your district’s monthly revenue and expenditures are trending supports healthy cash reserve planning and timely monitoring of your financial forecast.
Strong fiscal management is grounded in being able to effectively track variances between monthly estimates of revenue and expenses compared to actual results.

Cash flow balances

Figure 1 is an example of a district’s monthly cash flow balance resulting from its monthly income and expense activity. These data help school business officials answer these questions every month:

  • How does this year’s monthly cash flow compare to last year?
  • How does this year’s annual cash flow total compare to the forecast?
  • Is there any indication that this year’s forecast (and possibly subsequent years) may change?
  • Are there months when the cash balance is stressed?

 
Figure 1


 
The bars in Figure 1 represent the “ebb and flow” of the district’s monthly cash balance. Peak cash balance months develop as districts receive real estate revenue advances in August and April. Low cash balance months occur as the real estate advances are used by monthly expenses that exceed revenue.

Even though this district’s ending cash balance is positive at the beginning and end of the fiscal year, a negative cash balance is projected for March. The school business office must project how much the district will spend and receive in revenue monthly to know when and how much cash flow borrowing is required to meet the daily operational needs of the district.

While this example provides insight for a district anticipating cash balance issues within the fiscal year, school districts can run into situations where year-to-date monthly trends provide a financial scenario that is different from what the district’s annual budget was estimated to be.

Budgets typically are set before the fiscal year commences; however, as the school year progresses, actual results can change what the year-end totals will look like. Cash flow forecasting provides an additional analysis of how the district is performing in relation to the budget and helps determine if any changes to the budget are necessary.

 

Year-to-Date Analysis

Table 1

Table 1 shows that the district’s revenue is trending lower for the current fiscal year when compared to the amount received during the same period for the previous fiscal year. If this variance was not expected, the CFO must determine whether it is due to timing or an unanticipated decrease in revenue. The answer to these questions could change the district’s inter-year cash flow projections and can help them construct cash flow estimates for the remaining months.
 

Monthly Projections to Complete the Analysis

Cash flow forecasting of monthly projections for the remaining months of the fiscal year helps construct an annual total from actual/estimated monthly data to compare to annual forecast/projection.

One method to establish projections for the remaining months is to compare your current year’s projections to the previous year’s actual amounts. Some revenue and expenses follow trends or patterns from year to year.

SBOs can use this pattern method when the revenue/ expense line item they are reviewing is cyclical—for example, real estate tax collections that occur every August and March, large contract amounts that are due the during the same period every year, etc. Once monthly actual data is available, the SBO can hone projection levels for the remaining months.

This recent-month method is most often used with regard to salary and benefits. After a district finalizes its contract terms and hiring needs for the year, month-over-month expense levels typically will be consistent.

Using September or October as the base month, in combination with historical monthly fluctuations, can provide cash flow projections for the remaining months that will enable districts to determine if the district is trending toward or away from the annual budget amounts.

An additional method to complete monthly cash flow projections is to calculate the average percentage of annual revenue or expenditures that occurred monthly over the past three to five years. This monthly allocation of cash flow forecasting is often used for revenue and expenditures that tend to be more volatile in monthly year-over-year behavior.

If during the past five years the district spent 10% of its supply expenses in December, the SBO would multiply the budget amount by 10% to calculate the December cash flow projection amount for supplies. The multi-year averaging smooths out the volatility of a single year.

These are just three methods an SBO can use to calculate cash flow projections. Perhaps the most important step in this process, however, is the analysis of the data once the projections are complete.

What Is Your Cash Flow Telling You?

While school districts spend a considerable amount of time developing their budget, the district’s revenue and expenditures rarely total the budgeted amount from the beginning of the year.

Table 2


 
The example in Table 2 shows that revenue projections for the remaining months are significantly lower than the amounts collected in the previous fiscal year. The district’s cash flow forecast has projected a 67.7% decrease in All Other Revenue. The significant drop estimated in these cash flow projections verifies the district’s anticipated revenue levels in the annual budget.

Even though the district’s annual budget may be set annually, cash flow forecasting is a continuous process that should be monitored and analyzed every month. This will provide the SBO with the capability to identify when the finances are going astray from the annual budget, determine the impact on the monthly cash balance of the district, and report out the impact on the district’s current and future fiscal stability.

Authors: Ryan Stechschulte, Andrew Geistfeld, and Ryan Ghizzoni, SFO
Ryan Stechschulte is Treasurer/CFO for Toledo City School District in Toledo, Ohio, and an ASBO Board member.
Andrew Geistfeld is Treasurer/CFO for Upper Arlington City School District in Columbus, Ohio.
Ryan Ghizzoni is a Director, Analytics for Frontline Education.
 
This article originally appeared in the March 2022 issue of School Business Affairs magazine and is reprinted with permission of the Association of School Business Officials International (www.asbointl.org). The text herein does not necessarily represent the views or policies of ASBO International, and use of this imprint does not imply any endorsement or recognition by ASBO International and its officers or affiliates.

The Six Key Elements to a Winning Budget Presentation

There are no two ways about it: presenting your district’s annual budget is hard. Effectively communicating your district’s financial state is difficult enough, and the differences in perspectives from key stakeholders only compounds that.

When you factor in the upheaval brought on by the pandemic, financial leaders in education are faced with what can feel like an impossible task. Despite of all this, it is possible to create a budget presentation that tells your district’s story in a way everyone can understand. Here are the six critical elements your budget presentation needs in order to be successful.

1. Offer a Balanced Perspective

It almost goes without saying: transparency is perhaps the most critical part of your budget presentation. Tell all sides of your district’s story, sharing both the good and bad. Don’t be afraid to expose those vulnerabilities – being upfront about mistakes actually serves to build trust between you and the key stakeholders you’re presenting to.

While it’s important to be open about potential shortcomings, that isn’t to say you should let them discourage your audience, or cast doubt on the rest of your presentation. Instead, outline the district’s plans to work on those areas of improvement.

Another major part of ensuring a balanced presentation is to compare your district’s outcomes to its peers. Don’t only compare your district favorably to other districts that aren’t doing as well. Everyone knows that no district is perfect. Comparisons to districts doing better than yours is in certain areas helps illustrate a realistic picture about the current state of your schools.

2. Tell a Believable Story

In both life and budget presentations, honesty is often the best policy. That means your presentation has to be a work of non-fiction. Figures should be concrete and reasonable, and statements should be backed up with solid data.

The good thing about data is its accessibility. Anyone can take the time to collect it, and indeed some of the people you present to will have their own data for reference. It’s up to you to provide truthful interpretations of your data, not just to be in control of the narrative, but to ensure that the trust you’re trying to build doesn’t erode.

Remember that engaged stakeholders will have questions – some of which will be difficult. Prepare to back up the claims you make during your presentation. If someone asks a question you can’t answer completely, tell that person the truth and let them know you’ll follow up with them once you have an answer. Crucially, make sure you do follow up!

3. An Understandable Presentation is a Good Presentation

You spend your days in the thick of your district’s data. You understand the financial landscape of your schools in a way few others do.

So it’s up to you to break down the complexities that otherwise come naturally to those in your position. Your audience is no doubt engaged and concerned about the matters discussed in your budget presentation, but they may not share the same level of understanding as your own.

Assume that your audience needs a thorough explanation about most of the concepts you cover. It will help them understand your perspective better.

Remember the adage ‘Keep It Simple.’ Jargon and unexplained abbreviations can be left in your office. By removing complexity from your presentation, you open the door for greater understanding.

4. Illuminate Your District’s Individuality (and Share Commonalities)

Every district has its own story, and no two years are the same. That’s why it’s not enough to simply dump this year’s data into last year’s presentation deck. Your budget presentation’s success this year relies on presenting new analysis conveying the triumphs and challenges of your schools. Demonstrate the unique position your district is in and watch your audience’s understanding grow.

Remember, though, no school district exists in a vacuum. Your district is similar in some ways to other districts. Fair comparisons can help illuminate the key differences between your district and others.

5. Consider the Major Intended Takeaways

Every great presentation starts with a plan. And that plan can only form after you understand its purpose. Think about the clear messages you want to deliver to key stakeholders during this presentation. Discuss these with key district administrators and determine together what major takeaways you want to elucidate.

It’s important to be aligned on these messages well before the presentation itself. You don’t want conflicting messages to come from other administrators.

Like any good story, your budget presentation should have:

  • A strong beginning
  • A substantial middle
  • A compelling ending

Each element should flow into the next. One example of how to do this is as follows:

  • Use prior year actuals to create the basis for the rest of your presentation
  • Summarize the projected results of your current year
  • Outline next year’s budget
  • Show last year, this year, and next year side by side as part of a multi-year financial projection

In each of these phases, use data when it makes sense to underscore your messages, but avoid bombarding your audience with too many numbers. A “data dump” might feel like the most thorough way to tell your district’s story, but key points can get lost in a flood of facts and figures.

6. Make It Interesting

The way you present is another major key to your success. The fact of the matter is budget presentations can be a little dry and obscure. Minds can wander. Do your best to bring energy to the proceedings. It will keep your audience engaged.

This isn’t to say you have to put on a show-stopping, award-winning performance (though that will certainly help). If you can communicate your enthusiasm for the subject, that’s enough.

If you have to make this presentation to different audiences, factor in their particular concerns, and which figures or key areas they may want to focus on.

Keep in mind, different people pick up information in different ways. Some may be satisfied with just graphs and charts. Others may want to dig into spreadsheets. You don’t have to include spreadsheets in your slide deck – in fact you should probably leave them out – but it may be helpful to make them available for those that request them.

All of this preparation and planning might sound daunting, to say nothing of the prospect of presenting. But if you take the time to get the details right and remember these six keys, you’ll put together a budget presentation that helps your audience understand your district’s story.

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How to Produce an Epic Financial Story

As the finance administrator of your district, having a good story and pairing it with compelling visuals is perhaps the most important responsibility of your position. That’s because you’re the person responsible for developing strategies — and even the best, most thought-out strategies are only as good as your ability to align the organization and stakeholders behind them.  If there’s no buy-in, there’s no implementation.

So, “How can I turn budget numbers into a good story?” you may ask.  That’s a good question.  The following is your guide to producing an epic financial story.

Connect the Dots

Have you ever been part of a board session where hours were devoted to the discussion of field trips, classroom purchases, curriculum changes, and more, only to have your budget proposal approved in minutes?  There was a time when this was viewed as a positive – but those days are in the past. This sad reality exists because:

  • many board members don’t understand school finance
  • the school budget is viewed as a standalone entity

Business officials need to change this paradigm and make their boards and stakeholders care about the district’s financials. Start by connecting financial operations with curricular decisions. Look at your strategic plan in parallel with various initiatives – does your budget align?

A community member should be able to look at a school district’s budget and have a good sense for what is being prioritized in the strategic plan before even looking at it. Does your budget reflect district goals? Does your board understand this?

How to Effectively Prepare and Communicate Your Budget Presentation to Stakeholders

Look Backwards to Move Forwards

Another, related idea, is to look backwards at previous years’ budgets and ask questions, like:

  • Did outcomes match the money invested?
  • Did the dollars invested in a given project produce the outcomes we were hoping for?
  • If not, how are we adjusting? What might we do differently with those dollars?

Thinking along these lines and asking these types of questions will not only lead to sound budget development processes for the entire organization, but will also lead to more engagement, excitement, and understanding from the board and community.

Budgeting – You Can’t Look Forward Without Looking Back

Use Visualizations to Bring Your Story to Life

As the chief school business official for your district, you wear many hats when it comes to your interactions with your Board and the community at large. But one of your primary activities is presenting data through storytelling. Whether that data has to do with the budget, tax levy, audit, collective bargaining comparatives, or just your monthly Treasurer’s Report, the ability to effectively tell your story will benefit you and your district as your peers can attest.

Visualizations are the key to this. Take for example this account from Saad Bawany, the Data Analyst at Oak Park Elementary District 97: “the use of peer groups and comparative analysis did wonders for our referendum committee. Not only did it help us internally evaluate our financial performance compared to similar districts, but also for presenting to the community. We were able to communicate that we had been good stewards of the local tax dollars from the last referendum while also displaying the impact of rising costs and ballooning enrollment that necessitated another referendum.”

Allen Albus, a retired Associate Superintendent for Lake Forest Districts 67 and 115, recounts an instance where a visualization changed the outcome of a board vote: “A few years ago, a couple members of the Board stated that they were going to propose a levy below the product of the Tax Cap formula.  In anticipation, the Administration used a simple illustration to show why the district should levy the full amount allowed under the formula. The graph illustrated how other local and state revenue sources had been decreasing since the beginning of the recession.  After the administrative presentation, the Board voted 7-0 to approve the levy as presented.  Later, one of the board members stated that the graphics presented made him change his mind.”

These types of data storytelling successes are not uncommon – but the skill it requires doesn’t develop overnight.  Own your data, strategize how best to present it and create an environment where it integrates with the priorities that your board and community have established for the district.

Lastly, leverage your peers.  Colleagues both within and outside your organization can provide valuable feedback and a fresh set of eyes that is not as immersed in the data as you are.

Ready to create your own epic financial story?

Fill out the form to download this customizable PowerPoint template and start telling your story.

 

Four Tips for Building Compelling Visual Stories with Data

As the old saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” But what happens if the picture is sending the wrong message, or the intended message is being missed? Storytelling with data should be a strategic objective for all school administrators because as the pace of information gathering and sharing increases, it is even more important to be data-savvy and understand how to communicate your position to stakeholders.

When developing your storyboard, make sure your story includes these six “must-haves”:

  • Story includes a beginning, middle, and end. Focus on a 360⁰ view of content.
  • Lead Character. What is the backstory, decision making process and actions?
  • Purpose. Understanding the goals and reasoning for the initiative.
  • Conflict. Remind your audience of the status quo and introduce your solution path.
  • Results. What is the outcome? This can be supported with visual analytics.
  • Make people care. Understand your audience and add emotional elements to create streamlined relatability.

Once you have finalized your storyboard to include all six “must-haves”, you can begin creating your visual analytics. Administrators are leveraging Frontline Analytics to access pre-built Q&A visuals for simple and guided storytelling.

Here are four tips to follow when developing your supporting visuals:

Visual Attributes

Ask yourself what the focus is of the visual you are trying to create. Consider which format is best suited to generate the intended insights. Data attributes may include: length, width, orientation, size, shape, curvature, spatial grouping and color. For instance, leverage a bar graph to display ranges of data.

Color

The use of color allows for greater understanding and digestion of the information being presented. Incorporate a maximum of 8 colors in your visual to enhance comprehension. Remember to only use colors that are significant to the data points being used.

Types of Data

The data points you are working with can be classified as qualitative, quantitative, or ordinal. Qualitative may include your Free and Reduced Low Income data. Quantitative may include your FTE totals, expenses, or passing percentages. Ordinal may include increasing, decreasing, or flat data trends or analyzing items that are below, on, or over budget.

Data Dashboard

When you are putting your visuals together or developing your transparency dashboard, remember to follow these best practices:

  • The most important visual should be displayed on the top or top-left of the page
  • Legends should be positioned near the visual views
  • Avoid using multiple color schemes on a single dashboard
  • Use six or less views in a dashboard
  • If possible, provide interactivity

As you prepare for upcoming committee meetings, board presentations, or long-term planning discussions, apply these tips to ensure your message is being conveyed effectively and efficiently.

Track More Than Just Technology With Your District’s Asset Management System

At the onset of COVID-19, many districts scrambled to move to a 1:1 device distribution model. A huge stepping-stone to being able to hand out technology tools for remote learning, such as laptops and tablets was having them all inventoried in the first place.

If a school were to hand out technology assets with no way to know which made their way safely back into the building — whenever that time came — how could a technology department confidently say that it was safeguarding district resources?

Naturally, asset and inventory management became a major stressor for leaders in K-12 technology.

In those early days of the crisis, when most school employees and students were in their homes, disconnected from one another and their normal teaching and learning routines, many technology teams were in their school buildings: all-hands-on-deck, sorting, counting, tagging, and listing. In some districts, teachers and support staff were ultimately called in to help with the transition.

Solving the inventory issue – the hard way

Through time, effort, and painstaking diligence, so many technology teams across the country successfully got remote learning tools into the hands of students, who, in many instances, held the responsibility of taking care of a laptop that wasn’t truly theirs for the first time. Seniors in high school all the way down to the wee ones in elementary school (and their parents and guardians) gained a technology tool in their home.

The effort to get there wasn’t an easy one, though. Many technology teams tackled the challenge by creating spreadsheets in which every detail had to be manually entered and updated. In turn, this data-entry and manual updating process became a full-time heavy lift for certain employees.

 

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Solving the inventory issue – the easy way!

Remote learning was an instigator for districts across the country to get more organized about their technology asset management, and that meant investing in solutions that helped them automate the inventory process to:

  • Increase efficiency of managing tech assets
  • Increase the reliability of data — and thereby the team’s confidence in reporting
  • Gain real-time visibility into inventory at any moment, from anywhere
  • Reduce time spent conducting audits and producing reports

While tracking and maintaining technology assets has become second nature for most school districts, many can do more to take advantage of the full spectrum of their asset management capabilities.
The Complete Guide to Device Lifecycle Management

Tracking More Than Just Technology

Asset management systems can be used to track so much more than just technology assets, ensuring that items that are not tracked in an ERP system are still accounted for. School is a joyful place, and when students and staff collaborate to create something — well, things get moved.

Maybe the theatre club needed an easel for their stage set. There’s always one in the art room! Maybe tables needed to be set up in the auditorium for a showcase, and they came from all over the building. Maybe a quintet from the orchestra played welcoming music to start the day — and an instrument got left behind.

Schools feel like homes to so many of the people who work and learn in them, but, of course, the assets of a school really belong to the district. A solution that helps you track and inventory all those assets and foster community keeps you stay in control — and that control should go beyond technology assets.

Items that are prime opportunities for automated inventory management are those used by kitchen, maintenance, and custodial staff, such as furniture, appliances, and larger equipment used for grounds work.

With an asset management system tracking more than just technology, district leaders:

  • Gain visibility into where each item is located in the district — at all times, from anywhere
  • Track funding sources to have a clear, at-the-ready report of the funding source that paid for each asset
  • Budget for the future with more knowledge about how things are used, how long they last, and where the best investments have been
  • Increase confidence and accountability for audits

Use our checklist to ensure your district is making the most of your asset management system.

Want to download this checklist for an easy reference guide? Download Now

Talk Data To Me: Assessing the Health of Substitute Teacher Pools by State

The status of absence management within school districts throughout the pandemic has been a consistent topic on Talk Data to Me. As teacher absence rates have consistently climbed back to pre-COVID levels this school year, states have had varying success in rebuilding their substitute teacher pools and increasing the proportion of available substitutes who actively fill absences.

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We pooled data from over 6,000 school districts in 38 states and compared the district-average size of their substitute pools and working substitute percentage for the fall months of 2019, 2020, and 2021. The fall of 2019 was, of course, pre-pandemic. In the fall of 2020, school districts still found themselves amid COVID-related shutdowns, quarantines, and remote learning — all of which dramatically affected absence metrics. The fall of 2021 brought a slight return to pre-COVID levels as most school districts across the country returned to full-time in person learning.

So, did absence metrics return to where they were in the fall of 2019 as well?

  • Comparing the status of absence metrics for the fall of 2021 to the fall of 2020, we can see which states have had the best COVID recovery.
  • Comparing the status of absence metrics for this fall to the fall of 2019, we can see which states are closest to pre-pandemic levels.

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Which states have increased their substitute teacher pools the most?

To remedy substitute teacher shortages and to fill more classrooms, this blog series has consistently shared tips for increasing the size of substitute teacher pools and strategies for engaging available substitutes with the goal of increasing their willingness to work. The size of an active pool of substitutes, of course, impacts how easily districts are able to fill absences: the more available substitutes a district has, the greater the likelihood of being able to fill any absences that occur. Many different factors can impact the size of a district’s active sub pool, including locality and the effort and focus that organizations put into attracting substitutes.

Many different factors can impact the size of a district’s active sub pool, including locality and the effort and focus that organizations put into attracting substitutes.

Data from the Frontline Research & Learning Institute — which, at a national level, is representative of school districts throughout the United States — shows that between 2019 and 2021, substitute teacher pools have increased in 13 states on average, while 24 states have smaller pools. In this data, substitutes included in these pools are those who have been marked as “active” by an administrator.

Note: In each of the below maps, only states with a sample of 25 or more districts for each year from 2019-2021 are included.

The following map shows which in which states districts’ active substitute pools have experienced the strongest rebounds since the fall of 2020:

 

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Which states have the largest proportion of their substitute pools actively filling classrooms?

Of course, having a large roster of substitute teachers only helps if those substitutes actively help to fill vacancies in classrooms. Every state in our analysis has a smaller proportion of their available substitutes actively filling absences this fall compared to the fall of 2019, although some states are seeing a smaller drop than others.

Below, you can see how the percentage of working substitutes in the fall of 2021 compares to that from a year earlier. “But is that really an accurate representation?” you might ask, since some districts still operated virtually in fall 2020. But most districts had returned at this point to in-person learning, which is supported by a substantial rise in the number of absences seeking substitutes, and so the working substitute percentage still appears to be valid.

The causes of the state-to-state differences in these absence metrics are beyond the scope of this blog, but they highlight a vital issue: at a time when caseloads continue to rise and COVID is having an impact on both student and staff attendance, it’s increasingly important to consider how to not only grow your substitute pool, but entice them to accept jobs in your district as well.

If your substitute pool contains a large percentage of non-working substitutes, what can you do about it?

It goes without saying that labor market challenges affect schools as well as many other industries. Hospitals, airlines, and even restaurants are having staffing challenges at the moment.

Spring Grove Area School District in rural Pennsylvania has taken an innovative approach to attracting substitutes. Recognizing that every day may feel like the first day at a new job for substitutes, the HR team at Spring Grove works hard to make their district the place where substitutes in the area want to work.

To hear how they do it, how it impacts fill rates, teacher morale, and the quality of students’ education, check out this podcast.

5 Ways Collaboration Between Tech and Finance Departments Can Create an Impact

Friction between tech and finance offices has historically stemmed from the business office’s need to maximize the use of any funds available to the greatest educational gain to support learning and teaching, while technology departments often found it difficult to prove the return on investment — to show explicitly that the purchase of a laptop or tablet will increase or grow learning by a certain percentage.

As technology continues to permeate all aspects of the business of a school district and with the influx of federal dollars supporting the switch to a 1:1 distribution model as a result of COVID-19, there are even more opportunities for technology and finance departments to work closely to achieve desired learning objectives.

Beyond the rewards that often follow a positive working relationship, below are five ways your district could benefit from a close working relationship between the two offices.

1.Improving tracking and reporting

With greater funding at a local, state, and federal level, it is important now more than ever that the business and technology departments collaborate to ensure that assets purchased with funds such as CARES, ESSER, E-Rate and ECF are being used as intended.

It is vital that districts have the ability to track the entire lifecycle of an asset from purchase to disposal, and can easily report on this data when audited.

While the CTO or technology department may decide how best to collect and distribute technology assets to students, teachers, and staff, the finance department is accountable for compliance with funding laws, making it essential for the finance department to identify the information they need and communicate that to the technology department.

If your district uses an asset management system, tech and finance can make reporting easier for everyone by tracking district assets beyond technology. For example, tagging items purchased with special education funding will ease the burden of reporting. In order for this practice to work, you need to ensure a close working relationship between a CFO and the technology office to make sure everyone across a district is using the same processes and procedures for tracking all assets in a district.

Did you know? An asset management system could make financial reporting easier for your district.

2. Advancing strategic initiatives

Understanding current and future district needs is critical to making progress on strategic initiatives, and a close working relationship between a CFO and a CTO or CIO can help everyone at your district articulate those needs. Of course, your district’s needs are likely driven by school, district, or even state goals. If your business and technology departments have a solid mutual understanding of each department’s goals — especially where they overlap — everyone’s needs and priorities become clearer.

If your technology department is tasked with identifying available technology that would increase interoperability between systems, automate workflows, and reduce manual processes, their understanding of the business office’s needs will allow them to better advise their finance department on the purchase. For example, one-time federal funds may best be used to modernize or replace older systems, which may improve long-term savings, and have an impact far beyond their immediate departments.

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3. Creating equitable home and school access to tech and internet

The pandemic highlighted the glaring difference in access to technology from one home to the next. But neither finance nor the business office can solve that problem in a silo. Working together, the technology and finance department can identify and invest in technology that will best meet the needs for all students to ensure an optimal learning environment.

For example, if the school needs to purchase hotspots for students that do not have internet at home, the CTO can identify the devices that best meet the technical requirements of the devices and programs students will be using at home while a CFO would be able to identify the funds best used to make the purchase. Together, they can make a difference in student learning in a very real way.

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4. Increasing cyber security

An increase in communication among CFOs and CIOs is essential in preventing cyberattacks. As technology across all departments in a district continues to grow, operating in a vacuum could potentially make a district a desirable target.

For example, should a district change a core function within the office — such as outsourcing rather than doing in-house — this changes an organization’s IT functionality. Working with the IT department ensures that no vulnerabilities are created. Additionally, working with technology to provide security programs and ensure devices are regularly updated will reduce the risk of an attack. Frequent communication between these departments is vital in ensuring the safety of district-wide data.

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5. Enhancing instruction

Working together to consider how the district will continue to support, maintain, train, and service the number of devices, systems, and applications that a district will need going forward is absolutely necessary.

At any given time, a district needs to ensure that there is a sufficient reserve of working devices and staff available to perform repairs or provide support to minimize the impact on instruction. Additionally, a close alliance ensure that technology asset reserves and technician staff is the right size for the future.

As funds provided to school districts for the use of technology continue to grow, it will become even more important that the business office and technology departments work together to ensure funds are used wisely and in a way that will create the biggest impact.

How Talent Data Can Lead to Better Decision-Making for K-12 Leaders

 A 2018 Frontline Research & Learning Institute white paper, “Balancing the Equation,” proposed a vision for strategic human capital management (HCM) characterized by a holistic approach to building and maintaining a high-performing employee culture.

It suggested:

  • Leaders would make data-driven decisions aligned to their school system’s strategic objectives.
  • Teams would set goals collaboratively.
  • Teams would measure progress towards goals using dat and benchmarks.
  • Team leaders routinely surface opportunities for improvement in employee engagement, efficiency, and effectiveness.

A commitment to transforming data insights into action — supported by easy-to-use systems — helps district and team leaders achieve this vision for strategic HCM.

We can learn even more about how to effectively implement this vision by taking a look at how it’s taken shape at Caledonia Community Schools.

Caledonia Community Schools’ Optimized HCM Program

Caledonia Community Schools is a high-performing suburban/rural district not far from Grand Rapids, Michigan, focused on creating a positive learning environment for all students.

When city dwellers moved to the suburbs at higher than anticipated rates, Caledonia found itself with growing pains — but they remained steadfast in their goal on academic excellence, achieved in part through optimized HCM. District leaders updated their recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training practices to continue to attract high-quality employees to their schools.

A Connected Talent Management System

The first step was to improve the hiring and onboarding processes for HR. As part of a consortium of 23 districts using online recruiting and hiring solutions, Caledonia had access to a broader pool of candidates than standalone recruiting systems. With more applicants, they needed to find a way to sort and track their top choices.

“As soon as a candidate is selected, their application is uploaded to their HR portal. References are completed separately and also saved to the HR portal once the onboarding process is complete.”

Laurie King, HR Assistant.Caledonia Community Schools

Having a talent management system designed for K-12 organizations, including the highest level of security, has been a major asset for every department, especially during COVID-19. Back when they were doing a lot of work manually, binders or folders kept in offices would not have been accessible to staff forced to work at home. But with a new talent management system, it is easy to access data remotely. Payroll still gets processed on time, substitutes are hired when needed, and professional growth is available to teachers and easy to track.

Their connected talent management system now manages all employee records, allowing them to synchronize their hiring, professional growth, and absences. They’re no longer using different systems in each department and have revolutionized and streamlined their processes with workflow enhancements. Their new talent management system puts data within easy reach of all users from district administrators to employees themselves, when and where they need it.

Following Caledonia’s strategic plan for growth involved shifting schedules and changing grade-level configurations. The pandemic added another twist when teachers unexpectedly retired or went on leave and substitutes were hard to find. Fortunately, with the absence management component of their new talent management system already in place, the HR department is able to help manage the astronomical number of staff changes.

“Everyone’s schedules are set. When there’s a holiday, it’s already pre-set in the talent management system.”

Sara DeVries, Director of Finance and Business Services
Caledonia Community Schools

Grayson County Public Schools in Independence, VA is another district that is transforming HCM processes through the use of a connected talent management system. Prior to implementing their system, human resources and payroll had to generate many complex reports and spend a lot of time going through individual employee files to make updates. Grayson County implemented a new talent management system and gained more efficiencies by maximizing their resources and expediting their processes.

“We now have a comprehensive view of all employees and staff with proactive notifications to keep our records current as well as comparative data and historical information to support our budget and planning needs.”

Amy Vaughan, Human Resources Clerk and Marlee Bertram, Deputy Payroll Clerk
Grayson County School District

The above article is an executive summary to “Balancing the Equation,” updated for 2024. If you’d like to read the full white paper, you can download it here.

The Frontline Research & Learning Institute recognizes that continued challenges in K-12, including teacher shortages and COVID-19, have impacted the way schools, districts and states are supporting educators and other key personnel. Even with these challenges, we’re seeing great progress.

The organizations referenced within are using solutions that are part of Frontline Education’s human capital management suite to gain efficiencies and streamline their HCM processes. To learn more visit www.FrontlineEducation.com.

Make the Most of Stimulus Funds: Budgeting Best Practices

As school districts across the country are beginning the process of developing their 2022-23 school-year budgets, the world is still reeling from the impacts of COVID-19. New revenue, lost revenue, rising costs, labor market shifts, and a changing educational landscape all together make it a challenging time to predict and plan for the future. Below are several considerations and ideas to help you navigate these uncertain times, with the goal of helping school systems make this year’s budget one that sets you up for success even in the face of rapid and largely unpredictable change.

Certainty Amidst Uncertainty

Although we are undoubtedly surrounded by unknowns, there are a few things we do know.

School District Budgets

First, we know that most states seem to be recuperating from budget shortfalls last year.1 State 2020-21 budgets ended up faring much better than initially projected, and so far there’s been no substantiated alarm to suggest that 2021-22 will be dramatically different. That being said, inflation is rising quickly, and district financial officers are having a difficult time finding firm projections for next year. In the past five months, prices have continued to rise on some goods and services, with inflation tracking above 5% in October.2 In short, we are waiting — and will likely continue to wait — to learn what next year’s local and state tax revenue will look like, even as we can predict that the costs of goods and services will rise

Economic Trends

Schools are not immune from trends we’re seeing in the labor market and economy more generally, and we should cautiously anticipate their impact while taking into consideration important differences about the public education sector. For example, teachers have not participated in the Great Resignation at the level experienced across other industries.3 But we know that teachers are utterly exhausted (even more than usual), certain subject areas have been hard-to-staff for years, and attracting great talent matters in education just like everywhere else. In the coming year or two, we can expect educator talent to grow demanding of their school district employers.

With so much uncertainty, what do you know?
  1. Most states seem to be “recuperating” from budget shortfalls last year
  2. Schools are not immune from trends we’re seeing in the labor market and economy more generally
  3. Once-in-a-generation stimulus funds are still on the table
  4. K-12 education as a whole is going through a paradigm shift

Stimulus Funds

We know there are still once-in-a-generation stimulus funds on the table. Whatever murkiness first existed around the use of stimulus dollars has now been largely settled, and districts should be equipped to make decisions about how they will put these funds to good use. Districts have one last chance to spend ESSER I dollars at the start of next school year — by September 30, 2022, with the deadlines for ESSER II dollars and ESSER III dollars coming in September 2023 and September 2024, respectively. While there are some restrictions on how the one-time emergency dollars can be spent, there is nearly unprecedented flexibility.

Paradigm Shifts in Education

Looking beyond these various economic and financial factors, districts are also creating their budgets in a time when K-12 education as a whole is going through a paradigm shift. For instance, many districts have experienced fluctuations in enrollment as families and students have sought alternatives in charter, online, and private schools, as well as nearby public school districts.4

In a piece published by ASCD, Tom Vander Ark identified five changes that have taken place as a result of the pandemic: device access, internet access, enterprise tech, hybrid and remote learning, and team teaching out of necessity; as well as five more significant shifts that are still in process: broadening conceptions of achievement, deeper learning experiences, credentialed learning, meaningful equity work, and new learning models.5 In summary, parents’ and students’ expectations for what a high-quality education looks like, and school systems’ capacity to deliver on it, are changing. This shift in demand is likely to shape the landscape of public education in new ways over the coming years.

Planning for Sustainability: Considerations and Ideas from the Field

To balance between what we do know and what we will continue to learn (and, likely, relearn), here are four ideas from district leaders across the U.S. on how to most effectively navigate this budget cycle.

1. Focus on the returns your district really needs for its investments.

District budgeting is about relative priorities, and purchasing typically balances the importance of product and service cost, convenience, and capability. Given what you know (and what you think you know) about your district’s financial health, get clear now about which of these factors matters most at the present time to your district. Not every district will be the same.

One district business manager that we spoke with emphasized cost as being a primary factor right now, given the continuously rising costs of health insurance, retirement contributions, and charter school payments, as well as the immediate impact on the budget of more expensive equipment and school meal supplies.

On the other hand, an assistant superintendent we interviewed emphasized capability, stating that their district is not immediately hurting for funds and that it’s more important now to invest in products and services that “make their lives easier” and “gets teachers what they need.”

This administrator told us, “Cost is always important when you’re trying to be good stewards of public dollars, and we of course want to stay off the ballot and minimize any asks of our community right now. However, now our focus is more on convenience and capability. Our teachers are swamped. You have to look at the cost-benefit ratio and not blindly go with the lowest offer on some things. For example, we went with a new formative assessment tool this year that is giving our teachers the immediate data that they need and it will save our district money in the long-term.”

The lesson? Be transparent with your team and with providers about your highest priority, and get crystal clear about what you really need. If you anticipate budget cuts, invite the providers around you to step up and collaborate with you to find the best fit between your needs and their capabilities. Know what is truly critical and what you’re likely to use in the long term so that you can write extremely clear RFP solicitations and pay for the features and services that you really need. Be clear about the extent to which cost, convenience, and capability are driving decisions at the moment, and be open about that to get the right return on your precious investments.

2. Stretch stimulus funds for lasting impact.

Look for creative ways of using these one-time funds for long-term impact. Whereas hiring new staff with one-time funding creates a problem to be solved later, there are other ways of using this money to invest in personnel. In an interview with education researcher and pundit Rick Hess, Marguerite Roza of the Georgetown Edunomics Lab illuminated the practices of “offering incentive packages to cover moving expenses plus retention bonuses, and paying stipends for teachers who take on extra work.”6 As noted above, it’s important to match these incentive programs to the needs and interests of your faculty and staff; some districts are discovering that mounting personal responsibilities mean that educators are not picking up extra work (such as for leading professional development or designing new content), even when those activities are well-compensated. That means your district may get better long-term benefit from investing in supporting educators’ wellness and mental health so that they’re able to navigate this moment and stay in their roles. However you approach it, spending now on capacity building and getting ahead of recruitment and retention challenges will pay off later.

Spending now on capacity building and getting ahead of recruitment and retention challenges will pay off later.

We know that many districts are using ESSER funds for technology and curriculum upgrades. If you are going to purchase these things now, make sure to also invest in the necessary professional development and skills training so that these tools can be fully leveraged to the extent of their capabilities long into the future. For example, acquiring a new inventory of student devices and a making the move to integrate technology in learning requires thoughtful learning and support for teachers. Consider ways of fully integrating these changes into current practice sooner rather than later.

Lastly, while buying “stuff” can make a big difference, the smartest long-term investment might be in relationships. Focus the “stuff” investments on tools that free up time and energy for district staff to do more meaningful work independently and together. Use ESSER funds now to invest in developing (and perhaps in some cases, repairing) meaningful relationships between staff, with students, and with the community. Intentional wellness efforts would also make sound investments.

Potential efforts might include…

  • Creating small group experiences that establish a sense of belonging and engagement
  • Implementing home visits7
  • Introducing therapeutic tools and practices for managing stress
  • Planning events that boost staff morale
  • Engaging in genuine dialogue sessions with the community

Even if your district is unable to continue these expenses into the future once the emergency aid expires, these one-time investments now are sure to affect retention and therefore have a positive impact into the future.

3. Don’t repeat investments that simply reproduce the old status quo.

Most district administrators, including those we talked with, are admittedly focused on “getting through” these uncertain times. We get it; there’s one fire after another, and we’re nearing two years of growing fatigue from 24/7 demands and constant pivoting. But this budgeting season presents an opportunity to think bigger and prepare to make some bold moves in service to students and families.

Some of the best innovations have come in times when money was tight and alternatives were slim. Use this moment and any needed cost savings to drive efforts around rethinking seat time, designing effective hybrid learning, collaborating with the community, and making the teaching role more manageable and enjoyable. For example, the Texas Learning Exchange (TxLx) brought districts together to “rethink educational delivery models and how to address the needs of students in this current environment.”8 The project curated a host of resources in the New Learning Models Library, and examples of how districts are adopting new learning models are summarized in case studies.

Ask your team: how will we use this moment of uncertainty to move our district in a positive direction for the future? Are we looking ahead and anticipating big shifts in the education sector? Are we thinking in a “this is how it’s always been done” mindset, or in a “this is what students need and how we should be doing things” mindset? Be innovative. Use this moment to reorient the system around what’s best for students. Ask the questions, “What if?” and “Why not?” again and again and again.

4. Fill gaps with new private-public partnerships and cross-sector collaboration.

School districts have long relied on regional shared-service models for talent such as substitute teachers and special education teachers. However, it’s not as common to see private-public partnerships and cross-sector collaboration. What might be possible when organizations unite around shared students and shared goals?

So many agencies stepped up and took on new responsibilities during the crisis. For example, in southwestern Pennsylvania, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS), Trying Together, and the United Way proposed a solution when the local school district remained closed to in-person learning for a full calendar year. In partnership with more than 40 community organizations and after-school providers, the county used their own funding and later private donations to stand up 75 Community Learning Hubs — safe spaces where children could engage in virtual learning — across the city.9 The county also has data-sharing agreements in place with local school districts, which help everyone better address issues such as mental health, food insecurity, and truancy. This is just one example of cross-sector partnerships that benefit children.10

Rather than retreat back to the ways things were pre-pandemic, use this opportunity to lean into private-public partnerships and cross-sector partnerships. Over the last 18 months, numerous corporate philanthropies have established commitments to investing in equity, and school districts are an excellent place to begin. Explore relationships with companies and organizations in your region that may be willing to form lasting, authentic partnerships to bridge the gap between what schools can do and what businesses need. Reach out to willing partners, especially those who are already working with the same children served by your school district, and look for opportunities to coordinate more effectively. Look for any potential areas of overlap or unnecessary silos and begin to build coalitions. One administrator told us, “Start small. Look for focused projects and potential quick wins that invite partners to the table, and then grow from there.”

In a time of budget uncertainty and continuous change, opportunities abound to work with, share services with, and find efficiencies with other organizations, whether than be other nearby school districts, other public agencies, or local nonprofit organizations.

Look for cost-saving opportunities, as well as opportunities to leverage assets more effectively. Consider the current models of shared substitute services and shared special education services as just the tip of the iceberg. What else might be possible through collaboration?

Conclusion

One district administrator told us, “I know it’s stressful, but it’s also an exciting time for school leaders to reflect on how we do things, and to reimagine the student experience. Some of our students loved remote learning; some loved the new levels of choice that became available. How can we use that to move forward?”

[ctt template=”9″ link=”b06Xi” via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]In this uncertain time, be creative. Be transparent with stakeholders. Be bold, and use the uncertainty as an opportunity.[/ctt]

In this uncertain time, be creative. Be transparent with stakeholders. Be bold, and use the uncertainty as an opportunity. Don’t discount the power of grounding yourself and your team in what you do know, and work outward from there. Stay focused on what kids need, and what your best available information says will serve them in the long run.

1 U.S. Census Bureau. (September 23, 2021). Quarterly Summary of State and Local Government Tax Revenue: 2021 Q2.

2 The Wall Street Journal. (November 10, 2021). U.S. Inflation Hit 31-Year High in October as Consumer Prices Jump 6.2%.

3 Klein, R. (November 17, 2021). Why There Hasn’t Been a Mass Exodus of Teachers. FiveThirtyEight.

4 A recent analysis by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (September 22, 2021) found that charter school enrollment increased by 7% across the nation in 2020-21. Additionally, Chalkbeat and the Associated Press (December 22, 2020) reported survey data suggesting that public school enrollment in 2020-21 decreased by 2%.

5 Vander Ark, T. (September 1, 2021). 5 Changes, 5 Shifts, and 5 Implications for What’s Next in Education. ASCD.

6 Hess, Frederick. (November 10, 2021) Ed Finance Guru Marguerite Roza on How Schools Can Best Spend Covid Aid. Education Next.

7 FutureEd. (n.d.) Home Visits. COVID Relief Playbook.

8 See Texas Learning Exchange.

9 Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Trying Together, United Way. (n.d.) Learning Hubs Data Report: 2020-2021 School Year.

10 StriveTogether serves as a network for dozens of collective impact partnerships across the country, and would be a great resource for additional ideas and technical assistance.

The Past, Present, and Future of Data Analytics in Schools

The use of data analytics is increasingly part of modern life, whether you’re talking about headlines like vaccination roll-out efforts, practical matters like tracking hours at your job, or daily routines like the average height and weight chart at a pediatrician’s office. K-12 education is no different, a topic Dr. Adam Cibulka is deeply familiar with.

As a senior manager at Forecast5 Analytics, now part of Frontline Education, Dr. Adam Cibulka thinks about data in education every day. But it was during his nearly two decades in public education in the Chicago area that he recognized a need for innovation: when it came to monitoring student achievement per state requirements, spreadsheets just weren’t cutting it anymore. That’s when he partnered with Forecast5 to develop a better way to track student metrics, from attendance, to SAT scores, to AP achievements, and more.

Of course, those state requirements are themselves part of an overall shift in education toward greater accountability and public reporting on both student achievement and school and district achievement. In the years since No Child Left Behind, student data has moved from being siloed at the local level to being a matter of state and national interest — and that’s a lot of data to gather, track, and make sense of.

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Where are we now?

[ctt template=”9″ link=”0obdc” via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]We have entered the era of big data in education. #k12data”[/ctt]

Ironically, the very volume of data can make it difficult to tell the story of student progress. In order to achieve a “speed to insight,” Dr. Cibulka suggests schools think through the what, why, and how of data analytics:

What are the two or three key questions you’re trying to answer for your district?

  • Let the goal of communicating that information guide what data you collect and who you make it available to.

Why are you gathering information?

  • Data should tell the story of student progress in order to support better decision making. Consider what information will help you know how to move forward.

How are you collecting and interpreting data?

  • The right tools can make all the difference. Whether you will use spreadsheets or the sort of automated system Dr. Cibulka developed with Forecast5, be sure you have a plan that will enable you to collect, organize, analyze, and inter pret data.
  • Of course, how you collect data has security implications for your district, too. Even before the pandemic, EdWeek reported that the number of K-12 cyber attacks more than doubled from 2018 to 2019. And when schools closed across the country in 2020, upended processes could have interrupted routine cybersecurity policies. If you’re working with a software vendor, make sure they’re committed to compliance and keeping your data safe.
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Where are we going?

Dr. Cibulka looks forward to a future where schools spend 10% of their time gathering information and 90% acting on it — rather than the reverse, which is commonly the case at present. Working with a specialized analytics partner can go a long way in helping your district spend less time on gathering data and more time strategizing and acting on it.

3 Practical Areas for Growth

Dr. Cibulka identified three practical areas for growth for schools as they support student success with data analytics.

1. Ensure Clean Data:

Establish consistent protocols and processes for data collection, so you can be sure you’re not comparing apples to oranges when it’s time to make decisions.

2. Visualize the Reality That Data Represents:

Find a way to ensure you’re still seeing students, and not just numbers, and grasping the ramifications on education they represent.

3. Access to Data:

Make sure that information is made available at the district and building-leader level. To successfully employ data, safe and secure access, along with efficient access, is essential.

The one thing that hasn’t changed? The desire to see students succeed. And data analytics opens another door to following that goal.

Want to learn more about this topic? Listen to the full interview with Dr. Adam Cibulka here.

Tips from New Teachers for an Improved Teacher Hiring Process

There is no denying that a school’s greatest resource is its teachers. Good teachers who deliver quality instruction help produce greater educational outcomes for their students.1 A school or district that can recruit many of these highly effective teachers can create a climate of success, providing students with lasting learning.2 That’s why it’s so important to optimize your hiring and onboarding processes to be able to recruit the best talent and welcome educators into your district in a way they feel great about. 

What makes for a great hiring and teacher onboarding experience?

Although researchers have spent more than a century trying to answer this question3, there is still no universal consensus on how to define or measure effective teaching. In the world of teacher recruitment, the focus most often centers on applicant vetting or identifying qualities that effective teachers often possess, like organization, prerequisite skills and qualifications, multi-tasking, and reflective thinking.4 While hiring committees should know what traits to look for during recruitment, it’s just as important to know how to attract the candidates who possess those traits to sign on the dotted line and start a career at your school district.

Here are two questions to get started:

  • What makes the hiring process a positive experience for teachers?
  • How can hiring committees create positive experiences to hire the best teacher candidates?

To answer these questions, we interviewed ten brand new teachers about their hiring experiences. All went through the application process and were hired during the COVID-19 pandemic, after just completing their teacher preparation programs. In their experiences, the most desirable schools and districts were those that used hiring practices to project a positive image and showcase the kind of environment in which candidates would want to work.

Here’s what we learned.

 

How to update your HR processes to attract and hire the best candidates

Tip #1: Show candidates that teachers’ voices are valued at your school district 

• • • During interviews, DO invite them to make real decisions • • •

Haley, a recently hired art teacher beamed while sharing her hiring experience. The principal invited her into the art room to show her the program’s new pottery wheels, which had garnered so much interest that the school couldn’t accommodate all students who wanted to elect ceramics. She presented the problem to Haley and asked, “How do you feel about increasing the number of students in pottery?” Haley offered a quick scheduling solution, which excited the principal and made Haley feel like her insights would matter at the school.

Colleen, a new English language arts teacher, had a similar experience. She shared that her most memorable interview question involved a data chart that displayed a student’s grades and some notes from the school psychologist about the student’s behavioral progress. The committee asked her to examine all the data and then explain how she would grade him at the end of the year. Colleen recalled, “That was kind of cool, to be able to interpret real data and talk about social-emotional learning and how it all comes into play.”

• • • DO give newly hired teachers a platform to share their ideas • • •

Sasha, a first-year elementary teacher, raved about a new teacher orientation that her district held. She said, “At orientation, [the school] asked, ‘What are some resources that people have?’ And I was able to speak about the different technologies I knew and had used in the past. They actually gave me a platform to speak, which was kind of weird because I was new – but they seemed to be saying, ‘Hey, we already value you here and we want to hear what you have to say.’”

“They seemed to be saying, ‘We already value you here and we want to hear what you have to say.’”

Trish, a first-year English language arts teacher, had a similar experience. She felt as though her hiring committee was looking to hire an early career teacher, like her. She explained, “After they hired me, they told me, ‘We really liked your energy and we wanted someone excited to come into the profession.’ They knew that I was experienced with a lot of different online programs, too, and I think they sought that out. They wanted to hire someone younger, someone who could teach them a lot. And while they’ve taught me a lot about the curriculum, I’ve already made a big impact in changing how that curriculum is delivered and made more accessible to students through technology.”

• • • DON’T play games with candidates • • •

Kristy, a newly hired social studies teacher, explained that even though summer was almost over, and she was beginning to get desperate to land a job, she went on one interview that was conducted so poorly she would have declined an offer. She explained, “The committee asked me a lot of questions that didn’t seem to connect to my instruction at all, like how I rest and relax. There were too many odd jokes between members of the hiring committee that created tension in the room. I almost didn’t feel like they were taking it seriously. At first, I was told that the principal wasn’t at the school that day. But after my interview, they brought me into his office and said, ‘You can talk to him now.’ I was so confused. The principal told me that he had his faculty vet candidates and if they liked them enough, they were to bring them to him. But it almost felt like a trick. I didn’t like it. It made me very uncomfortable.”

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Tip #2: Show candidates that your school district views teachers as experts of their crafts

• • • DO ask candidates about their disciplinary knowledge, skills, and pedagogy • • •

Rose knew that she was interviewing with a special school when they asked about her craft. She explained, “The principal and vice principal looked at my artwork and told me that I was extremely talented. No other school had asked to see examples of my artwork. Others asked what kind of art I did, personally, but no other schools asked to see it – so I knew that this was my school. I would be seen as an artist and a teacher and that’s important to me.” When asked if that was that moment that made her certain that she wanted to work at that school, Haley said, “I guess it was just their excitement of, ‘We finally found someone we’re comfortable with throwing in classrooms with cameras and pottery wheels. Someone who knows how to use all of it and use it well.’”

Newly hired math teacher, Sarah, said that she brought a binder filled with samples of her work, including detailed outlines of lesson and unit plans, to all of her interviews. In her experience, most committees never asked to see it, and those that did flipped through quickly before returning to their planned questioning. She explained that the hiring committee at her current school examined it carefully. Three members of the committee were also math teachers. They asked Sarah questions about her lesson design before commenting, “Whoa, this is awesome!”

“The most desirable districts were those that used hiring practices to project a positive image.”

Colleen wrote a thesis as the culminating project of her Master’s program. The hiring committee at her current school asked her to tell them about it. She remembered them asking, “What is some actual research that you’ve done that you can bring into the school and into the classroom?” This question was so different from those she had been asked during her other interviews. She explained, “I always feel like they’re so focused on your relationship with students, and that’s great, but for them to ask about what I was knowledgeable about and what research I did in my Master’s year made me feel very heard and seen.”

• • • DON’T assume that candidates and new teachers know it all, including the inner workings of your school district • • •

Though not all of the teacher candidates were required to perform demonstration lessons during the interview process, the ones who did wanted more information ahead of time. Kristy explained, “I had to teach a demo lesson, but I didn’t know what protocols the school followed for COVID-19. Could I even pass out papers? Books? I also didn’t know what the students had already learned or what they were expected to know. I was expected to teach a hybrid class. Some students were at home and others were physically in the classroom, but I didn’t know what tech platform the school used. I found out about five minutes before starting my lesson and had to get familiar with it on the fly. Knowing all of that would have definitely helped.”

Tip #3: Show teacher candidates that your district acknowledges and accommodates students’ and candidates’ learning differences

• • • DO provide interview questions in different modalities • • •

Mike, a new science teacher, said that only one of the districts that interviewed him shared their interview questions visually, on slides. Although he would have really liked to see them before the interview to prepare more thoughtful answers, he said that it was still helpful to see them on a screen. He explained, “Instead of saying, ‘Can you ask this again?’ or ‘Can I write this down really quickly?’ I could just look at the keywords on each slide which helped me focus my answers and make sure I was actually addressing what they wanted me to instead of just talking in circles.”

• • • DO provide candidates with the option to interview in person or online • • •

Trish admitted, “I’m a terrible online learner and, because of COVID-19, my orientation was completely online. I was trying to pay attention but there was just so much information, and because I wasn’t familiar with the physical layout of the school and I didn’t know any members of the staff, a lot of it just didn’t make sense. I needed to see the space and these people in person. I just couldn’t visualize it.”

Kristy felt similarly about online interviews. Although a necessity during the COVID-19 shutdown, she said, “Sometimes when committees tried to squeeze all of the interviewers onto one screen, all I would see was an arm and half of a face. It was hard. I didn’t know who I was talking to. I couldn’t think because I was so confused by that, and I just couldn’t feel that personal spark. There’s such a difference in going into the building for interviews. Especially at the end of the year when students are still in school, and you can feel that energy.”

Tip #4: Ensure that teachers are given access to critical systems

Rachel, a newly hired sixth-grade teacher shared her biggest anxiety as her new school’s start date rapidly approached. Her district waited until the first day of school to activate new teachers’ email accounts. She explained, “That felt too late. [I wondered] how am I supposed to plan or access any of my plans if I don’t have an email?”

Trish echoed Rachel’s sentiment. She said, “There’s a lot to figure out and I don’t want to wait until the last minute. Like, supplies, who do I talk to about that? If I have tech issues, who do I talk to about that? Orientation was more about selecting health insurance and less about navigating this new workplace. I think a balance would have been better for me.”

In summary

Teacher candidates want to work in schools that recognize and value their knowledge, skills, and experiences. At the same time, they seek workplaces that acknowledge their inexperience related to school culture, norms, and the day-to-day logistics that will help them navigate their new work environments. Apply these tips to your hiring practices to show teacher candidates that your district is that workplace.

1 Stronge, J. H., & Tucker, P. D. (2000). Teacher evaluation and student achievement. Washington, DC: National Education Association.

2 Stronge, J. H., & Hindman, J. L. (2003). Hiring the best teachers. Educational Leadership, 60(8), 48-52.

3 Kratz, H. E. (1896). Characteristics of the best teachers as identified by children. Pedagogical Seminary, 3, 318-418.

4 Stronge, J. H. (2002). Qualities of effective teachers. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Talk Data To Me: The Impact of Substitute Pay on Fill Rate

Substitute teacher shortages have been widely reported in national and local media outlets across the country. The shortages are so severe in some areas that they have forced school closures.  Data from the Frontline Research & Learning Institute has consistently shown pandemic-induced drops in absence fill rates (the percent of teacher absences being filled by substitute teachers) and smaller than usual substitute teacher pools.

School districts have turned to creative methods to remedy the issue, like recruiting non-instructional school staff and recent high school graduates to substitute teach. Others have turned to more traditional methods to recruit more workers, such as increasing perks and pay. Unfortunately, not all school districts are financially capable of increasing substitute teacher pay. In that case, what can they do?

What impacts absence fill rates?

Frontline Education consistently produces data-driven insights regarding teacher absences, highlighted in national reports and previous Talk Data to Me blogs. We typically cite three absence-related key performance indicators (KPI’s) associated with increasing Absence Fill Rates.

Key Definitions

Lead Time – The amount of time between when a teacher absence is entered into the Absence Management system and when the absence is scheduled to occur.

Employee to Substitute Ratio – The ratio of employees in a district that would require a substitute teacher to the amount of available substitute teachers in the district.

Working Substitute Percentage – The percentage of the available substitute teacher pool that has filled at least one absence in a set amount of time.

So, what does the data tell us? What effect do these KPIs have on absence fill rate? How do differences in substitute teacher pay impact those effects? The answers may surprise you.

State-level analysis

We combined state level substitute teacher average pay data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics with teacher absence data from the Frontline Research & Learning Institute. Since the pandemic greatly impacted absence trends, we chose pre-pandemic absence data (9/1/2019 – 3/1/2020) for this analysis.  The results for the three absence KPIs are unsurprising, as they are intuitive and echo previous Frontline findings:

  • Lead Time – A 24-hour increase in average lead time is associated with a 0.7%-point increase in fill rate. That means the more time that substitutes have to view and accept an absence, the more likely that absence is to be accepted and filled.
  • Employee-to-Sub Ratio – A 1-point decrease in employee-to-sub ratio is associated with a 6.6%-point increase in fill rate. That means the larger the available substitute pool is relative to the number of employees, the more likely it is that a substitute will fill an absence.
  • Working Sub % – A 1% change in working sub percentage is associated with a 38.5%-point increase in fill rate. So, if a larger proportion of available substitutes regularly accepted job openings, fill rates would rise.

Taking state-level differences in lead time, working substitute percentage, and employee-to-substitute ratio into account, an increase in substitute teacher pay equivalent to $1 per hour is associated with a decrease in fill rate of 0.76%. Yes, you read that correctly. States with higher substitute teacher pay tend to have lower absence fill rates. The chart below plots state average hourly substitute teacher wages against fill rate and the negative relationship is clear.

Understanding why this is the case is beyond the scope of this article. Perhaps there are reasons related to regional economic health, labor markets, and competing employment opportunities. But what does seem clear is that state-level data (as opposed to data for individual districts) does not show that higher substitute pay correlates to higher fill rates.

We certainly are not advocating for decreasing substitute teacher pay in hopes of increasing fill rate, nor are we advocating against raising pay for substitutes. We acknowledge that not every district has the flexibility to increase pay and must seek alternative plans for increasing absence fill rates. This analysis suggests there may be more effective ways to get subs to work in your district, which is positive news for districts who don’t have the flexibility in their budget to increase pay.

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So, what can you do?

This analysis is clear: the metric with the greatest impact on fill rate is the working substitute percentage metric. In practical terms, increasing your working substitute percentage requires increasing the engagement of your substitute teacher pool and encouraging a larger number of substitutes to actively work to fill absences.

How can you help substitutes stay engaged?

We surveyed 2,400 active substitutes to find out what outcomes are most important to them when searching for and managing substitute jobs. Of the outcomes we asked them about, here are the most important:

  1. View instructions for a scheduled job. Substitutes are more likely to accept a job if they have access to written instructions from the teacher available to them.
  2. Cancel a job they have accepted. The ability to cancel a job they have already accepted is important to substitutes.
  3. Stay informed with messages and alerts from districts. Substitutes report wanting to be kept in the loop about what’s going on in your district.

To help substitutes stay engaged with your district, support them in achieving all of the outcomes listed below in your absence management product. For example, remember to attach instructions to every substitute job, update your settings to allow substitutes to cancel a job they’ve accepted, and keep substitutes in the loop by posting messages about happenings in your district that could impact them. For more information on how to help substitutes achieve outcomes that are important to them, please check out https://absence-help.frontlineeducation.com/ or contact our Absence Management support team.

For more concrete steps to increase substitute engagement, check out this previous Talk Data to Me blog.