An Evaluation of a Strategic Staffing Initiative in a Large Urban School District

Authors

  • Claudia Flowers UNC Charlotte

Keywords:

strategic staffing, effective school movement, turnaround schools

Abstract

As educational leaders focus on strategies for improving student learning, new initiatives are being implemented that reorganize the structure of schools. This study evaluated a school district-wide Strategic Staffing Initiative (SSI) that paid school personnel to transfer to low-performing schools. Three different stakeholder groups, including principals who transferred to low-performing schools (N = 9), staff who received bonuses for working in the low-performing schools (N = 32), and other staff members in the school who did not receive additional pay (N = 91) responded to a survey about the effectiveness of the SSI. The findings suggest that the SSI had inconsistent outcomes. SSI had a positive impact on student achievement and increased the number of effective teachers in the schools, but principals reported that more high quality staff was needed to make a long-term impact on student achievement. Implications and reform policies for educational leaders are discussed.

Author Biography

Claudia Flowers, UNC Charlotte

Dr. Claudia Flowers is a professor of research, statistics, and measurement at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the Department of Educational Leadership.

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Published

2017-12-22

Issue

Section

Research Articles