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Describe Your Capstone Challenge and How You Identified It

As an educator, I know the importance of what we do everyday in the classroom for students and families. However, the perception of educators both locally and nationally is overwhelmingly negative. With a lack of support and an increase in obligations added to teachers’ plates, many quality teachers are leaving the profession. I have heard several former teachers who after leaving education and finding a new job report that they have less stress, more money, and better mental health. At a Billings Education Association meeting the question was posed: How do we retain quality educators? There was no clear answer. I identified this project because we need an answer to this very question. 

Describe Your Diverse Stakeholders and How You Chose Them

The stakeholders I selected include colleagues, association members, and community members. I chose these stakeholders because they represent a diverse population. 

Why is it Important for These Diverse Stakeholders That the Capstone Challenge Be Addressed?

It is important for educators, the Billings Education Association, and community members to be involved because in order to solve a problem that affects everyone, everyone’s voices need to be heard. 

Ways the Capstone Challenge Promotes or Supports the Foundational Competencies

Addressing the need for retaining quality educators supports the foundational competencies of Diversity, Equality, and Cultural Competence: Explore and Challenge Inequity because to answer this question I must speak to a diverse audience and advocate for a diverse group of educators to ensure that we are creating a vision that supports everyone. 

Intention of the Capstone Challenge

It is my intention to create a dialogue that will enhance the existing values of our association. The Billings Education Association values educators and wants to retain them, however, there are many factors that impact teacher retention both in and out of the association’s control. Education impacts everyone in our community, so the dialogue is an important strategy in finding the answer to the question of how to retain quality teachers. 

Strategies for a Viable Solution for the Capstone Challenge

Education impacts everyone in our community, so the dialogue is an important strategy in finding the answer to the question of how to retain quality teachers. 

Relevant Overarching Competencies

The two relevant overarching competencies that I have chosen to focus on are Communication and Interpersonal Effectiveness. Communication is relevant to my project because I must be able to effectively communicate the purpose of this project as well as questions that will help open the dialogue. I must also be able to listen and analyze the responses so that I am able to accurately report the needs of educators to the association. Interpersonal Effectiveness is relevant to my project because I need to have trusting relationships with colleagues to get to the heart of what is needed to retain quality teachers in our district.

Relevant Leadership Pathway Competency

The relevant leadership pathway that I have chosen to focus on is Association Leadership, specifically focusing on the competency of Organizational Effectiveness: Leading with Vision. I am aware that to actually solve this problem, we must have a vision that aligns with the needs of the diverse membership of our association. The answers to the question of how to retain teachers may be dependent on things outside my control, such as funding, but the ability to initiate conversations to what teachers need to do their jobs well and have the desire to stay in education is within my control.

Collaboration and Recruitment

I am working closely with members of the Billings Education Association, specifically reaching out to educators in varying grade levels and schools. I am also working with our Billings Education Association president.

Resources and How to Obtain Them

One resource that I need for this project is access to a variety of educators. I will work closely with the BEA board and membership to obtain this resource. I want to be mindful of how I conduct interviews with educators so that I am not infringing on either their professional or personal time. I created a Google Form so that educators are able to answer questions at their leisure. I also made myself available to interview teachers in person, by phone, or by email. I will also need time to consolidate the interviews and analyze the information before passing the results on to the association.