Strategic Plan Guidance
STAFFING AND
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
A strong body of research shows that the quality of instruction has the largest impact of any school feature on student outcomes. The same holds true for summer programs. A successful summer program requires a thoughtful approach to recruiting, hiring, and training all staff. Professional development is the link to ensuring that program goals and plans translate into positive experiences for students and staff and ultimately benefit students.
Key Findings from RAND
Student math and reading outcomes were correlated with instructor content knowledge and grade-level experience.
Students benefit the most from experienced and well-prepared instructors.
Hire Experienced Staff
Best Practice: Document underlying assumptions about the program to determine how many staff you’ll need in each position.
Planning Tips
Ideally your program will over-enroll students to reach capacity, accounting for no-shows and attrition. Staffing should be based on actual program capacity.
Based on your priority student population, project student needs for aides and support staff.
Design classroom ratios that allocate one staff person for every 9 to 18 students as possible.
Best Practice: Develop a staff recruitment, hiring, and selection process, and assign responsibilities for key tasks.
Planning Tips
Establish selection process, including application requirements, interview questions, and review rubric. Based on your program’s goals and values, what will make a great teacher, enrichment instructor, and campus leader?
Get strategic about recruitment: Are there staff from previous years who are encouraged to return? What personalized outreach can you use to recruit?
Consider asking teachers directly what appeals to them as you develop compensation and retention strategies. Things like flexible or part-time schedules, stipends, and extra growth or leadership opportunities should be under consideration.
VIDEOS
In the following video clips, presented on February 9, 2023, ADSY PEP Summer LEAs share various strategies to reduce no-shows and motivate/encourage teachers
Prepare Staff for the Program
Best Practice: Offer a series of tailored professional development and training opportunities to staff before the program begins.
Planning Tips
Provide all staff delivering or assisting with academic and enrichment instruction with opportunities to practice delivering lessons and activities prior to the beginning of the program.
Include joint PD on program climate and culture for all staff.
If using external enrichment providers, provide training on the program's classroom management and instructional strategies to achieve cohesion and quality.
Include a focus on teacher care during PD. This may include: team-building and restorative activities; offering self-paced options; and engaging teacher input on program design.
EXAMPLES
ROMA ISD 2024 ADSY PEP SUMMER EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK
Roma ISD ADSY Employee Handbook Final.docx.pdf
