“Teamwork Makes the Dream Work”
By Shawn Brown
Putting together an Educational Dream Team is critical to successfully implementing and achieving a school’s vision. This team includes everyone who works for the school and volunteers. Everyone hired must believe in the school’s vision and mission. The care that goes into hiring and creating an Educational Dream Team will drive the school’s vitality. An Educational Dream Team consists of individuals who are high-performing professionals.
Qualities of High-Performing Professionals
- Disciplined
- Self-confident
- Self-motivated
- Problem-solver
- Organized
- Team player
- Strong desire to succeed
- Positive attitude
- Growth mindset
- Excellent attendance and punctuality
- Courageous
- Innovative
- Reflect on their practice
- Optimistic
When hiring, administrators and district officials must seek high-performing professionals. The interviewing process should include strategies that help the interviewer determine the qualifications and desired characteristics of the interviewees—keeping in mind that the interview is both subjective and objective. Subjectively, there are minimum requirements to be considered for the position. Objectively, potential candidates for a position should possess the desired qualities that will create chemistry among the staff members and add value to the school culture.
Retaining Good Employees
Hiring good employees is one thing; retaining them is another. Retaining your Dream Team is key to building long-term success. There are key practices that can be implemented at the school site to support employee retention.
Tips for Retaining Good/Great Employees
- Creating and preserving an enthusiastic school culture
- Respect
- Supportive and collaborative environment
- Leadership opportunities
- Mentoring Program
- Clean work environment
- Up-to-date educational technology
- Access to necessary supplies
- Appreciation/Gratitude/Celebration
- Rapport
- Autonomy
- Transparency
- Shared decision making
- Trust
In Conclusion:
Teachers and staff are a school’s most precious resource. Investing in education’s greatest resource can make the difference between creating ordinary or great schools, simply getting by, or maximizing student learning. So the hiring process must be intentional to hire strong candidates who will become valuable members of the Dream Team.
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team” Phil Jackson