At the University of Virginia鈥檚 Partnership for Leaders in Education (UVA-PLE) Program, where I was the chief support officer, talent management was one of four core levers to create district conditions for schools to significantly improve. Our approach, which the . identified as having significant evidence of impact on school performance, suggests that our focus on increasing the number of highly effective teachers in schools was critical.

As districts prepare for 2023-24 staffing, here are five strategies that should be explored as a part of reimagining human resources practices and approaches to improving student outcomes 鈥� especially for underserved children.

Implement a strategic staffing approach like Opportunity Culture. , developed by the nonprofit , was launched in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in 2012 as part of the district鈥檚 turnaround initiative, . This approach includes several innovative models, such as multi-classroom leaders, in which teachers who have had success with improving student performance lead a small team of educators for substantially higher pay. The leader teaches students for a portion of each day; guides lesson planning, data analysis, instructional changes and small-group tutoring assignments; coaches and works directly with team members in the classroom; and models great teaching. Among the :

• Graduation rate increased from 54% to 86%, reducing the gap between the 10 L.I.F.T. schools and the district overall from 20 percentage points to less than 5.

• in L.I.F.T. schools were met or exceeded 80% of the time, a rate equal to the district’s average and higher than the state’s.

• 94% teacher retention. After Opportunity Culture was implemented, the number of teacher vacancies dropped from at the start of the school year to five.

Leverage a housing concierge concept. At UVA, our program was anchored by a partnership between the Curry School of Education and the Darden Business School. We encouraged districts to consider adopting a concierge approach, as the business sector does, to smooth the way for new staff trying to settle into a new district or city 鈥� by helping to arrange housing, register for utilities and cable, and identify options for day care and banking.

Develop lead teachers. When I was chief innovation officer for Cincinnati Public Schools, it earned the distinction as the state’s top-performing urban district, with a “B” report card rating, in part because of its career ladder for educators. The model provides stipends to teachers who go through a credentialing process, which involves earning excellent evaluations and undergoing advanced training. Underperforming schools can select these highly trained educators to work in classrooms and be teacher leaders in their building.

Provide recruitment and retention stipends. As chief turnaround officer (deputy superintendent) for the Georgia State Board of Education, I partnered with the state鈥檚 General Assembly to create a pilot program that would give chronically underperforming schools $5,000 per teacher from the state to recruit and retain highly effective educators. Teachers would receive ongoing training to benefit both their students and the school overall. Each school could receive funds for up to five teachers. To ensure some skin in the game, the legislation required each district to contribute $2,500 per teacher, meaning participating educators could receive an extra $7,500 per year. A slightly amended approach was signed into law.

Recruit talent early, as major college athletic programs do. Major college football and basketball programs identify potential student-athletes as early as possible 鈥� sometimes even in elementary school 鈥� and do recruitment and outreach until these kids accept a scholarship. Using that model, districts can use in-classroom training, student teaching and other opportunities to build early relationships with college students. This could connect to a district鈥檚 that guides graduating seniors into the teaching field in hopes they will come back to teach in a local school.

These strategies alone will not provide marginalized students with the conditions and support they need. And, of course, no two districts or communities are exactly alike. But as leaders determine their own talent strategies, reimagining talent practices should be an important part of any broad transformation effort.

A new study by the ACLU of Ohio recommended that the Cincinnati Public Schools system address what they found as inequity and 鈥渆xclusionary discipline disparities,鈥� in part by breaking ties with the city鈥檚 police department.

The ACLU and its Campaign for Smart Justice partnered with the Young Activists Coalition to research disciplinary practices at the school from 2021 to 2022, and said the research showed 鈥渞acially disparate discipline鈥� in the schools, 鈥減erpetuating harm and reinforcing the school-to-prison pipeline.鈥�

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter

The research was done through polling of 400 parents and more than 100 recent graduates, a majority of whom (53% of parents and 65% of recent grads) said they did not support the current contract between the school and the Cincinnati Police Department, according to the study.

The study found that Black students were 21 times more likely to be put in 鈥渁lternative placement鈥� centers at CPS, and 10.5 times more likely to be put in an 鈥渁lternative learning center,鈥� away from their peers.

鈥淭he contract between the police and the district grants CPD unilateral power over school policing, while CPS remains in the dark,鈥� the ACLU and YAC concluded.

Parents and grads said they would like to see modifications to the police contract 鈥渢o reform the use of force guidelines, training and accountability,鈥� according to the ACLU/YAC findings.

鈥淩emoving children from the learning environment is yet another way that Black, Brown and disabled children are funneled into negative interactions with law enforcement at a young age, far too often resulting in arrest and the irreparable consequences of getting caught up in the mass incarceration system,鈥� said Elena Thompson, an ACLU Ohio legal fellow, in announcing the study.

Bella Gordo, president of the YAC, said the group has 鈥渃ontinually鈥� made the district aware of racial disparities it has found within the schools through 鈥渄irect appeals, protests and many other methods.鈥�

鈥淲e will not rest until the district fully commits to anti-racism through the replacement of exclusionary discipline with restorative practices and the ending of the relationship between the Cincinnati Police Department and the Cincinnati Public Schools,鈥� Gordo said in a statement.

Other recommendations made included investment in mental health services within the schools, including an increased amount of counselors and social workers within the district.

Cincinnati Public Schools said it is 鈥渁ware of existing disparities, both nationally and locally, in the way students of color are disciplined.鈥�

Superintendent Iranetta Wright said she plans to focus on student discipline as one of the assessments she鈥檒l make in her first 100 days.

鈥淲e need to place a stronger emphasis on implementing and monitoring our restorative justice program at every school, build more social emotional learning lessons into the curriculum, better leverage our mental health professionals and social workers at every school, and participate in joint training with SROs to ensure they better understand their roles in our schools,鈥� Wright said in a statement to the OCJ.

But placing the blame on school resource officers as a root cause of the 鈥渟chool-to-prison pipeline鈥� fails to address 鈥渢he multiple needs and challenges that occur outside of school,鈥� the district argued.

SROs are not responsible for things like emergency removals, suspensions and/or expulsions, a statement from the district explained.

CPD did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the OCJ.

Previous research done by the groups to analyze data from 2016 to 2021 showed Black students at the school district were five times more likely to face 鈥渆xclusionary discipline than their white peers.鈥�

That study used public records requests with the police department and the school district to look at policies and data 鈥渞elating to (school resource officers) and student discipline鈥� since 2016, and the memorandum of understanding between the police and the school.

The data showed 63% of CPS made up of Black students, but also made up 93% of out-of-school suspensions and 89% of police referrals.

鈥淭he vast majority of school incidents can and should be handled by teachers or school administrators and should not merit police intervention,鈥� Thompson said.

State Sen. Cecil Thomas, D-Avondale, who worked on the Cincinnati police force for nearly 30 years, agreed that the presence of more mental health counselors should be a goal for the school system, though he disagreed with removing police officers from the schools.

鈥淚 would say let鈥檚 not take officers out of the schools, I would say let鈥檚 look at how we can help the students,鈥� Thomas told the OCJ. 鈥淚t lends an opportunity to schools to look at the training and the overall intent of having the officers in the schools.鈥�

Thomas said he hadn鈥檛 had a chance to take a 鈥渄eep dive鈥� into the data in the report, but he was hopeful that the study could be used as the school board begins to collaborate with a newly-hired superintendent.

鈥淓verything in the report raises red flags, and those red flags need to be given a significant amount of attention,鈥� Thomas said.

Thomas is hoping to garner bipartisan support for a bill he鈥檚 cosponsoring with state Sen. Tina Maharath, D-Canal Winchester, that would raise the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21, but also increase funding for Ohio Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports grants, expanding the program to include all grade-levels. The is conducted through the Ohio Department of Education.

A new law that won鈥檛 help the situation in Cincinnati schools, according to Thomas. Training and other alternative interaction methods for students are much preferred to an increase in the amount of weapons the school contains, he said.

鈥淢y argument has always been instead of arming teachers with guns, arm the schools with more counselors,鈥� Thomas said.

Gov. Mike DeWine committed $100 million in the to 鈥渟chool safety grants,鈥� but it鈥檚 not clear if those grants could be used for counselors or other mental health services.

A new 鈥渟tudent safety advisory council,鈥� empaneled last week by the governor鈥檚 office but first announced in April, will 鈥渄evelop strategies to encourage their peers to actively engage in maintaining a safe school environment and will be advocates for students鈥� overall well-being.鈥� DeWine鈥檚 office stated.

No deadline was given for the release of the strategies.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David DeWitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on and .

Football reminds us of the nature of finite games 鈥� contests where there are fixed rules, a clear endpoint and easily identifiable winners and losers. On the other hand, an infinite game has one goal: to keep playing. Because of that, infinite players focus less on what has happened and more on what is possible. That mindset helps leaders effectively overcome challenges.

An election is a finite game. Democracy is an infinite game. The global pandemic is a finite match. Eliminating institutionalized disparities that are exposed during crises is an infinite one. 

Infinite challenges require as much innovation as they do ongoing attention. They require the ability to look at problems in a different way, to see opportunities to upend systems that never really worked for everybody anyway. Where are the bright spots? How can we highlight lessons learned? At , we leverage power in numbers 鈥� using data that reveals how students are succeeding and how systems are supporting or impeding that success, like the amount of funding per student in a school district. Such information illuminates the nation鈥檚 most pressing challenges, lays the foundation for tough conversations and brings communities to the table to act together. Community leaders accomplish more when they use data to guide small tests of change, innovate and then scale what works across systems 鈥� like housing, health, and education 鈥� that impact opportunity for young people.

Here are three things that I believe communities can do to put people of color and children living in poverty on a better path:

1. Use shared measurement systems at the community level to hold each other accountable for results. Leaders need more than a broad, common agenda; they need agreement on ways success will be measured. For example, in Norwalk, Connecticut, the community committed to making sure every child entered kindergarten ready to learn. , part of the , engaged 23 community partners to use the same tool to screen early childhood development to ensure that kids are on track. The shared measurement system and collaborative improvement strategies resulted in an increase in the number of children starting kindergarten ready to learn from 67 percent (2018-19) to 74 percent (2020-21).

2. Invest in data to redefine what鈥檚 possible. Data should be both quantitative and qualitative 鈥� there should be measurable results that also reflect the experiences of the community. It should be disaggregated to help shift practices, resources, policy and power to dig deeper into the roots of inequitable systems and to better understand what the target should be. For example, education shouldn’t ultimately be about credentials or prestige; it should be about creating economic mobility. In central Texas, research used data to understand racial, ethnic and income-based discrepancies in student math achievement. It found that disparities begin in fifth grade, with students of color and those living in poverty taking regular math classes rather than opting into advanced courses. Schools adopted a policy to automatically enroll middle school students in advanced math classes, and the community invested in highly qualified teachers. Central Texas now leads the state with the highest percentage of students completing Algebra 1 by eighth grade, at 40 percent. Among Black and Latino fifth graders with the highest math performance, the difference in Algebra 1 enrollment compared with their white peers has been reduced by 75 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

3. Develop an abundance mindset. More federal funding from the American Rescue Plan, information and technology are available now than ever before. It is time to invest in communities rather than merely deploying stopgap measures that stifle systemic change. For example, the city of Milwaukee recognized the impact of high turnover rates among early childhood professionals on young children and to supplement salaries to reward teacher education and incentivize continuity of care. This investment was made possible by shifting federal American Rescue Plan funds as a generational opportunity. Community leaders need audacious goals that force them to step up, not a scarcity mindset that keeps us from stepping out.

There is no doubt that the country is facing some incredible challenges. But now is not the time to back down or get distracted by political skirmishes that don鈥檛 prepare children for what鈥檚 to come. Those of us working in education and systems transformation need to take the courageous act of renouncing cynicism as the primary vehicle of change. It is time to embrace the nation鈥檚 core values of liberty and justice. As Toni Morrison wrote, 鈥渢he function of freedom is to free someone else.鈥�

Community leaders need to operate with an infinite mindset and examine the larger picture of what is at stake. This means looking toward accountability, possibility and abundance. This is not a Hail Mary pass thrown in desperation; this is a deliberate strategy to lean on what鈥檚 working. If we fumble this moment, we could be setting up for an entire generation of learning loss. But if we succeed, we鈥檒l have a new generation of leaders who take us further than ever before.

Jennifer Blatz is president and CEO of , a nonprofit working to transform failing systems with a collaborative improvement methodology that directs data from small changes to inform adjustments in the community. 

After just eight days in classrooms, 37 positive coronavirus cases in the 16,000-student district outside Indianapolis had triggered hundreds of student quarantines, forcing young people to miss out on classes and extracurriculars.

Superintendent Jeff Butts knew he had to act fast. The district had begun the year mask optional in late July. But in early August, he stumbled on a solution, hidden in plain sight: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had just updated its guidance, exempting students from self-isolation if they and the infected student were properly masked and spaced at least 3 feet apart.

鈥淭hat was my biggest tipping point, quite frankly, when the CDC came out and made that change,鈥� Butts told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淚 realized that if we had all of our children in masks 鈥� I can quarantine fewer children.鈥�

But not everyone got the message. It doesn鈥檛 appear that the guidance trickled down to many other school systems, where , according to a recent survey of 100 districts from the University of Washington鈥檚 Center for Reinventing Public Education. One reason for the disconnect is that CDC made little attempt to billboard the policy shift, which only appears in an on case investigation and tracing updated Aug. 5.

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for 蜜桃影视 Newsletter

鈥淚t鈥檚 buried in some appendix to the close contact definition,鈥� Emily Oster, Brown University economist who has tracked schooling through the pandemic, told 蜜桃影视. Under many school systems鈥� quarantine protocols, spending 15 minutes within a six foot radius of an infected individual 鈥� sitting next to them in class, for example 鈥� can force students to stay home for up to two weeks. The new exemption allows schools to bypass that rule in cases where both individuals mask up.

Across the country, as school leaders struggle with quarantine totals that are stretching into the thousands just weeks after schools opened their doors, the new masking exemption to self-isolation guidelines, could help districts sidestep chaotic reopenings amid divisive politics surrounding the use of masks.

In the past week across the country, New Orleans School District after 299 recorded COVID cases. Mississippi has statewide, an official announced. And a district in Texas . Meanwhile, Texas 鈥� among other states like Florida, Arkansas and Arizona 鈥� maintains a ban on mask mandates, though school systems like those in Dallas and Miami are .

The CDC did not respond to 蜜桃影视鈥檚 request for an explanation of why the update wasn鈥檛 publicized more widely. But Oster, the Brown economist, said it鈥檚 possible that when the CDC updated the definition of close contact for quarantining, 鈥渢hey didn鈥檛 realize how important it would be for school guidance,鈥� and thus didn鈥檛 heavily broadcast the change.

At the very least, it鈥檚 clear the hidden clause gives districts a 鈥渉uge incentive to have everybody mask,鈥� Oster said.

As of Aug. 11, all students and faculty in Wayne Township are now required to wear face coverings. Site leaders have told Butts that the district is already seeing fewer quarantines, though the superintendent said he doesn鈥檛 yet have this week鈥檚 numbers.

Wayne Township is not the only locale to pull the trigger on face coverings in response to skyrocketing COVID absences. Elsewhere in Indiana, Greater Clark County Schools adopted a universal masking rule on Aug. 7 after some 70 COVID cases . In Arkansas, the Marion schools superintendent mourned that the state-level ban on mask mandates had caused a nearly in his district. And in Ohio, in an effort to avoid the fate of mass quarantines, Lakota Local Schools outside Cincinnati announced a , just two days before students returned to classrooms.

鈥淏ecause we want to keep our kids in school all year long, just like we did last year, we made a decision this weekend to move to masks,鈥� Superintendent Matt Miller told 蜜桃影视.

Where school systems have the latitude to set their own face covering rules, 鈥渁ll these school districts are probably going to go to masks because there鈥檚 too much COVID right now,鈥� said Dennis Roche, co-founder of the website Burbio, which has tracked school policy through the pandemic.

While exposure to infected individuals often keeps large numbers of students home from school, very few students in isolation actually turn out to contract the virus themselves, Oster noted. Having a rule that allows healthy students to avoid missing class is crucial, she said.

鈥淭he quarantine itself is tremendously disruptive. And so I think that having an off ramp or a way to make it possible for people not to have to quarantine after an exposure is just huge for generating a functioning school system.鈥�

As Delta variant COVID cases continue to surge, allowing students to come to school without masks and spread the virus is inexcusable, said Dan Domenech, executive director of the School Superintendents Association.

鈥淚f you have to now quarantine a student because they’ve been exposed to somebody because nobody was wearing a mask, that’s a problem,鈥� he told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淔rom a logistical point of view, the easiest thing to do is to say everybody needs to wear a mask.鈥�

Despite the potentially large implications for schools鈥� daily operations, there was 鈥渘ot much emphasis鈥� on the CDC鈥檚 policy change, said Domenech 鈥� meaning many districts may still be struggling to catch up.

From a public health perspective, the move aligns with what Phil Chan, medical director for the Rhode Island Department of Health, says are the best practices to prevent the spread of COVID.

鈥淲here we are with our case transmission rates across the country鈥� I think [masking] makes all the sense in the world,鈥� he told 蜜桃影视. It鈥檚 鈥渢he bare minimum we should be doing at this time.鈥�

Still, in his home state, face covering policies in school are 鈥渁ll over the map,鈥� he said, which he fears could spell unnecessary COVID spread and lost learning.

Last week in Georgia, for example, four school districts 鈥� some of which had mask-optional policies 鈥� due to COVID outbreaks.

As summer ends and students return Wednesday to Lakota Local Schools, that鈥檚 precisely the situation that Superintendent Miller hopes to avoid.

鈥淚 think the social emotional pitfall of masking is bad enough, but I think the social emotional pitfall of being at home and learning again from home is probably worse.鈥�