There are many reasons why differentiated staffing impacts and/or improves the goals of the campus. The obvious answer would be that each individual brings new perspectives, experiences and skills to the classroom. Given the multi-lingual nature of many schools, the presence of bilingual staff may improve student outcomes. Furthermore, a diverse staff creates a positive and dynamic environment that models valuing diversity. Students who may be language learners may feel more comfortable and are more likely to approach a teacher for help and support and may feel more motivated to succeed. In almost every profession that strongly impacts society; the concept of a “generalist” is considered archaic. Frederick Hess (2009) describes in his article “The Human Capital Challenge: Toward a 21st Century Teaching Profession,” “Even in the most innovative and dynamic charter schools, teaching bundles together the roles of content deliverer, curriculum designer, diagnostician, disciplinarian, discussion leader, empathizer, clerk, secretary, and attendant - and asks teachers to fulfill these roles for a variety of students in a variety of content areas.” (p. 13) Because of this, teachers are worked harder than is needed and less time is devoted to honing their actual teaching skills. A system of differentiated staffing will ensure that each teacher can specialize in one aspect of a child’s education and together with their colleagues make sure that each area of holistic learning is provided for so that all students achieve mastery levels in their educational experience.
Orangefield ISD is a rural, small 3A district located about 20 miles from Beaumont, Texas. In Orangefield ISD, a Curriculum Director serves as a curriculum and research specialist. His job is to keep abreast of all research into new methods and content and transfer it to the local campuses. He also meets with Team Leaders to discuss his findings and implications for beginning new programs in their content areas. He trains and provides support to new teachers during their probationary period of teaching. Teachers are given the opportunity to serve as Team Leaders on all campuses. At the elementary level (PK-4), there is one team leader per grade level. At the junior high (5-8) and high school (9-12) level, there is one team leader per subject area. Team Leaders meet with teachers on their team and with campus and district administrators. They relay information between the two groups, analyze data related to the students assigned to them and their team members, and schedule events for their team. Classroom teachers comprise most of the faculty. Paraprofessionals support teachers in RtI labs and mainly are assigned to life skills classrooms.
This hierarchy could be modified to even further follow the differentiated staffing model. Team Leaders could take on more of a supervisory role on their campuses and possibly spend a large percentage (75%) of their day in the classroom teaching and the other time (25%) in leadership roles and helping mentor probationary teachers in their field of experience. Paraprofessionals could serve as support persons in all areas and provide teachers with more time to hone their skills rather than monitoring recess time and copying worksheets.
An area of concern in Orangefield ISD is the lack of a culturally diverse staff. The student population of this district is growing and changing and the staff should reflect those changes. Currently, OISD employs 0 African American teachers, 1 Hispanic teacher, 118.1 White teachers, 0 Native American teachers and 0 Asian/Pacific Island teachers. The student population is made up of 14 African American students, 125 Hispanic students, 1,573 White students, 15 Native American students, and 27 Asian/Pacific Island students. As stated above, diversity and the presence of bilingual staff should improve student outcomes, especially with the students who are language learners. This also will support the district goal that states, "Orangefield ISD will implement strategies to promote positive climate and a nurturing culture for all members of the learning community."
Making these changes to the current staffing patterns would increase the budget for staff salaries. Removing the Team Leaders from the classroom for a portion of the day would involve hiring someone to teach the students for the 25% of time that team leaders are out of the classroom. Also, this would involve hiring more paraprofessionals, which would increase the budget. Student achievement should increase based on the increased amount of time teachers would have to actually teach their subject area and research innovative ways to deliver content. Implementing a differentiated staffing program at OISD could be a positive change agent in the district with the positive aspects outweighing the negative concerns.
Orangefield ISD is a rural, small 3A district located about 20 miles from Beaumont, Texas. In Orangefield ISD, a Curriculum Director serves as a curriculum and research specialist. His job is to keep abreast of all research into new methods and content and transfer it to the local campuses. He also meets with Team Leaders to discuss his findings and implications for beginning new programs in their content areas. He trains and provides support to new teachers during their probationary period of teaching. Teachers are given the opportunity to serve as Team Leaders on all campuses. At the elementary level (PK-4), there is one team leader per grade level. At the junior high (5-8) and high school (9-12) level, there is one team leader per subject area. Team Leaders meet with teachers on their team and with campus and district administrators. They relay information between the two groups, analyze data related to the students assigned to them and their team members, and schedule events for their team. Classroom teachers comprise most of the faculty. Paraprofessionals support teachers in RtI labs and mainly are assigned to life skills classrooms.
This hierarchy could be modified to even further follow the differentiated staffing model. Team Leaders could take on more of a supervisory role on their campuses and possibly spend a large percentage (75%) of their day in the classroom teaching and the other time (25%) in leadership roles and helping mentor probationary teachers in their field of experience. Paraprofessionals could serve as support persons in all areas and provide teachers with more time to hone their skills rather than monitoring recess time and copying worksheets.
An area of concern in Orangefield ISD is the lack of a culturally diverse staff. The student population of this district is growing and changing and the staff should reflect those changes. Currently, OISD employs 0 African American teachers, 1 Hispanic teacher, 118.1 White teachers, 0 Native American teachers and 0 Asian/Pacific Island teachers. The student population is made up of 14 African American students, 125 Hispanic students, 1,573 White students, 15 Native American students, and 27 Asian/Pacific Island students. As stated above, diversity and the presence of bilingual staff should improve student outcomes, especially with the students who are language learners. This also will support the district goal that states, "Orangefield ISD will implement strategies to promote positive climate and a nurturing culture for all members of the learning community."
Making these changes to the current staffing patterns would increase the budget for staff salaries. Removing the Team Leaders from the classroom for a portion of the day would involve hiring someone to teach the students for the 25% of time that team leaders are out of the classroom. Also, this would involve hiring more paraprofessionals, which would increase the budget. Student achievement should increase based on the increased amount of time teachers would have to actually teach their subject area and research innovative ways to deliver content. Implementing a differentiated staffing program at OISD could be a positive change agent in the district with the positive aspects outweighing the negative concerns.
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