president’s message Walk the Talk By Bill Sutter, SFO 2022 Board of Directors
John Hutchison, CPA, SFO Vice President
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Ed Chabal, SFO Immediate Past President
David J. Lewis Executive Director David Ginsberg Director through 2022 Ryan Stechschulte Director through 2022 Wanda Erb, SFO Director through 2023
Aubrey Kirkpatrick Director through 2023
Mike Barragan Director through 2024
Lynn Knight, CSRM Director through 2024
n the education system, we all know the value of a workforce that resembles the students we educate. In the Boulder Valley School District, this concept is part of our stra- tegic plan, with goals and metrics to support the hiring of teachers and leaders of color. With teacher and administrator turnover rates below 9%, our HR team must be delib- erate with hiring to ensure the candidates we bring into the system are likely to be success- ful and meet our district’s hiring goals. Our community is committed to addressing issues of equity and disproportionality through our dedication to building our capacity for culturally responsive principles and best prac- tices. Taking action to back up the commit- ment is essential to ensure outcomes match expectations. The Boulder Valley School District is com- mitted to hiring diverse candidates who bring unique perspectives, backgrounds, and skillsets to strengthen our mission of delivering high- quality education to all students. The chal- lenge of biases to hiring a diverse workforce, implicit bias, and the closely related affinity bias, is well established in research. The biases exist despite our conscious mind believing this behavior is contrary to our value system. To elevate the importance of hiring a diverse workforce and reduce or remove those biases, our district hosted a virtual Teacher of Color Hiring Event on Saturday, February 12. The event was open to all candidates currently licensed or pending licensure for the August 2022 school year. We advertised this fair for eight weeks, plac- ing advertisements in newspapers throughout the Colorado front range, on school and pub- lic transportation buses, in numerous maga- zines, and on radio stations. With the help of 45 school and central office administrators, we interviewed 120 candidates. Of the 120, 50 received a second interview. These 50 can- didates could be offered tentative employment offers for the 2022–2023 school year.
asbointl.org
This hiring event was the first of its kind in Colorado. In the days and weeks since, lead- ers of other district leaders have contacted us about organizing a similar event in their dis- trict. It was phenomenally successful, and the idea is catching on.
Hiring a diverse workforce is only the first step in the process of effective, strategic hir- ing. Retaining those employees for the long term is critical to reducing turnover costs and removing barriers to their success in the school system.
I met with our Parents of Color Council to solicit budget feedback relative to the district’s strategic plan. The group was supportive of the hiring event for teachers of color and thought the strategic plan was on track with efforts to create a safe, healthy, and inclu- sive environment. However, they believe it is imperative to put in place extra support to ensure teachers of color who are hired receive the necessary resources to be successful and remain with the district.
Every district should provide professional development for new and veteran employees. In addition to professional development, affin- ity spaces and mentors of color may support employee retention.
Successful human resource management means going beyond the necessary mechan- ics of labor laws, contract negotiations, and documenting inappropriate behavior. Taking bold steps to meet your district’s goals around hiring and retaining teachers and leaders of color will create a necessary and long-overdue sense of urgency that will ultimately benefit all students.
Bill Sutter
Chief Financial Officer Boulder Valley School District
SCHOOL BUSINESS AFFAIRS | APRIL 2022 5
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