Kansas Teaching Jobs: Recruitment and Retention Program

KEEB Revisions - Please Read for Important Instructions

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:00:00 +0000

KEEB Employers –

The Kansas Education Employment Board is being revised and enhanced. New employer features include refined searching, emailing references, survey questions, and digital exports of applicants to name a few.

Our launch of the new website is set for March 1, 2011. You are not required to create a new KEEB account. Your information from the current version to the newest version will be transferred with one exception. We are unable to transfer current employer descriptions. Please login to your KEEB account between now and Monday, February 28^th, 2011 to copy, paste and save your employer descriptions.

Our other ask of you is to also have all job postings between now and then end by Monday, February 28^th, 2011 or before as job postings are non-transferrable as well. You will need to export all applicants for active postings prior to March 1, 2011. You can post positions to the new website on Tuesday, March 1, 2011 or anytime thereafter by visiting the same URL (http://www.kansasteachingjobs.com).

KEEB staff can be reached via email at support@kansasteachingjobs.com or by phone at 620-724-6281 or 913-638-0151. We are also creating training series material that will also be available on March 1, 2011. Much of KEEB will remain the same in overall design, but with improved ease of use. We appreciate your patience as we strive to implement features that will ease use of KEEB by both applicants and employers.

Podcasts

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:50:00 +0000

If your school district, cooperative, inter-local, etc., has a recruitment podcast, KEEB would like to add it to your employer profile. Recruitment podcasts are another tool to aid in digital recruitment of education professionals. As written by Krishna De in her Human Resource News Blog, "developing a podcast to support you in your recruitment strategy not only brings life to the roles you are recruiting for in a meaningful way, it's also inexpensive which is an important consideration in these challenging economic times." If you are interested in creating a recruitment podcast, please contact KEEB staff by emailing support@kansasteachingjobs.com or via phone at 620-724-6281 or 913-638-0151.

Job Status

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:17:00 +0000

To update the status of job postings, please utilize the following instructions:

1) Upon logging in to your account, you will see six blue boxes or tabs at the top of the screen.

2) Scroll down to the posting you wish to modify.

3) Scroll to the right to the Job Status box.

4) Select the status of your position. The options are:

a. Expired (the posting of the position has expired, meaning the date selected for applications to be accepted has passed).

b. Filled with KEEB (the position has been filled with an applicant from the KEEB site)

c. Filled (the position has been filled)

d. Open (the position remains open and applications are being accepted)

e. Pending (the position has been filled pending applicant acceptance and/or board approval)

5) Click OK in the pop up screen to confirm modification of the job status selection.

Please be sure to modify your positions accordingly, particularly if positions have been filled and you no longer wish to receive applications. The start date of the application cannot be modified, but the date of expiration can be changed. Positions that remain as EXPIRED will not appear as active in searches by potential applicants.

Please contact KEEB staff with questions concerning job status selections by emailing support@kansasteachingjobs.com or via phone at 620-724-6281 or 913-638-0151.

Status Selections

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Mon, 17 May 2010 19:02:00 +0000

Employers please make sure to change the status of your positions accordingly. If you wish to change the date that a position expires please follow the steps below or contact KEEB at julie.wilson@greenbush.org or 913-638-0151 and we will gladly walk you through the steps or complete the change for you.

a) Upon logging in, scroll to the desired posting

b) Click on the Pencil and Paper icon to the left of the posting

c) Scroll down to the expiration date of posting (the top of the page will read Update Job Position – Step One

d) Change date to desired expiration

e) Scroll to the bottom of the screen

f) Click Save and Continue to Step Two

g) Scroll to bottom of the screen (the top of the page will read Update Job Position (Contact Information - Step Three)

h) Click Save and Continue

i) Scroll to bottom of screen (the top of the page will read Confirm Job Position Information

j) Click Complete and Post Updates

KEEB at Work

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 19:13:00 +0000

March through June are the busiest months for KEEB. A week in statistics (April 18-24) provides a glimpse of KEEB at work in recruiting teachers in Kansas.

41,386 Visits to KEEB

162,332 Views of the KEEB Home Page

44,897 KEEB Job Posting Searches

9,349 First Time Visitors to KEEB

32,037 Returning Visitors to KEEB

Please contact us with questions, comments, or concerns. Please email support@kansasteachingjobs.com with input and feedback.

Spring Cleaning

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:54:00 +0000

In lieu of recent weather, spring cannot get here fast enough. With spring, also comes the busiest time for recruitment of teachers. Please take a moment now to review your KEEB account. Verify that your employer information is up to date and that links to your website are working. Also remove or add contacts that have access to your account. Be sure to update email addresses, phone numbers and titles. Lastly, update your job list by selecting the applicable code for the status of the position. We look forward to a new year of recruitment. Please contact KEEB at 620-724-6281 or julie.wilson@greenbush.org with any questions or concerns.

KU Career Fair - Related Article in Teacher Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:30:00 +0000

Fall education career fairs were held across the state over the past two weeks, including an event at the University of Kansas. Below is a link to an AP article written about the event and featured in Teacher Magazine. Augusta's own John Black, Deputy Superintendent, is directly quoted in the article.

http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2009/11/13/teacherglut_ap.html?r=483703932

1st Year Teachers

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:32:00 +0000

As the end of the first quarter approaches, give some thought to your first year teachers as they are nearing the disillusionment phase according to Moir, 1990. Dilemmas faced during the disillusionment phase include questioning commitment, being overwhelmed by back to school night, parent conferences, and initial evaluation as well as major distress over classroom management. Continue to offer support and encouragement over the coming weeks to your first year teachers during this critical time of development.

Volunteers

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:59:00 +0000

Early career educators are needed to participate in our KEEP focus groups. Those interested in participating should contact KEEP at 620-724-6281 or via email julie.wilson@greenbush.org.

Early Career Teacher Support Portal

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:57:00 +0000

KEEP

Kansas Early Career Teacher Support Portal

http://www.kansasteacherretention.com

We know that turnover + early attrition=a teacher shortage. The goal of KEEP is to increase the retention of early career teachers by providing support, resources, and online training to teachers. The KEEP Educator Learning Portal is a work in progress and will continue to be as content, courses, podcasts and checklists are uploaded and updated. The KEEP portal is hosted by Moodle and requires a username and password. When creating a new account, an email with registration instructions will be sent to the email address provided.

Recruitment Updates and Reminders

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:50:00 +0000

KEEB will soon be undergoing minor changes to incorporate new and improved search methods. In the future applicants will be searchable by region and endorsement. New codes for job status updates will also be included. KEEB reminds account holders to update job status as positions are filled.

The Fall Statewide Virtual Recruitment Fair will be Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. To learn more about participating in a Kansas virtual career event visit the training page at www.kansasteachingjobs.com/page_add.cfm?PID=17. To register email support@kansasteachingjobs.com or call 620-724-6281 and request registration information.

Update on Current Openings

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:28:00 +0000

The recruitment season is beginning to become busy as schools are advertising more positions online. KEEB is currently seeing an increase in online job postings as the end of the school year nears. So far, special education openings are the highest in Kansas with 117 current openings followed closely by elementary positions at 101. The table below identifies the number of openings across the state currently advertised on KEEB.

In addition to tracking openings by content area or position, we also frequently examine where the openings are occurring. Currently, the south central region of the state has the most openings at 176 followed by the northeast at 141 openings. The chart below identifies the number of openings in each region in the state.

Update on KEEB Statistics for Year-to-Date

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:02:00 +0000

It is the time of the year that we at KEEB begin reflecting on the growth in KEEB and look to the future needs of the program for the next school year. In doing this review, we have compiled a number of key data that may be of interest to school and state personnel. Below is a slideshow detailing the years growth in visitors, applications, and jobs posted. Feel free to view the slideshow and contact us with any questions or suggestions you may have for improvement of KEEB.

Kansas Teaching Jobs 2009

View more presentations from blatchway. (tags: kansas teaching)

Upcoming KEEB Training Events

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:47:00 +0000

Two training events on new KEEB features and a review of last year's updated features will be offered at the following locations and times. The training is coordinated by the Kansas Education Employment Board's lead programmer and offers a great opportunity to refresh yourself on KEEB features before the recruiting season hits. The training sessions will also include assistance with your employer profile and job advertisements to improve your overall recruiting effort.

January 29th @ Greenbush, Southeast Kansas Education Service Center, Girard, KS, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
February 13th @ Greenbush, Forbes Field Office, Topeka, KS, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

For more information email matt.blatchley@greenbush.org.

February Virtual Career Fair Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:47:00 +0000

The Kansas Recruitment and Retention Program will be hosting another virtual career fair February 26th from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. in Second Life. The event is free for public schools and potential candidates for teaching and administrative positions. To register to participate email support@kansasteachingjobs.com or visit the Kansas Education Employment Board.

New Interview Scheduler Feature on KEEB

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:55:00 +0000

The Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB) is excited to announce a new feature coming to employers using KEEB to recruit educators. You will now be able to utilize an interview scheduler within KEEB to schedule interviews as you view applicant resumes. While searching applicant resumes you can request either a (1) in person interview or (2) phone interview. Below is an example of how you can schedule an in person interview.

The applicant then receives a notification via email and within their KEEB account that you have requested an interview and applicants can either accept, deny or reschedule. Once applicants have viewed and responded to the interview request, the employer's interview schedule will be updated. As an employer, you can view your current scheduled interviews and any interview requests by clicking on "Interview Schedules" on the main Employer Account page. If you make any changes to an interview's time or location KEEB automatically sends an email notifying the applicant of the change to seamlessly allow you to manage your interview schedule.

The interview scheduler will be available to all employers using KEEB later this fall.

Resource to Help Teachers Develop Relationships with Parents

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:33:00 +0000

As the first quarter of the 2008-2009 school year nears its end, early career teachers may be encountering their first communication regarding report cards with parents. This is a great time for district and building administrators to provide resources and support related to parent communication. The Kansas Parent Information Resource Center (KPIRC) is one such resource that can be valuable to all teachers in Kansas. KPIRC is supported by federal funding under the No Child Left Behind Act and works closely with KSDE. There are a number of resources on the KPIRC website related to:

developing successful partnerships with parents
information for first year educators
informing parents on NCLB requirements
informing parents on state assessments and grade level expectations
special education rights and services
information on early childhood services
information for how parents can support academic learning at home

The New Teacher Welcome Packet offers a number of tips related to developing and fostering parent communication throughout the school year. Particular for this time of the year, it offers a number of great suggestions for conducting successful parent/teacher conferences. You can download the packet at http://www.kpirc.org/Downloads/NewTeacherWelcome.pdf.

2nd Annual Virtual Career Fair for Educators

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:43:00 +0000

On November 10th the Kansas Recruitment and Retention Program will be hosting the 2nd Annual Virtual Career Fair for Educators in Second Life. This is a great opportunity to recruit highly qualified educators from the comfort of your office or home. During the 2007-2008 school year, the program hosted two successful career fairs in this new virtual world that allows districts to visit with potential candidates from all over the country. Second Life allows districts to share information with potential candidates, have voice conversations, and view candidate resumes. The event is free for all public school districts and cooperatives who utilize the Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB). If you would like to register or have questions about the event please contact us at support@kansasteachingjobs.com. Your registration email should contain the contact information for district personnel participating (personnel must be identified ahead of time to receive appropriate training).

Celebrating a Year of Recruiting with KEEB

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:15:00 +0000

This week marks 1 year since the state of Kansas launched the redesigned teacher recruitment initiative at www.kansasteachingjobs.com. The year has represented a renewed effort of recruiting in Kansas and many lessons have been learned to apply to the this year's recruitment practices.

Successes
The redesigned KEEB experienced a significant increase in traffic by both schools and potential educators in the last year. At the years end we have 98% of districts in the state utilizing the service and over 10,000 applicant profiles. From September 2007 to today we have had over 670,000 visits from Kansans and approximately 6,708,000 page views. In addition, 35% of the traffic on KEEB is generated from out-of-state visitors allowing districts in the state to recruit from a broad range of experienced educators. Although www.kansasteachingjobs.com represented a significant increase in traffic to school job postings, other efforts ensured that schools in the state of Kansas were represented in a range of online and virtual recruiting tools. KEEB now feeds jobs from the website to 4 different nationally recognized job boards ensuring that Kansas jobs reach potential candidates outside of our state lines. In addition, the use of new technology such as virtual recruiting events has put Kansas on the forefront of recruiting practices. It will be critical in the future that Kansas continues to utilize the latest and best technology to reach highly qualified educators.

Lessons Learned
While there were many successes through the year there were also a number of lessons learned to continue to improve the recruiting effort in the state. Thanks to great feedback from school district personnel and applicants we've identified a number of improvements that are currently in the process of being made. A few of those improvements include:

multiple security levels for employer accounts allowing various school personnel to access resumes and applicant information
interview scheduler to schedule interviews with applicants via email from KEEB
search for candidates by geographical area
additional help notes built into critical steps of the job posting process

In closing, a special thank you to the Kansas Department of Education's Special Education Team for their continued support of the Kansas Recruitment and Retention Program and to the key KEEB staff, Matt Blatchley, lead programmer, and Johnna McColm, support specialist.

Additional Resource for Job Postings

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:21:00 +0000

Hire Kansas Talent is a service available to all districts in the state of Kansas interested in locating potential teacher's from state's 4-year public higher education institutions. This free service allows you to easily post a job to the online job board, which is then shared with each of the institutions own job advertising systems. This allows you reach a broad audience with just a single post. The Hire Kansas Talent consortium includes:

Fort Hays State University
Pittsburg State University
Emporia State University
Washburn University
University of Kansas
Wichita State University
Kansas State University

Pairing the Hire Kansas Talent service with the Kansas Education Employment Board in your recruitment effort can maximize your advertising capabilities to reach a large number of new graduates, alumni, out-of-state, and in-state educators.

Phases of 1st Year Teachers

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:01:00 +0000

As your new teachers complete their first week of school, it is important to give some thought to their experiences and coming needs. First year teachers journey through a number of phases in their first year of teaching (Moir, 1990). Being knowledgeable about these phases, allows school districts to schedule training and support at critical times. These trainings can focus on the areas teachers have the most difficulty with or are prepared to learn more about during that phase. Below are a few of the dilemmas new teachers face during each phase:

Anticipation (1st - 2nd weeks)

excited about year

Survival (1st to 2nd month)

struggle to keep head above water
spending 70 hours a week on schoolwork
struggling to keep up

Disillusionment (at 8 weeks)

begin questioning commitment
overwhelmed with parent conferences, first evaluation, and back to school night.
classroom management major source of distress

Rejuvenation (January)

much needed winter break
acceptance of realities of teaching
focus in curriculum development and teaching strategies

Reflection (May)

highlight events that were successful and those that weren't
think about changes they'd like to make next year

Establishing Good Communication with Parents Early

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:15:00 +0000

Next week, teachers will meet their students that they will spend the next 9 months teaching and supporting. In addition, they will most likely begin meeting parents that they will also be spending the next 9 months communicating with. It is important that new teachers have a procedure in place for establishing good communication with parents early in the year. Below are tips that you can share with your beginning teachers that may help them initiate communication, continue effective communication throughout the year, and suggestions for open house night. This information may also be helpful to mentors as they assist early career teachers in establishing communication practices.

Tips for Parent Communication for Classroom Teachers

Establishing Good Communication Early
It is important to introduce yourself and establish good communication to parents early. In fact, a introductory letter may be the first item you complete as you get ready for the new school year. This letter may include information below:

Introduction
Necessary supplies
Contact information
Upcoming classroom or school events

Throughout the year you can build on this initial communication with newsletters, phone calls, emails, progress reports, and conferences.

Tips for Good Communication (from www.susd.org)

Be professional in your communication (avoid rumors and gossip).
Be direct and clear in what you say.
Think through, in advance, what you are going to say.
Be sure to listen.
Be positive, even when dealing with problems. Involve parents in the decision-making.
Avoid using educational jargon.
Proofread any notes/newsletters before you send them home with students.
Keep a record of all communication with parents.
If you have any question about a communication you are going to send, discuss it first with an administrator or mentor.
Inform an administrator or your mentor of any problems so they are informed on the situation when they receive communication from the parent.

Open House Night
Many schools will conduct an open house early in the school year to give teachers, students, and parents’ time to meet each other. There are a number of procedures you can follow to take advantage of this time and establish a good relationship with parents.

You may discuss:

Classroom rules and policies
Curriculum and/or standards
Your expectations for students
Instructional materials, such as textbooks or workbooks

Overall tips for open house night:

Provide handouts of grading procedures, homework procedures, curriculum maps, etc.
Dress professionally
Provide information on how parents can communicate with you and what they can expect to be communicated to them regarding their child’s progress.
Provide a volunteer sign up sheet.

Example of an Exemplary Induction Program

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:58:00 +0000

In the coming weeks school districts will begin induction programs for new staff. There are a number of induction programs across the country that have been recognized for exemplary programming. One such program is the Quakertown (Pa.) New Teacher Academy, which was been highlighted by the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) in a 2002 Journal of Staff Development article. The academy includes unique features, such as a two week training period prior to school starting that involves workshops and even a bus tour of the district and community. Workshops during this period cover such topics as:

understanding the district standards,
positive classroom management,
teaching with technology, and
a principals panel.

The image below outlines the complete schedule of the two week training period.

(Image 1: New Teacher Academy, Year One, Beerer, 2002)

To learn more about the components of the New Teacher Academy visit the article by the NSDC: http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/beerer234.cfm

Resources for New Teachers

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:00:00 +0000

New teachers across the state have begun making a home in communities and schools as they prepare to begin their careers as educators in the Fall. In addition, a large number of veteran teachers are relocating and establishing new homes, while become familiar with a new school. This offers a great opportunity for districts and cooperatives to assist teachers with the necessary resources to get settled and be ready for school to start in August. The Kansas Education Employment Board (KEEB) offers a number of resources that may be helpful for new educators to your community including links to such basic information as vehicle registration and driver's license registration. You can locate these links on the Kansas Resources page. In addition, many schools provide incoming teachers and staff with a list of realtors in the area, as well as information on utilities, banks, etc. Beyond your community resources, national and state assistance programs for teachers can be helpful to new staff. Bank of America offers mortgage assistance to teachers, which can prove helpful to beginning teachers in your district who are preparing to buy their first home. You can find more information on this program by clicking the link below.

Bank of America Mortgage Assistance Programs for Teachers

Teacher Flex: For school teachers, school administrators, librarians or health care professionals who lack established credit histories.

Teacher Zero Down: For school teachers, school administrators, librarians or health care professionals who have a good established credit history but lack the funds to make a down payment.

Click Here to Learn More About These Programs

As August fast approaches it is important to take some time and consider how new teachers are introduced to the community and the school district. While this information may be simple to provide, it can have a lasting first impression on the new teacher.

NEA Recruitment and Retention Strategies Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Kylie Stewart) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:58:00 +0000

In 2003, the National Education Association, published the guide, Meet the Challenges of Recruitment and Retention. Although, now approaching 6 years old, this guide still offers a wealth of timely information for school personnel involved in the hiring and retention process. A number of examples of programs from schools across the country are provided and the guide concludes with a list of resources that may be helpful as you examine your recruitment and retention practices. Below is a brief description from NEA of the information on recruitment and retention in the guide:

Recruitment Strategies -- discusses the importance of developing a comprehensive recruitment plan, and suggests ways to develop a strong marketing and outreach campaign and to improve the hiring process. This chapter also focuses on programs that provide nontraditional routes into the profession and provides examples of financial incentives being used across the country to recruit new teachers.
Retention Strategies -- discusses the need to prepare teachers adequately and to nurture new teachers, and provides examples of programs that are addressing these needs. This chapter also focuses on ways in which schools can improve the working environment for teachers and looks at how financial incentives can be used as a retention tool.

To download the article, click on the following link: http://www.nea.org/teachershortage/images/rrg-full.pdf (PDF, 1.6 M, 79 pages)