Jeffco Alliance

Competitive Compensation Guiding Investments

Economic empowerment

• Provide a competitive  wage for all employees as well as a competitive benefits plan that employees can afford
• Employees should be paid enough to economically thrive even as cost of living increases in Jeffco

Competitive and data driven

• Offer fair and competitive compensation packages to attract and retain employees using a blend of K-12 and for-profit industry data to develop target ranges
• Ensure that the total compensation package is at the median of metro area districts
• Provide incentives such as signing bonuses, increased recognition of experience, etc. for hard to fill positions
• Ensure increases are based on growing as an educator not just college credits/grad credits
• Expand benefits to Educational Support Professionals 
• Think creatively beyond increased compensation. For example, consider non-monetary incentives such as time, e.g. expanded PTO and job sharing

Professional development

• Increase engagement by providing responsive training and professional development for teachers and Educational Support Professionals

High School Reimagined Guiding Investments

Explicitly design with an equity focus

The throughline in all of our themes is equity. Specifically, commitment to: 

• Equitable access to programming across the district, with consideration for centralizing* some programming that is universal or in highest demand
• Serving diverse populations and evolving programming with demographic changes
• Ensuring career-focused counseling and information about pathways** and opportunities is widely shared and accessible to all 
• Providing transportation to programs so the ability to get to a program is not a hurdle.

Post-secondary and career counseling

• Ensure an adequate number of career-focused counselors, with reasonable caseloads, who are able to walk each student through possible career paths, and whose roles are distinct from those of mental health counselors
• Support for parents to understand the steps involved in pursuing careers their students might be interested in
• App or virtual guidance counselor that students and parents can access to help navigate to their post-secondary goals
• Continued education to ensure teachers and counselors are trained in how to be culturally responsive, and how to remove bias and inequity from counseling practice and processes

Professional development for educators

• Investing in educators to expand their Career Technical Education skills and training, continuing education

Pathways development

• Ensure the strategic design and availability of widely accessible High Quality Pathways*** (e.g., located regionally), and plan for their staying power. The inputs to the design should include data such as: Talent Pipeline Report; Colorado Talent Dashboard; highest need skills in Jeffco; livable wage jobs analysis; changing demographics; feedback and information about demand and interest from students and families
• Funding for investment in pathways that are high need and provide a livable wage (e.g., a law and justice,  healthcare, or infrastructure and construction centralized pathway) 
• Support ongoing research to inform pathways offered and also in recognition that the world of work is always evolving

Student experience

• Design a seminal high school experience (e.g., internships, apprenticeships) for all Jeffco students and ensure equitable access to such opportunities

• Include student and family engagement in designing the student experience

• Update or retrofit buildings to accommodate new programming, technology and new ways of learning

Partnerships

• Bring higher education, community college system, families, students, business community and the district together in an ongoing way to ensure curriculum and experiences are preparing Jeffco students for the world of work

* By centralized we mean: There would be a standard set of pathways in each region of the district, rather than opportunities tied to a single teacher or school.

**Jeffco defines pathways this way:

• Student pathway - specific course of study that students select based on interest, skills, and career aspirations.
• Career Pathway - A specific sequence of courses and experiences that prepare students for a particular career field or industry. This includes coursework and work-based learning opportunities that provide a clear path from education to employment.

A few of our workgroup members suggested improving this language using terms students and families better understand. One suggestion was “career clusters.”

***High Quality Pathway: Prepares students for a high demand career with a liveable wage; Includes industry credential and/or pathway aligned college credit; Ensures student development of industry-defined technical, academic, and durable skills through quality instruction and experiences; and Provides in-depth work-based learning experiences with a formalized industry partnership

 

Safe & Secure Learning Environments

Physical Safety

• Prioritize safe and quality school buildings that provide light, acoustics and air quality that positively impact learning; offer accessible, inviting, and clean spaces that enhance student self-belief and desire to be in school; provide technology that optimizes instruction and prepares students for today’s workplace; communicate to children that the community values education; are designed for crime prevention; and assure students that they are safe and secure in their learning environment. 

• Reinforce safe and welcoming physical environments by:
  • Equipping school communities with the staff and resources that best meet their unique needs including campus supervisors and security officers, patrol officers, emergency management personnel, dispatch personnel, and threat assessment personnel.
  • Offering supportive educational alternatives for students who create a dangerous and unsafe environment for students, teachers, and other school personnel.

• Invest in ongoing safety enhancements to physical environments to maintain best-practices in school safety across Jeffco and respond to issues identified on annual site assessment examinations related to safety, accessibility, and emergency preparedness of school buildings and grounds.

• Implement a districtwide digital system to empower schools to screen and track visitors and volunteers and successfully prevent, prepare, respond and recover from an emergency.

Belonging & Wellbeing

• Proactively support student well-being and mental health needs through:
  • Direct to student supports in their native language and provided by people including: school psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, audiologist, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, registered nurses, heath aids, and social-emotional learning specialists.
  • Programs, curricula, and supports including: telehealth services, suicide prevention, substance abuse prevention and counseling, and a robust crisis/resiliency/recovery support team.
  • Educator and staff skills, tools, and resources to effectively manage student behavior, understand neurodiversity, and build students’ social skills and emotional development and ability tend to their own wellbeing.
• Expand opportunities beyond the school day including before- and after-school programs, activities, and athletics (especially middle school athletics) that support student academic achievement, connect students to opportunities for career and interest exploration, encourage physical health and wellness, improve personal and social skills, and promote positive social behaviors.

Culture & Climate

• Support positive connection, support, and engagement of students, staff, and families through a focus on positive and respectful community cultures that enhance student self-belief and desire of both students and families to be in school. Investments include:

  • Resources and training to support families in navigating the school system (especially for newcomers), school-home partnerships (Family Engagement Liaisons, FRST Team), and school-based relationships.
  • Resources and training to support staff in inclusive practices, diversity and cultural awareness, recognizing and respecting unique family structures, cultural norms, and lived experiences from diverse backgrounds.