J. Human Resource Systems

The Office of Human Resources, Recruiting, Performance Management and Labor Relations has the responsibility of maintaining all employee records, payroll procedures and employee benefits for all personnel employed by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. This is accomplished through the Records Department, Payroll Department and the Office of Risk and Benefits Management. The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System for business is the software used by the District to integrate all of the data together from these departments to create a unified system in which to retrieve information.

The Records Department is responsible for maintaining all personnel district files for over 48,000 current employees and separated employees for 25 years, as mandated by Florida Statute. Further information can be found on Records Department website at https://jobs.dadeschools.net/rtranscripts/default.asp.

The Payroll Department is responsible for processing payments for over 48,000 employees with a biweekly average payroll total of $76 million or $1.9 billion dollars per year. Further information can be found on the Payroll website at https://payroll.dadeschools.net.

The Office of Risk and Benefits Management, is charged with the responsibility of creating and implementing a comprehensive employee benefit program for its benefit eligible employees, dependents, retirees and COBRA participants. The District’s current healthcare program is self insured and the District has contracted with Cigna to administer the program through an Administrative Services Only (ASO) agreement. Further information can be found on Risk and Benefits Management website at https://riskmanagement.dadeschools.net/.

The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System for Business was approved by the School Board, as part of the District’s Comprehensive Information Blueprint. The ERP System, through its SAP (Systems, Applications and Products) software, provides technology solutions that integrate all data and processes of an organization into a single unified system. The system’s goal is to streamline and enhance the District’s Finance and Human Resource processes to more efficiently and effectively serve all stakeholders. E-Recruiting is one of the modules selected by the District as part of the ERP system. E-Recruiting is a web-based application enabling candidates to apply from anywhere in the world for open positions in the District. In addition, e-Recruiting assists staff in the Office of Human Resources to select the most highly qualified candidate. Further information can be found on Human Resources website at https://jobs.dadeschools.net/Apply.asp.

The Miami-Dade County Public Schools Recruitment and Staffing Departments under the auspices of The Office of Human Resources, Recruiting, Performance Management and Labor Relations are responsible for recruiting and hiring highly qualified teacher applicants. The objectives include recruiting a culturally diverse pool of teachers who are committed to high standards of excellence in education to meet the social, economic, and technological demands of the future. Teacher recruitment seeks to continually expand their efforts in order to meet the demands and needs of the District.

The departments assist all region and school site/district administrators with staffing needs including the placement of over-allocated staff, teacher transfers, daily substitutes (temporary instructors), and the hiring of teachers through external provider partnerships, e.g., Teach For America. Additionally, the departments assist applicants with navigating the state teacher certification requirements and the district application/hiring process.

In 2007, the District developed a three year recruitment plan to attract and recruit the most qualified instructional personnel. The three year recruitment plan is uploaded in this section as well as related teacher recruitment and retention supporting documentation. Since the last three year recruitment plan was implemented, no data was maintained for the 2010-2011 school year. This occurred as a result of the cuts to the District’s Budget and the continued declining student enrollment that the district has faced. Recruitment and staffing needs have been met by rehiring interim teachers that were released at the end of the 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years to fill vacancies. A successor three year recruitment plan was not drafted due to the need to maintain the flexibility required by rapidly changing budget and personnel needs.

In December 2009, the District stopped using paper applications and in January 2010, the implementation of the online application using the SAP e-Recruiting software was launched. Also included, you will find the Instructional Personnel Hiring Process used by the Human Resources, Recruiting, Performance Management and Labor Relations to recruit highly skilled teachers.

During the 2007 – 2008 school year and the first half of the 2008-2009 school year, the District’s screening process was done through the Office of Instructional Staffing, Non-Instructional Staffing and Administrative Staffing. The process used through 2007 – 2009 included paper applications and an interview at the District office.

In December 2009, the District stopped using paper applications and in January 2010, the implementation of the online application using the SAP e-Recruiting software was launched. All interested applicants wishing to apply to open positions in the Miami-Dade County Public School District, must complete the e-Recruiting process. All applicants for full-time, or part-time, positions must create a candidate profile in the e-Recruiting system, and search and apply for open positions. The Miami-Dade County Public Schools E-recruiting Application may be found at https://jobs.dadeschools.net/Apply.asp.

For a candidate to be considered for hiring, their profile must include, two acceptable professional references on business letterhead which should not date back more than one year and must be attached to the e-recruiting candidate profile. In addition, applicants are advised that they must meet all the requirements for the position(s) for which they apply. Furthermore, applicants are advised that they will need to complete an initial questionnaire and submit official transcripts (if applicable to the position).

In this section, there are various screening and interview tools in different formats such as questionnaires and sample interview questions for administrators, teachers, non-instructional staff and temporary instructors which can assist the site administrator in the selection of the most qualified candidate for the position.

School Climate - Staff Surveys

Each school year, the School Climate Survey is administered to gather information on the perceptions that students, their parents, and school staffs hold concerning their schools and their performance. In 2010-2011, the survey was distributed to approximately 92,000 parents, 48,000 elementary, secondary, and adult students, and 25,000 staff. The staff survey is administered on-line through a third-party vendor. Unique passwords, unique IDs and links for the survey are provided to all instructional staff members at the school site. The report includes the questions addressed on the survey.

The report on the link summarizes selected major points from the results of that survey, as they pertain to the Pre-K through 12th grade program. In addition to district wide averages, results are broken down by regional center. Information identical to that summarized for the district is reviewed for the regular schools of each region. Alternative, special education, and vocational/adult schools are treated elsewhere in separate item-specific reports.

The “Interactive Link for School Climate Survey Results” is an interactive web page where visitors can retrieve climate survey results for the district and individual schools for multiple years. The survey results are included for Students, Parents and Staff.

Research on effective leadership preparation programs points to the need for both a theoretical framework and a range of job-embedded, relevant experiences to foster the development of instructional leadership skills. District leadership programs have proven effective due to research-based approaches, vertical alignment along the career progression, and continuous improvement in response to leadership and participant feedback. All M-DCPS candidates for leadership training programs must have completed state certification in Educational Leadership as a pre-requisite.

The Assistant Principal Preparation Program (A3P) is designed to prepare teacher-leaders aspiring to an assistant principalship with the leadership skills necessary to make the sometimes difficult transition into administration. The full-year program provides experiences in authentic contexts, uses cohort networks, features support and guidance from experienced practicing administrators, and is structured to promote collaborative activities between the program and the schools. The A3P Program components include: a mandatory orientation session; online Prior Learning Inventory (self-assessment) through Florida’s William Cecil Golden School Leadership Program; a leadership competency checklist an individual leadership development plan; core professional learning (10 face-to-face professional development sessions); an action research project; field experience opportunities; job shadowing; and a portfolio documenting mastery of the Florida Principal Leadership Standards.

The Principal Preparation Program (PPP) is designed to prepare current assistant principals with the instructional and operational leadership skill set to effectively impact student achievement as a school-site principal. A leadership support team (mentor principal, home school principal, and region director) is assigned to all program participants to ensure that a candidate’s leadership experience is well-rounded and complete. The PPP Program components include: a mandatory 10-day Summer Leadership Institute orientation (agenda attached); a 360° leadership assessment; networking opportunities through a cohort framework; an assigned mentor principal for the full-year program; a professional learning community (monthly face-to-face sessions with District experts); extensive field experiences; assigned and self-selected required professional reading with reflections; job shadowing; an internship; and a portfolio documenting mastery of the Florida Principal Leadership Standards.

The included handbooks are representative of both programs that were held from 2007-2011.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools offers several “pipeline” programs for aspiring leaders such as the Principal Preparation Program (PPP) and the Assistant Principal Preparation Program (A3P).

The Principal Preparation Program (PPP), provides a comprehensive approach to build the pool of eligible qualified candidates to assume a leadership role in a school-site. The PPP provides experience in authentic contexts and uses cohort networks and mentors to promote collaborative activities between the program and the schools. The District’s PPP is based on current research that affirms the link between improved student academic performance and the role of school administrators as instructional leaders. Program candidates will acquire the necessary technical and adaptive skills in instructional leadership, operational leadership and school leadership, to prepare them to be effective and successful school leaders within M-DCPS.

The Assistant Principal Preparation Program (A3P), provides a competency-based program that effectively assesses and enhances the skills of emerging educational leaders within the framework of the ten Florida Principal Leadership Standards. The A3P provides experiences through multiple components. The program begins with an assessment of prior skills to target areas for development continuing through professional learning modules focused on core components of the assistant principalship. Participants will engage in hands-on field experiences, including shadowing, high-performing practicing assistant principals on the job. Both PPP and A3P manuals/applications are attached for review.

Building a pipeline of future leaders is necessary in any organization. The Education Transformation Office (ETO) has partnered with the Harvard University Project LEAD Program to identify and train future Assistant Principals and Principals. Through this program, aspiring administrators receive professional development as noted on the attached schedule and complete an internship under the guidance of a mentor Assistant Principal or Principal who is a proven leader in lower performing schools. These Professional Development sessions use the ETO framework to build capacity targeting all areas of school operations including budget, personnel and human resources but focusing on instructional leadership. Participants are required to complete a weekly reflection journal documenting their activities and providing feedback on their experiences while focusing on reflections of what they have learned. Throughout their internship, participants assume their new role in order to understand the full capacity of the position. Additionally, participants write a second guess memo in which they challenge a decision made by their mentor and justify their opinion on the issue. At the conclusion of the year, all participants travel to Harvard University to participate in a week long summer institute on instructional leadership. Enclosed is a PowerPoint highlighting the Project LEAD program, as well as the handbook all participants use throughout the internship.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) has high standards and expectations as it relates to employee performance. These expectations are disseminated to all new employees in various ways. New employees to the District are provided with detailed orientation materials such as presentations, handbooks, documents and memorandums. In this section, you will find orientation procedures and materials for the following employee groups:

• Teachers
• Custodians
• Food Service Workers
• Clerical/Secretarial
• School Bus Drivers
• School Bus Aides
• School Security Monitors

In many instances, orientation continues throughout the employee’s career in the form of professional development, in-service workshops and meetings. Some employee groups are awarded Master Plan Points (MPP) and credit for attending these sessions which can be used towards the re-certification process.