It is critical that a school district be proactive in determining their human resources (HR) needs. In order to effectively accomplish this, there is a process that most school districts may use as a guide for assessing their needs.

Respond to the following :

• What are the steps involved in assessing a school district's HR needs?
• Which of these steps do you feel is most important, and why?
• Which of these steps do you feel is the most challenging, and why?

There has been significant change in the teacher evaluation process and procedures over the past two decades. To some advocates of change, it has opened up an opportunity to strengthen the profession. In some instances, however, there was too much focus on identifying and removing bad teachers quickly and efficiently. Ideally, the findings from an evaluation should be used to provide feedback to teachers and guide their development.

• In your opinion, what is the rationale for teacher performance evaluations? Do you feel the process is fair and accurate?
• How does the performance evaluation benefit the school district? How does it benefit teachers?

Teacher compensation is a popular topic and has been the subject of many debates by legislators, administrators, teachers, unions, and even parents. Though there is debate on the topic, one thing is certain: Some states within the United States institute extraordinarily low pay compared to other states. As a result, teachers are leaving the classroom.

• If you could make a compensation program for teachers in your district, how would you rank performance variables, including effort, seniority, skills, and job requirements, in a compensation plan by level of importance? Justify your ranking of variables.
• What are the most common types of mandatory and voluntary fringe benefits?