Letting go finally allowed Cheri the time and opportunity – 12-14 hours every week – to get into learning environments, meet with staff regularly, build relationships, reflect, and solve the district’s early childhood staffing challenges.

CHALLENGE: Staff Recruitment and Retention, Zero Work-Life Balance

Cheri Doria, Director of Early Childhood Education at Lindsay Unified School District in Lindsay, California, faced significant staff retention and work-life balance issues following the pandemic. Her department was struggling with high levels of staff turnover amongst her part-time PreK and TK instructional assistants who left for higher paying, full-time positions with benefits. This caused her to work overtime to keep the program afloat and resulted in feelings of extreme exhaustion, stress, ineffectiveness and guilt on a professional and personal level.

SOLUTION: Transform the Leadership Approach

While participating in The Breakthrough Coach Program, Cheri had an insight that fundamentally transformed her leadership approach. She had historically aimed for perfection and sought out ways to work solo. But during the program, she realized that there was no way she could continue to do the job without assistance. She was ready to learn how to delegate to get work done. 

To this end, she started relinquishing duties that had previously prevented her from addressing staffing challenges. She handed over her calendar and appointment scheduling, document and contract completion, attendance tracking and reporting, and software management to her office manager and secretary. Letting go finally allowed Cheri the time and opportunity – 12-14 hours every week – to get into learning environments, meet with staff regularly, build relationships, reflect, and solve the district’s early childhood staffing challenges.

OUTCOME: Improved Staff Recruitment, Reduced Substitute Costs & Increased Time in the Classroom

The Breakthrough Coach Program’s impact on Cheri’s department was transformative. Her early childhood instructional assistants became full-time hires with benefits. Substitute costs were dramatically reduced because the now full-time staff had much better attendance rates, and instructional staff turnover was virtually eliminated. She also brokered partnerships with local community colleges to grow the recruitment pool for future positions. As a result of her ability to attract and retain highly competent preschool instructors, the district’s kindergarten teachers started reporting to her that Lindsay’s PreK-TK learners were more prepared and successful in kindergarten. Best of all, Cheri has been able to maintain her 12-14 hour per week visitation schedule in the learning environments to ensure her staff has everything they need to be successful.

CONCLUSION

Cheri’s journey showcases the transformative power of The Breakthrough Coach Program. By loosening her grip and learning to effectively delegate, Cheri was able to achieve tangible results, while modeling a happy, healthy, work-life balance for Lindsay’s future Executive Directors.

Take the first step towards causing breakthroughs in staff recruitment, retention and school leader work-life balance. Contact The Breakthrough Coach today!

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