Recruitment of Staff and Guiding Questions
NJDOE recognizes the challenges facing so many LEAs in the area of staffing. The recruitment of appropriate and committed staff can determine the success of your summer learning program.
For additional information, please view the National Afterschool Alliance Core Knowledge and Competencies.
The Youth Development Learning Network of the National Collaboration for Youth has specified 10 youth development worker competencies that also address practitioners’ skills in connecting with youth.
The core competencies are based on the knowledge, skills, and personal attributes needed by youth development workers to serve as resources to youth, organizations, and communities.
These core competencies include:
- Understanding and applying child and adolescent development principles;
- Communicating effectively and developing positive relationships with youth;
- Facilitating age-appropriate activities for program participants;
- Respecting and honoring cultural and human diversity;
- Involving families and communities;
- Working as a team and demonstrating professionalism;
- Empowering youth;
- Identifying potential risk and protective factors for youth;
- Demonstrating the qualities of a positive role model; and
- Interacting in a way that supports asset building
- How will you communicate to all staff about how and to whom referrals for wraparound services (e.g., counseling, medical services, food resources) should be directed? (T)
- If you are enrolling a larger student group than in previous years to account for greater need for summer learning and/or social-emotional connection, how will you select and fund additional staff, both certificated and non-certificated, to support those additional students? (T)
- How might the district enhance its support for and expectations of the NJTSS to ensure it is appropriately resourced to provide rapid response and support to all educators and students? (P,T)
- How will you define the roles of principals and other administrators responsible for summer learning in a remote context? (P)
- Will you expect them to observe instruction and provide feedback to teachers? (P,T)
- Will principals be expected to connect regularly with students and families? (P)
- How will principals support the social and emotional needs of school personnel? (P,T)
- If you work with community partners, how will you communicate and align your whole child support (e.g., use the same tech platforms, share data, communicate jointly and consistently with teachers and families)? (P)
- How will you partner with local educator preparation programs to provide additional support for notice teachers? (P,T)