John T.

Davis
November 23rd 2016
EDAD 616 A (01)- The Role of Schooling in a Democratic Society 1
Assignment # 5: Interview with Site/District Administrators

Module 4: What are the key concepts to human resources in a school or district setting?

Module 4 focused primarily on Human Resources with consideration of the hiring process,
employee rights, and management of employees. With regards to an administrators place in a
school or district, a key concept to consider (per the Module 4 PowerPoint) is that Human Relations
is embedded within the work of all managers, and most individual contributors due to the need
of managing people (subordinates, peers and superiors) as well as teams to get things done. This
means that an administrator must often act as and with the knowledge of HR when managing
employees and other stakeholders of the school and/or district. It is therefore the mission of
administration to ensure that all practices, organizational structures, and/or standards of the school
or district are met specifically, consistently, and effectively. Human Relations Management
requires that administrators have knowledge of and are aware of how the disciplines of economics,
various forms of law, psychology, and sociology effect the workplace and employees. The overall
objective of Human Resources and an administrator in said capacity is to ensure that the objectives
and needs of the school/district and the employees are being met. In doing so, there administrator
can create a positive and productive work environment that retains quality personnel. As the key
assumption of the Module 4 PowerPoint states, employees are the most important asset of the
organization.
Specifically, a school administrator must be constantly aware of labor and wage laws as
well as constitutional, administrative, judicial, and legislative laws that pertain to discrimination
and equal and just treatment of stakeholders. As well, administrators must understand contract
law and how it effects the school/districts culture, organization, and overall stakeholder satisfaction
and due process. As with any study and/or application of law, administrators acting with and as
Human Resources Management must understand that these laws and disciplines may overlap and
intersect when attempting to provide for the benefit of the organization, the stakeholders and those
who interact officially or unofficially with the school and district. For example, when hiring an
employee an administrator must be aware of the potential employees protection against
discrimination, their wage/labor rights, and stipulations and conditions found within union and
bargaining contracts. An administrator must also be able to demonstrate due process in
consideration of these issues when disciplining or terminating employees. Ultimately it will be
the responsibility of HR/Admiration to show due process in this capacity as well as in maintaining
the objectives and standards of the organization they represent.

What is FRISK? How is it implemented? What do I need to know as a school administrator?

FRISK is an acronym for Facts, Rule, Impact, Suggestions/Directions, and Knowledge.

It is a standard of managing employees that are performing below-standard and it provides for
and protects both the employer and employee. When utilizing FRISK, emphasis is put on
correcting the behavior, not simply documenting behaviors and taking punitive action. As well
FRISK is based on the concept of taking progressive measures, by making clear, explicit, and
direct statements and directives (suggestions), and documenting every step carefully. This
documentation helps the employer show due process throughout the process and provideds clear
John T. Davis
November 23rd 2016
EDAD 616 A (01)- The Role of Schooling in a Democratic Society 2
direction for the employee. As an administrator, proper understanding of the steps and process
of FRISK will help ensure that the direction of the school is not compromised and the school is
not liable for lawsuits based on contracts or otherwise. The process should begin with a verbal
coaching or direction of the employee. It should be clear and explicit following FRISK and it
should probably be documented. The second step is a written warning about the behavior that
needs to be corrected. This is followed with a formal letter of reprimand in which the aspects of
frisk are spelled out. Through this process the employee should be given the opportunity to draft
a response to be included in their professional file. These steps should be followed by
Unsatisfactory evaluations, then suspension and finally termination. Throughout the process, the
employer must demonstrate that they have clearly expressed what the issue is and have provided
opportunities to train or assist the employee in correcting the behaviors.
Following the FRISK format, documentation should include specific and verifiable Facts
about what the employee did or did not do, it should also include the Rule that was not observed
or was broken. This should be followed by the Impact that the problem behavior had on the
workplace/organization/stakeholders, and as noted before Suggestions and/or
directives/directions should be included in the documentation in an attempt to help the employee
change their problem behavior. Finally, employees should be provided with notification or
Knowledge that they have a right to see said documentation and file a formal response, and
contact their union representative (if applicable). By following this method employers are able
to provided progressive documentation to support their and the school/districts decision to take
action against and/or terminate the employee. Again, it should be noted that the FRISK method
requires clear, explicit, and precise language and it is up to the administer to ensure that any
investigation done is done so properly.