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When Robert Harris comes to the table with an idea, it鈥檚 likely to seem the kind of thing that came to him in a creative flash.
鈥淎t first you鈥檇 be like, 鈥楴o way, that won鈥檛 work, nope,鈥欌�呪�� said Andrew Baker, a high school English teacher and the president of the local teachers鈥� union in Lexington, Mass. 鈥淏ut then, you鈥檇 think about it and say, 鈥極K, there鈥檚 something here.鈥� 鈥�

In truth, Harris, until recently the assistant superintendent for human resources of the in Massachusetts, has long been studying the problem, wading through research, gathering opinions, and weighing outcomes before proposing one of his signature outside-the-box solutions.

鈥淧art of the role of the innovator is to be somewhat opportunistic,鈥� said Harris, who now works as a consultant for districts, 鈥渁nd to see when the stars align.鈥�

Most recently, before retiring last year, Harris devised a way to overhaul how the district deals with teacher absences鈥攕omething very few schools around the country have found ways to address creatively.

Lexington鈥檚 system of hiring substitutes was costly and ineffective for nearly everyone involved. Students weren鈥檛 learning much. Teachers couldn鈥檛 count on their lesson plans being followed. And starting in 2009, the high-performing 7,000-student district had committed to an ambitious system of professional learning for teachers, which included training sessions during school鈥攎eaning teachers were out of their classrooms more than ever. At the same time, the economy was improving, and substitutes were getting harder to attract.

Harris, 61, came up with a way to replace some of the traditional substitutes with a combination of technology and a single full-time staff member. Lexington High School, which piloted the program starting in 2016, bought extra Chromebooks, increased its Wi-Fi bandwidth, and set aside a large collaborative work space. Harris hired a former special education teacher to serve as the school鈥檚 鈥渆lectronic-learning facilitator,鈥� fondly known as an ELF, who oversees several classes at a time.

Students would come to the 鈥渓earning center鈥� when their teacher was out and go through lesson plans, videos, and activities that had been left for them online. In the case of a planned absence, the teacher could meet with the ELF beforehand to brief him on the lesson and individual students鈥� needs.

Teachers could even log in to Google Classroom (or whatever system they were using) to monitor student work in real time from afar.

鈥淭he goal for the program is if you鈥檙e a teacher and you鈥檙e going to be absent on Day 100, we want the curriculum you would run for Day 100 to run by itself,鈥� said James Borden, the ELF at Lexington High. 鈥淪o when you return on Day 101, ... it will run seamlessly.鈥�

Teachers can choose whether they want a traditional substitute or to send students to the learning lab when they are out. Initially, there was plenty of skepticism from staff members. Now, though, the lab is full almost every period, hosting as many as five or six classes at a time.

鈥淲ith high school students, you just never know how they鈥檙e going to respond to these things,鈥� said Carol Pilarski, a former assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. 鈥淭here weren鈥檛 those behavioral challenges that sometimes occur with a substitute, with an unknown figure. 鈥� And by giving that kind of freedom to the students, it actually was a way of honoring them as individuals and saying, 鈥楲ook you鈥檙e in charge.鈥欌�呪��

If all continues to go well, the program is expected to save the district about $72,000 in fiscal 2018.

From Jazz to Employment Relations

Harris鈥� path to human-resources management was, befittingly, unconventional.

A jazz guitarist, he studied K-12 music education at Boston鈥檚 Berklee College of Music as an undergraduate. Harris was a public school music teacher for several years before taking on the role of arts department chairman in the Athol-Royalston Regional school district, a small, rural system in north central Massachusetts.

His background in the arts offers insight into his leadership style, some say.

鈥淗e has a creative heart and mind and he thinks like a jazz musician,鈥� said Craig Hall, the director of Lexington Community 91制片厂视频, which provides adult education. He鈥檚 鈥渁ble to play many variations on a theme.鈥�

In 1993, Harris became the president of the Athol Teachers Association, a post he held for nearly a decade and a half.

His experience as a labor leader gave him a deep understanding of collective bargaining and employee-management relations鈥攁 critical foundation for his jump to human resources. It also gave him credibility with teachers.

鈥淯ltimately, you reach the conclusion when you鈥檝e been on both sides of the table that there really are no sides of the table,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淵ou [can] argue for both.鈥�

Paul Ash, a former superintendent in Lexington, recalls that Harris, whom he hired in 2007, kept a small rock with the word 鈥渉armony鈥� on his desk.

鈥淚 asked him about that, and he said, 鈥業 look at human resources as a way to develop harmony between the administration and the teachers so we can produce the highest-quality teaching and learning for students,鈥� 鈥� said Ash, who retired in 2015. 鈥淭hat really is his guide star. Starting from there鈥攖hat鈥檚 unusual.鈥�

Early into Harris鈥� tenure as assistant superintendent, it became clear there was a morale problem among teachers in the Lexington district. Educators were feeling overwhelmed by a steady stream of new initiatives, including a new teacher-evaluation system. At the same time, the district鈥檚 health-care costs were on the rise. Harris proposed a strategy being used in the private sector: employee-wellness programs.

He partnered with Lexington Community 91制片厂视频, which was not technically part of the district, to give educators access to free classes. Teachers could take yoga, meditation, Zumba, drumming, pottery, and nutrition classes鈥攕ome of which were taught by other teachers, school nurses, and cafeteria workers. The district began holding step-counting challenges and interschool volleyball games. He also opened up school fitness facilities to teachers outside school hours.

And within a year, Harris started a vegetable garden for staff members. To help justify that move with Ash, who was not easily persuaded, Harris worked with the elementary science coordinator to develop a curriculum around the garden for kindergartners and 1st graders. Now, both students and teachers are growing tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, corn, and pumpkins in a 46,000-square-foot organic garden.

鈥淗is idea was ... to make the school feel like it wasn鈥檛 a place that was just a pressure cooker for stress, that these were not only your colleagues but people, and this is a community,鈥� said Hall, who worked closely with Harris on the wellness initiative.

The commitment to wellness is part of Harris鈥� broader philosophy on integrating work and life.

鈥淐onventional wisdom stands for [work-life] balance,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or me as a successful leader, sure I could disconnect, but ultimately, I felt that if I had an insight, I鈥檓 not going to say, 鈥業鈥檓 on vacation now,鈥� or 鈥業t鈥檚 the weekend.鈥� 鈥� Effective leaders are 鈥渨hole in whatever they do,鈥� he said.

鈥極pportunity to Shine鈥�

That鈥檚 why stories abound about surprising moments in job interviews with Harris鈥攁nd the varied extracurricular talents he鈥檚 discovered in his candidates.

One candidate mentioned during his interview that he liked to juggle, so Harris handed him a few balls. Another had just returned from an international whistling competition, so Harris asked if she could do an excerpt from the Jupiter Symphony (she stood on a chair and began gesticulating like an orchestra conductor while whistling the tune, according to Harris). A former college baseball pitcher showed Harris how to throw a curveball.

鈥淚n an initial interview, when you bring somebody into the school system, that鈥檚 your first opportunity to build a relationship with that employee,鈥� Harris said. For those who open up, 鈥測ou give [them] an opportunity to shine.鈥�

Since Harris put the program in place in 2016, Lexington High School went from hiring about 12 substitutes per day to hiring about six. Teachers say their students are engaged, and it鈥檚 no longer just a lost day when they鈥檙e absent.

There are, of course, challenges with the model. Borden, the district鈥檚 ELF, has an average of about 110 students in his room at a time, and sometimes that goes up to 130. In a single period, there could be classes in personal finance, Advanced Placement chemistry, creative writing, and French going on at once.

鈥淔or me, the biggest weight on my mind is making sure all the students have what they need,鈥� Borden said. 鈥淲e have students with different accommodations because of their [individualized education programs] and different learning styles. 鈥� A lot of students haven鈥檛 developed soft skills enough to advocate for themselves and tell me what they need.鈥�

The system works best when teachers know they will be absent and can plan ahead with Borden. But unanticipated absences add more students to the room and leave less time for co-planning.

Lexington is among the highest-performing high schools in the state鈥攁bout 98 percent of students there graduate, and 90 percent go on to higher education. (The national graduation rate was 84 percent in 2015-16, its highest point ever.) Students there tend to be motivated and well-supported.

Harris recognizes that other districts struggle with behavioral and academic issues that could make the ELF model more challenging. (He also has said it鈥檚 not suitable for elementary students.)

鈥淐an I say with confidence that I know this is applicable everywhere? I can鈥檛,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I think if you set the conditions out right and start small, you have an opportunity to test this in districts that might not be as high-performing as Lexington.鈥�

As a consultant, Harris is now trying to bring his innovative thinking to other districts, which he admits is not an easy task.

鈥淭hings I鈥檝e done 鈥� they鈥檙e progressive, and a lot of superintendents are very conservative,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 really ask people to look critically at their practices and to start to try and come up with better solutions than those we continue to rework.鈥�

For school leaders to get on board with this kind of work, though, he said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not for the faint-hearted.鈥�