District honored as a top workplace

The New Prague Area School District has received honors in the Star Tribune’s annual listing of top workplaces in Minnesota.

The Minneapolis-based newspaper selected the 150 Top Workplaces, along with 110 additional companies that met the "Workplace Dynamics National Standard." New Prague Area Schools was listed among the 110 employers that ranked high in the national listing, though not high enough to crack Minnesota’s top 150.

Employers chosen were selected based on the results of an employee survey conducted in April. Survey results completed by district employees measured engagement, organizational health and satisfaction. The district has 483 employees.

The top workplaces special section was published in the Star Tribune’s Sunday, June 26, edition, and also on the newspaper’s website.

"This is an exceptional accomplishment for the New Prague Area Schools," Superintendent Tim Dittberner said of the honor. "As a district, we take pride in striving to be a great place to work for all staff.

"As a district, we put kids first, but we have a climate where it’s great place to work. It’s not an either-or thing, you can have both."

Dittberner said the district emphasizes its core values in all aspects… "We talk about the Golden Rule, treating people with respect. it helps us to attract and keep the best employees."

He added that the community is a great place to live and raise a family, which also helps.

"The schools are a big part of that. This is a place where people want to move to." For employees of the district, the award is an affirmation of what they’ve experienced. Ann Marie Simon has been an employee in the high school office for more than 40 year. She is set to retire later this summer. She said the feeling she gets working for the district is one of mutual respect.

"I feel like everyone’s respectful of everyone else… The people I’ve worked with have always made it a good working environment… It’s always been an enjoyable place." She add that the administrative team in place is very supportive of the staff and contributes to making the district a good place to work.

Cindy McNab, a 31-year elementary school teacher, says "I love working with the families in the community. It’s nice to work in a small town where you often get siblings, or even second generation students, and you see them outside the school. The community is what makes the district so strong."

She adds that the administration supports employees through professional development programs, keeping up with the most recent best practices in education, and in keeping up with technology.