The Dallas Business Journal has named the McKinney Independent School District as number one on its annual list of the 100 “Best Places to Work” in the Extra Large category.
Further separating McKinney ISD from its peers is the fact that not only is it the only school district included on the list, but it is also the only governmental organization that earned recognition.
“We live in a very competitive area in Collin County. There are fine facilities up and down 75 and 121 in any direction you look,” said McKinney ISD Superintendent Dr. Rick McDaniel. “We have to put our hands on something that will set us apart. And I believe our culture, what we are trying to create here, speaks volumes to how important it is to get the best of the best.”
Dr. McDaniel described the culture in McKinney ISD as one “of kindness,” where his people genuinely enjoy what they do.
“The thing I want the people of McKinney ISD to understand is that I understand they have a hard job,” Dr. McDaniel said. “When I tell the folks in McKinney ISD [that] I appreciate the job they do I mean it, and they know I mean it.”
That culture Dr. McDaniel mentioned was referenced by several other employees recently at McKinney Boyd High School, one of 30 schools in this district that employs roughly 2,700 people.
Among those who were quick to sing the praises of McKinney ISD as a whole, and Dr. McDaniel specifically, was Christie Howley, the Substitute Coordinator at Boyd who also serves as a secretary in the principal’s office.
Howley started at Boyd as a volunteer when her children were still in school. But 11 years later her kids are long gone and she is still there, in no small part because of the workplace environment.
“In my experience when you were out in the professional world, not in the school district, I think it becomes every man for himself. You’re worried about your own job, your own position, your own everything. When you work in a school you make your decision to be part of a team,” Howley said.
Asked to give one specific reason why the leadership team in place at McKinney ISD is so well-liked, Howley indicated it is because they empower people to do what they do best.
“Our administration hires great people and then they step away and let those people do their jobs,” Howley said. “They trust those people are going to do their jobs. They support them. And that’s pretty much all you can ask as an employee.”
According to the Dallas Business Journal, the 100 Best Places to Work rankings were culled from 500 businesses in North Texas where a sufficient number of employees responded to a survey. Those survey results were then compared to national, industry standards.
The businesses that received number one rankings, based upon size, were:
Extra Large category – McKinney ISD
Large – Century 21 Judge Fite Company
Medium – Scott + Reid General Contractors, Inc.
Small – Site Selection Group, LLC
Micro – Hrncir Construction
