Prioritizing People: NHA Schools Recognized as a Metro Detroit Best and Brightest Companies to Work For®

Leading with care and emphasizing the importance of taking care of employees is more important than ever. National Heritage Academies (NHA) was recently recognized as one of 155 winning companies out of 700 nominations as a 2020 Metro Detroit Best and Brightest Companies to Work For®.

This award honors organizations as Best and Brightest Companies to Work For throughout Metropolitan Detroit that distinguish themselves as having the most innovative and thoughtful human resources approach.

To be selected to receive the award, companies are evaluated by an independent research firm based on key measures in categories including compensation, benefits, and employee solutions; employee enrichment, engagement, and retention; and employee education and development, among other categories.

“Our people are our most valuable resource, especially now, given the current landscape of education. Staying true to our core values and taking care of our employees is paramount to our success as a company,” said Thea Reigler, NHA chief people officer. “It’s an honor to be recognized for what we do in NHA’s Metro Detroit schools to make this a great place to work, and I look forward to all that our team members will continue to accomplish.”

Twenty-six NHA schools across the Metro Detroit area are included in the recognition:

• Achieve Charter Academy.
• Canton Charter Academy.
• Center Line Preparatory Academy.
• Detroit Enterprise Academy.
• Detroit Merit Charter Academy.
• Detroit Premier Academy.
• Flagship Charter Academy.
• Grand River Academy.
• Great Oaks Academy.
• Hamtramck Academy.
• Keystone Academy.
• Laurus Academy.
• Legacy Charter Academy.
• Metro Charter Academy.
• Oakside Scholars Charter Academy.
• Pembroke Academy.
• Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy.
• Prevail Academy.
• Quest Charter Academy.
• Reach Charter Academy.
• Regent Park Scholars Charter Academy.
• South Canton Scholars Charter Academy.
• Taylor Exemplar Academy.
• Walton Charter Academy.
• Westfield Charter Academy.
• Warrendale Charter Academy.

NHA was recognized for its recruitment and onboarding practices, recognition of employee achievements, and the education and development of its team members – each aspect highlighting the intentionality behind NHA’s focus on creating an engaged workforce.

One of the many things that set NHA apart is the focus on offering employees flexible scheduling. Achieving the perfect blend of work and home life is often challenging, so NHA has created a multitude of initiatives and benefits that make flexibility a reality for staff.

“Through the first half of 2020, the Best and Brightest Companies To Work For have demonstrated leadership and forward-thinking as they pivoted their business and workforce through COVID-19,” said Jennifer Kluge, President and CEO, Best and Brightest Programs. “As the conversation and focus has shifted, our Best and Brightest winning companies have also been a voice for important actions regarding Race. It is in these unique times, the Best and Brightest Companies To Work For excel and share their knowledge with others."

Feedback is another key focus at NHA. All schools within the network utilize a distributed leadership model, referred to as the dean model, which reduces the number of teachers reporting to each instructional leader. The focus of our dean role aims to strengthen academic performance through individualized coaching and development.

At the Service Center (SC), NHA’s corporate headquarters, there are several departments dedicated to the development of school leaders, teachers, special education staff, and SC leaders and staff.

During the COVID-19 crisis, the Curriculum and Instruction team at NHA worked very quickly. They provided additional resources and technology to staff and students to allow teaching and learning to continue while staff members were at home. Achieving work-life balance is challenging when personal and professional lives must be merged on short notice. However, NHA school leaders have been extremely supportive of staff members during this pandemic, which greatly impacted the physical and emotional health of our staff and their families. So, it was important for school leaders to show compassion and promote flexibility while modeling it themselves.