Target's Diversity Case Study

hosted by MPS. This tactic will help MPS find more diverse teacher candidates during its recruiting efforts. The third tactic MPS should borrow from Target to grow its diverse teacher population is create a diverse teacher mentorship program. Target employs a mentorship program as a tool to aid its leaders to become more effective in their jobs. “At Target, mentoring is the norm and an expectation. We are encouraged to be open about success and failure. The culture (of mentoring and openness) helps others learn from our mistakes. This culture has built our (Target’s) reputation and helped us attract leaders from other companies who want to work in our culture” (12). Like Target, MPS should develop a mentorship program for diverse leaders.

Currently, MPS does not offer paid internships. Whitney Clark, a teacher and 2015 graduate from St. Cloud State University states “There were no paid student teaching opportunities offered for prospective teachers at St. Cloud. We were expected to complete an unpaid experience in order to graduate” (3). Conversely, Target uses a paid internship program as a way to attract top talent. Joseph Lee, Human Resources Manager at Target states “We look at people a year before they graduate. We don’t do a basic internship, we place them in role and give them experiences to help groom them to do the job and pay them at a rate that is equal to or better than our competition. Our internship helps us retain most of the students who participate in our program. It’s our primary way to attract most of our new leaders. Colleges and interns tell us our program is one of the best out there and students compete for the opportunity we provide.” (11). Like Target, MPS should employ a paid internship to attract prospective college student-teachers to the MPS system. Once the paid internship is in place, students will compete with one another to gain an internship with MPS because most other student teaching experiences are unpaid. After student-teachers graduate, it is likely they will return to the MPS system to become full time teachers, as they will be familiar with the MPS system and comfortable with the setting. The paid internship will be a great tool for attracting new diverse teachers in the MPS