Fort Zumwalt School District has been recognized again as a top workplace, this time coming in No. 27 out of 75 employers on Forbes list of Best-in-State for Missouri.
It is Fort Zumwalt’s third consecutive year on the list. Only three other Missouri public school districts are included, Rockwood at No. 16, Joplin at No. 30 and Independence at No. 67. The recognition speaks to the district’s focus on Recruitment and Retention, as outlined in its Continuous School Improvement Plan (CSIP).
“I believe it is the foundation for all of the other focus areas in our CSIP,” says Dr. Henry St. Pierre, Superintendent. “If we are able to recruit and retain highly qualified staff then that makes all of the other areas possible, because, at the end of the day, it’s the people in the buildings that do all of the great work that happens in the district. We believe that for a successful school or a successful organization you have to have a positive culture. It makes everything else that follows come a little bit easier.”
Since the CSIP was implemented in the fall of 2023, Fort Zumwalt cut departures of certified teachers by 38 percent. In that same time, the district has cut departures in positions such as clerical team members, bus drivers, custodians and other similar staff by 25 percent.
Overall, this is the fifth recognition Fort Zumwalt School District has received from Forbes. Forbes also recognized the district among the Best Employers in Missouri in 2020, 2023 and 2024. And, in 2024, Fort Zumwalt was one of 19 Missouri organizations to make the Forbes list of America’s Best Mid-Sized Employers.
To create the seventh annual best-in-state list, Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to survey more than 160,000 employees working for companies with at least 500 people within the United States. Survey participants were asked how likely they were to recommend their employer on a scale of zero to 10 and were asked to evaluate their workplace based on criteria including wage parity, work culture, paths to professional advancement and whether the employer takes action on serious issues. Participants were also asked to evaluate their previous employers (within the last two years) and organizations they knew within their industry or through friends or family who work there.
When incorporated with survey data from the past three years, the responses represented all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Greater weight was given to the more recent data and to the responses from current employees within the state. Companies that received the highest scores in each state made the Forbes list. Ultimately, 1,417 organizations from across the country made the list.