Initiatives

Sustainability

A concerted effort towards building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and planet.

In 2016, the United Nations released 17 planet-wide sustainable development goals. These goals aim to improve the quality of life for humankind by mobilizing efforts across the globe.

The idea is not for any one company or one person to save the world. Instead, every human should choose one or two areas of contribution. If we work together, we can improve the quality of life for all.

Tatonka Education Services is dedicated to contributing to goals #4 & #8. We put these goals at the center of everything we do, and such our work becomes our contribution to a better world.

Goal #4 | Quality Education for All

As an education services company, the best way we can contribute to student success is by contributing to the success of school leaders.

Our business model focuses on servant leadership to the onsite leadership team. We know that they, and the teachers they support, improve the lives of children every day.

Historical Contributions to Goal #4

  • Secured safe, warm, and welcoming facilities for learning to take place

  • Strategically managed budgets and grant funding to allow for the hiring of additional intervention services

  • Supported the hiring of 100s of Teachers and operational staff so schools could function at their best

  • Provided 100s of hours of professional development in trauma-informed teaching

  • Donated intervention services to students in need

  • Supported school leaders in providing basic provisions to at-risk communities (food pantry, community closet, shoes for every student)

Goal #8| Decent Work for All

Snap shots from our week at Eagle in 2019 refreshing their facility.

Allie Byrne, Director of Academics re-arranging the student services room to accommodate the addition of another SPED Teacher.

Freshly scrubbed and landscaped entry way. Sammy Arndt, Director of Operations had a quite comical fight with some native Ohio weeds.

Little helpers painting the doors schools colors to brighten the space!

Carol S. Hansen, CEO getting ready to clear a hallway to make room for the community closet.

Freshly scrubbed and decorated entry way ready to greet the EEA community!

The completely refreshed employee lounge.

As an employer dedicated to providing quality work, we constantly look for ways to go the extra mile for employees. To TES, providing decent work means providing opportunities for growth, equitable wages, and quality benefits.

The key to providing decent work isn’t all that complicated. You simply treat people how you would want to be treated.

We practice this philosophy with our staff and encourage school leaders to do the same through our Human Resource services.

The best part? Our success in providing decent work supports our success in reaching goal #4. It is well-documented that happy teachers move around less, leading to higher student achievement. It all comes full circle!

Historical Contributions to Goal #8

  • Supported the establishment of programs to support employees in times of crisis.

  • Strategically managed budgets and maximized grant funding to increase school employee compensation.

  • Providing $0 out-of-pocket cost benefits for employees for health, vision, and dental.

  • During the COVID pandemic, our school in Arizona was in danger of closing due to staffing shortages and employee burnout. Our corporate office sent a corporate employee onsite every week for two months to lighten their load. We supported everything from covering lunch duty to acting as substitute teachers and taking out the garbage.

  • In 2019, Eagle Elementary of Akron lost its facilities manager in the summer. The building was in bad shape. Instead of asking the staff to come onsite that summer, the corporate team (including our CEO Carol S Hansen) flew out to support. We cleaned the building from top to bottom, painted doors, built a community closet, landscaped the property, refreshed the teacher’s lounge, and installed security cameras. Our teachers work so hard; we wanted them to enjoy their summer so they could return rested.