Hiring the Best Certified Teachers and Administrators

Hiring the Best Certified Teachers and Administrators

In an earlier statement of my positions I stressed the importance of recruiting widely and aggressively to find the best possible candidates to fill openings for certified teaching and administrative positions. It really shouldn't be hard to figure out that the surest way to improve our schools is to hire the best people available. Simply recruiting more applicants, however, will not accomplish this. It is essential that we hire the best applicants from among those we have recruited. To this end, top performing school districts in Mississippi and throughout the nation make stakeholders part of the hiring process.

Districts accomplish this by having committees made up of teachers, administrators, parents (often PTO members), and sometimes school board members evaluate applicants for certified positions. Typically, these committees narrow down the applicant pool to a few of the best candidates and then recommend these few to whoever has the authority to make the final decision. Whoever makes that decision must pick only from among those recommended by the committee.

Obviously this process can take many forms. Let me share two of the most common models with you. In the case of a teacher hire, it is common to have three teachers, an administrator, and a parent on the evaluating committee. The teachers should be from the same subject area as the teacher being hired. The committee will go over all the applications and select about five of them to come in for interviews. Next, the committee conducts interviews to narrow the field down to the best three choices. Many districts actually have these finalists come in and teach sample lessons for further evaluation. Finally, the best three applicants are referred to whoever does the hiring. Even here, it is best not to leave the final decision to a single individual. It is best if a subject area teacher (the department head if there is one), the principal, and the superintendent make the final selection.

In the case of an administrative hire the process is pretty much the same except that the committee should be varied. The three teachers should come from three different subject areas, and a school board member should always be a member. Another difference is that, in this case, many districts leave the final decision to one person: usually the superintendent. Of course, in both cases (teacher and administrative hires) the school board must approve the final decision.

I have no doubt that this idea will be controversial. I believe most parents and taxpayers, however, will see the wisdom of involving stakeholders in the process of hiring the people who will shape our children’s futures. My guess is that those against it will be those who have up until now been making these hiring decisions without any oversight. History teaches us that oversight is essential in the public sector. Those unwilling to share their decision-making authority are in effect telling us that they know better than us, that our opinions are of little value, and that they don’t really care what we think.

If you’re thinking of voting for other candidates, ask them if they will be willing to share the hiring process with those they work for: you, the taxpayer. If they’re not, look for another candidate. It is time for the public to take back our public schools.

Until next time, may God bless you and your children.
Bob Mamrak