Recruitment & Retention A National Roundup

Los Angeles District Honored for Human-Resources Overhaul

By Jeff Archer — January 19, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The Los Angeles Unified School District has won a national award for its management of human resources, an operation often derided as woefully inefficient in many urban districts.

The magazine Workforce Management this month named the 720,000-student district as one of 10 winners of its 2005 Optimas Awards, which recognize businesses and organizations for improving the way they recruit and train employees.

Among the changes cited by the magazine, the district created an online application process and began hiring teachers year-round, instead of just in the spring and summer. Inspired by crime-reduction efforts used in New York City, the district tracked the success rates of its recruiters.

In two years, the proportion of Los Angeles teachers considered “highly qualified” under federal guidelines has gone from 81 percent to 98 percent. Meanwhile, the human-resources staff has shrunk from about 450 to 350.

A retired U.S. Navy captain, Deborah Hirsh, led the reorganization. “It’s doable,” said Ms. Hirsh, the district’s chief human-resources officer.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the January 19, 2005 edition of Education Week

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Recruitment & Retention One State’s Educator-Recruitment Campaign Has a Secret Weapon: Its Own Teachers
Georgia wants to change the public's view of teaching.
7 min read
Georgia Southern University College of Education Associate Dean Dr. Yasar Bodur takes photos as Aaliyah Smith signs a Certificate of Commitment on stage during the first ever Teach in the Peach Statewide Educator Signing Day at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on May 6, 2025.
Future teachers gather at tables to hear speakers during the "Teach in the Peach" statewide educator signing day at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on May 6. It's one of several measures the state has rolled out to recognize its teachers—and attract new ones.
David Walter Banks for Education Week
Recruitment & Retention Will Fired Federal Workers Consider Teaching? Some Schools May Soon Find Out
Thousands of federal employees face unemployment. Some states and districts see an opportunity to recruit skilled workers to the classroom.
6 min read
Surreal illustation of intersecting arrows and stairs.
Eoneren / E+
Recruitment & Retention What the Research Says Teacher Shortages Are Improving—With Two Big Exceptions
New job posting data suggests staffing support needs to be targeted at particular areas.
4 min read
Image of innovative solutions around staffing.
Laura Baker/Education Week and Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock/Getty
Recruitment & Retention Districts Can't Pay Teachers Promised Incentives After Trump Admin. Cuts Funding
Grants meant for teacher and school leader development in high-need schools were abruptly cut by the Trump administration. Districts are looking for other options.
8 min read
Master teachers Krysta McGrew and Justin Stewart work with their peers during a 5K cluster meeting at Ford Elementary School in Laurens, S.C., on March 10, 2025.
Master teachers Krysta McGrew and Justin Stewart work with their peers at Ford Elementary School in Laurens, S.C., on March 10, 2025. The Laurens district is among those who lost federal grant funding meant to provide performance-based financial incentives to teachers.
Bryant Kirk White for Education Week