Recruitment & Hiring
Learn more about efforts to attract school and district staff and choose the best candidate for the job
The State of Teaching
New national data on the teaching profession, vivid reporting from classrooms, and resources to help support this essential profession.
Federal
Big-City Districts Bail on Teacher-Incentive Grants
Chicago, Milwaukee, and New York have all relinquished multi-million-dollar federal grants intended to promote merit pay and professional development for educators.
School & District Management
La. Law Reshuffles Personnel Powers in Districts
But school officials predict the changes will not affect relations between superintendents and the boards that hire them.
Education Funding
Can Technology Replace Teachers?
As districts and states look for more efficient ways to operate, they are turning to technological approaches that some see as a threat to teacher jobs.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
Recognize A Great Teacher
We have all had a great teacher who made a difference in our lives--a math teacher who stayed after school to help us learn Algebra, a coach who not only inspired us to compete on the field, but showed us how to be a leader off of it, or a principal who taught us how to believe in ourselves and dream big. A single teacher can touch the lives of 3,000 students over the course of a career, according to data provided by the USC Rossier School of Education, which I referenced in a previous post.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
WANTED: 'Irreplaceables'
On July 30, The New Teacher Project (TNTP) released a report called "The Irreplaceables," which looks at teachers who are "so successful they are nearly impossible to replace, but who too often vanish from schools as the result of neglect and inattention." The full report is available on TNTP's website. Information below is quoted directly and the sources of the quotes noted.
School & District Management
La. Law Boosts, Complicates Local Chiefs' Personnel Powers
Louisiana superintendents are empowered to hire and fire teachers without board approval—and take the heat—under a new state law.
Recruitment & Retention
Opinion
Use of Credit Checks Scrutinized in Employee Selection
A hot topic of debate (yes, debate) at my office, and within Human Resources departments across the country, is what tools and practices should and shouldn't be used in the selection process. For example, is GPA a good or bad indicator of someone's future potential?
IT Infrastructure & Management
Districts Bring Tech. Programmers In-House
With the availability of new digital tools and efforts to attract IT professionals, some districts are developing Web applications themselves to save money and customize their technologies.
School & District Management
Job Roles Shifting for Districts' Central Offices
In "portfolio" districts, responsibilities that once rested at the central office are falling to principals, who may be operating magnet schools, charter schools, or neighborhood schools with varying levels of autonomy.
IT Infrastructure & Management
With New Technology, Districts Face Crucial Question: Buy or Build?
Initiatives to attract talented IT professionals and emerging digital tools add new wrinkles to the dilemma.
Job Hunting Tips & Advice
Opinion
HR Skills Are In Demand
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently reported that there is a shortage of HR professionals. The news doesn't surprise me as more organizations and industries start to realize the importance of a highly skilled, strategic HR function. Many districts, for example, are hiring HR professionals for the first time. Why? It could be the result of a greater emphasis put on human capital development through Race to the Top, the Teacher Incentive Fund, and other federal and state programs in recent years. Others might argue that changes in teacher evaluation policy in many states have created a demand for qualified human resources professionals in schools. Whatever the reason, it's about time.
Recruitment & Retention
Opinion
Promote Internally or Hire Externally?
Business leaders, school districts, and HR professionals have long debated whether it is better to promote internally or hire externally. Some districts I have worked with will only promote current teachers to fill a vacant principal position, while others regularly look to hire candidates from outside the organization. This can also be a challenge for boards of education in hiring a new superintendent. Do they promote from within or conduct a national search?
School & District Management
L.A. District Hires First Social-Media Director
In what may be a national first for a school district, the Los Angeles school system has hired a full-time social-media director.
Recruitment & Retention
Opinion
Talent Managers Play Key Role in Common Core Implementation
Melanie Wightman, a School Improvement Specialist at Battelle for Kids, contributed to this post. Melanie works with teachers and principals to understand connections between fostering student growth and implementing the Common Core State Standards. Melanie has been in education since 1975 and believes that while children make up about 23 percent of the U.S. population, they are 100 percent of our future!