The Process of Hiring Great Teachers
Last year I wrote an article regarding our hiring process. I am re-posting it here with some edits and updates for 2017.
In the months of January through April, the school turns to hiring teachers for the following school year. Generally speaking, we have very low turnover at Colorado Academy, and this year is no exception; as a result we can conduct very thorough, individualized searches for the positions that do come open. And when we have announced retirements, as we did this year in the English department, we can often start the process quite early.
Although the final decisions about whom to hire rest with Dr. Mike Davis as Head of School, we do involve a significant number of people in the process. For example, for the positions we need to make in the Upper School for our next academic year, we will have the candidates meet all department members, grade-level deans, school counselor Liza Skipwith, Dr. Davis, and me. If the candidate also has coaching and/or experiential education experience, they will also meet with Bill Hall and Forbes Cone. Candidates are also asked to do a sample teaching demonstration with at least two current faculty observing. I give much credit to our hiring coordinator, Barb Eckler, who does a masterful job of handling the scheduling and communication of these visits for all three divisions.
This full day of interviewing and observing teaching applicants results in a 360-degree view of what the person can do as an educator, and how he or she interacts with colleagues and students. Obviously, like any interview situation, the day is less authentic than if we were to watch the prospective hire in their current job, so we also rely on getting candid feedback from the candidate’s past and current employers and peer teachers. All in all, we are able to get a strong read on how visiting candidates would fit into the CA culture, and of course, they also get an up-close look at our school to make sure they are comfortable with us. This is especially important for anyone visiting from out of state — roughly half of our applicants — so that they can be sure a move to Denver makes sense for them personally.
In my years as an administrator, I have evolved in the way I look at applications. Where I once scoured for content-area mastery demonstrated through teaching experience and undergraduate and graduate-level education in a particular discipline, I now look more broadly at resumes, in search of those other features that help round out a potential faculty member. Due to the strength of our applicant pool, the subject mastery is almost a given now. If a person is going to teach chemistry, we obviously need to see that he or she has education and teaching experience in that subject. What rounds out the resume often are those other details that show a dynamic individual whose interests go beyond the classroom. For instance, do they have some coaching or arts experience, indicating that they would appreciate and understand the multiple expectations we have of our students? And given our long history as an industry leader in experiential education, it is always a plus to see that an applicant has led students on outdoor or global trips, or has direct experience abroad, and/or has a demonstrated passion in an area that would be of direct benefit to our students.
For example, one of our most recent hires, Kathleen Law, had a background in working with students with learning differences and running a writing program, along with showing strong credentials in outdoor education. Plus she is an experienced aerialist, all in addition to significant experience in teaching English at both the secondary and post-secondary level. How could we pass up that combination?
As might be expected, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) has weighed in on the topic of hiring and retaining great teachers, as they have sought to help schools and school consumers understand what typically sets effective independent school teachers apart from others. One important factor NAIS has identified connects perfectly with something that Colorado Academy has emphasized for a long time: “high-quality teachers . . . regularly seek out professional development opportunities in order to improve their practice and deepen their knowledge base. Additionally, . . . [these] teachers . . . actively seek out and apply feedback from colleagues and supervisors for improvement.” In other words, the best teachers have a growth mindset, whereby they seek continuously to improve themselves as both learners and teachers. We know this is even more important in a world in which the methods for delivering instruction (often technological innovation) will shift regularly and often; flexible teachers that strive to keep stretching themselves will serve our school and our students better than those with a more fixed mindset. NAIS has other relevant articles and blog posts on its website at www.nais.org.
Ultimately, we look primarily at whether a potential hire will place students first in all their objectives and endeavors. In this way, we can do our best to add a faculty member that will seek out and build strong professional relationships with the students he or she encounters on a daily basis.
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