Whitehall's Approach to Hiring New Teachers

by David Hundt, Principal, Shoreline Elementary, Whitehall District Schools and Dave Rodgers, Principal, Helen R. Ealy Elementary, Whitehall District Schools

Hiring new teachers is one of the most important responsibilities of an administrative team and Board of Education. After several years of financial belt tightening and staff reductions, Whitehall District Schools found themselves in the unfamiliar position of needing to hire new teachers thanks to an unexpected increase in enrollment and the sound financial management by the district’s Board of Education. After posting the vacancies, the challenge was to quickly develop a process to deal with the extremely high volume of applications submitted. Sorting through over 400 applications to identify the best candidates for three elementary teacher positions was an overwhelming process. Careful planning was required to transform a mountain of paperwork into the three Highly Qualified teachers the district was going to hire.

Administrative Responsibilities

Aware that all teachers must be Highly Qualified to teach their subject area under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Whitehall’s middle school principal sought to find the best qualified teacher to teach science and math, and another qualified to teach social studies and English. Candidates needed a major or a minor in both subjects and to have passed the state exam for each subject area.

The process involved eight steps:

• Initial screening of the entire candidate pool.
• Phone interviews.
• Initial reference checks.
• Building-level panel interviews and writing prompt.
• A classroom teaching segment (finalists only).
• Final reference checks (finalists only).
• Teacher perceiver assessment (finalists only).
• Central office interview (finalists only).

About 50 applications met the first round of criteria. Each candidate received a phone call from one of the two principals. A specific list of questions was presented to each candidate. The information gathered during the phone interviews reduced the number of candidates to about 20. Reference checks helped the principals decide whom to actually invite for a first round interview. Twelve candidates were selected for interviews for two first grade positions and another 12 were invited to interview for a third grade position.

The Interview Process

The first-round of interviews was conducted with the principal and a small cross section of related staff groups. Teachers provided the principal with specific input and feedback on their perception of the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. The principal then invited a smaller group of candidates for a teaching segment. Each candidate was given the same curriculum objective—to prepare and deliver a 20-30 minute lesson to a group of students in the classroom with the principal and members of the interview committee observing. A final round of reference checks assisted in determining the final candidates. Candidates chosen for the final interview met first with the assistant superintendent. Final interviews were conducted by the principal, superintendent, and assistant superintendent.

Induction and Mentoring

Once the candidates were hired, an effort was made to acclimate new teachers to the school culture and bring them up to speed on building and district initiatives. This is accomplished through professional development days and mentoring. Whitehall conducts three days of professional development before the start of the school year. This year’s professional development topic was assessment. This is a great time for teachers in the grade level to introduce the new staff to the district curriculum and instructional initiatives. Whitehall also pairs new teachers with veteran mentors in a three-year mentoring program. Mentors outline specific supports provided for the new staff member. The program involves everything from finding the copy room and mailboxes to in-depth dialogue about topics such as instructional best practices and management techniques.

Hiring new teachers can be time consuming and take months to complete. As a result of a well-planned and executed process, Whitehall hired three great teachers. Hiring good people is one of the most important jobs an administrator may assume. By investing the time on the front end, the district ensures high quality instruction and positive student relationships in classrooms for years to come.

For more information, contact: David Hundt, Principal, Shoreline Elementary, (231) 893-1050, davidhundt@whitehall.k12.mi.us or Dave Rodgers, Principal, Helen R. Ealy Elementary, (231) 893-1040, daverodgers@whitehall.k12.mi.us.

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