Necessary Steps to Ensure Effective Teaching for All Children

4.     Give school leaders tools & resources to hire and create teams of effective teachers.

Research tells us that schools are the most important sites for teacher learning and that a positive school environment is crucial for new teacher retention. Principals and their school leadership teams (which include teacher leaders, and parent and student representatives) must hire their own staff and create professional learning communities.  In addition, professional development must be school driven and take into account the schools’ actual needs and goals.

  
Suggested Reforms

 ·                Adopt full site selection at all schools.  School leadership teams must be able to select their own teachers, in order to create effective and stable teams of teachers.  The current hybrid system confuses both applicants and administrators and impedes efficient and equitable hiring. The role of seniority preference in the staffing process should be minimized.

 ·               Hold principals accountable for hiring teachers and support them in the hiring process.  The District should provide principals with training on both determining their hiring needs and selecting teachers.  Principal participation in job fairs should be made mandatory and principals should be meaningfully evaluated on their participation in the hiring process. 

 ·               Increase parent and student input in the hiring process.  Students and parents should participate in the interview process and have a say in what qualifications are needed for a school’s particular positions.

 ·               Provide supports and trainings to develop distributed leadership in all schools.  For school-level decision making to be effective, distributed leadership skills and opportunities have to be cultivated.   For example, leadership opportunities could include establishing school-based, subject area teacher leaders (see Plank #3) and teachers that provide in-class support.

 ·              Create a career lattice for teachers.  Keep talented educators in the classroom and in the system by providing career advancement opportunities.